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Page 30
Cambaceres never suffered the cares of Government to distract his
attention from the great object of life. On one occasion, for
example, being detained in consultation with Napoleon beyond the
appointed hour of dinner--it is said that the fate of the Duc
d'Enghien was the topic under discussion--he was observed, when the
hour became very late, to show great symptoms of impatience sod
restlessness. He at last wrote a note which he called a gentleman
usher in waiting to carry. Napoleon, suspecting the contents,
nodded to an aide de camp to intercept the despatch. As he took it
into his hands Cambaceres begged earnestly that he would not read a
trifling note upon domestic matters. Napoleon persisted, and found
it to be a note to the cook containing only the following words,
"Gardez les entremetes--les rotis sont perdue." When Napoleon was
in good humor at the result of a diplomatic conference he was
accustomed to take leave of the plenipotentiaries with, "Go and dine
Cambaceres." His table was in fact an important state engine, as
appears from the anecdote of the trout sent to him by the
municipality of Geneva, and charged 300 francs in their accounts.
The Imperial 'Cour des Comptes' having disallowed the item, was
interdicted from meddling with similar municipal affairs in future
(Hayward's Art of Dining, p. 20).]
At the commencement of 1801 Fulton presented to Bonaparte his memorial on
steamboats. I urged a serious examination of the subject. "Bah!" said
he, "these projectors are all either intriguers or visionaries. Don't
trouble me about the business." I observed that the man whom he called
an intriguer was only reviving an invention already known, and that it
was wrong to reject the scheme without examination. He would not listen
to me; and thus was adjourned, for some time, the practical application
of a discovery which has given such an important impulse to trade and
navigation.
Paul I. fell by the hands of assassins on the night of the 24th of March
1801. The First Consul was much shocked on receiving the intelligence.
In the excitement caused by this unexpected event, which had so important
an influence on his policy, he directed me to send the following note to
the Moniteur:--
Paul I. died on the night of the 24th of March, and the English
squadron passed the Sound on the 30th. History will reveal the
connection which probably exists between these two events.
Thus were announced the crime of the 24th of March and the not ill-
founded suspicions of its authors.
--[We do not attempt to rescue the fair name of our country. This
is one among many instances in which Bourrienne was misled.--Editor
of 1886 edition.]--
The amicable relations of Paul and Bonaparte had been daily strengthened.
"In concert with the Czar," said Bonaparte, "I was sure of striking a
mortal blow at the English power in India. A palace revolution has
overthrown all my projects." This resolution, and the admiration of the
Autocrat of Russia for the head of the French Republic, may certainly be
numbered among the causes of Paul's death. The individuals generally
accused at the time were those who were violently and perseveringly
threatened, and who had the strongest interest in the succession of a new
Emperor. I have seen a letter from a northern sovereign which in my mind
leaves no doubt on this subject, and which specified the reward of the
crime, and the part to be performed by each actor. But it must also be
confessed that the conduct and character of Paul I., his tyrannical acts,
his violent caprices, and his frequent excesses of despotism, had
rendered him the object of accumulated hatred, for patience has its
limit. These circumstances did not probably create the conspiracy, but
they considerably facilitated the execution of the plot which deprived
the Czar of his throne and his life.
As soon as Alexander ascended the throne the ideas of the First Consul
respecting the dismemberment of Poland were revived, and almost wholly
engrossed his mind. During his first campaign in Italy, and several
times when in Egypt, he told Sulkowsky that it was his ardent wish to
reestablish Poland, to avenge the iniquity of her dismemberment, and by
that grand repertory act to restore the former equilibrium of Europe. He
often dictated to me for the 'Moniteur' articles tending to prove, by
various arguments, that Europe would never enjoy repose until those great
spoilations were avenged and repaired; but he frequently destroyed these
articles instead of sending them to press. His system of policy towards
Russia changed shortly after the death of Paul. The thought of a war
against that empire unceasingly occupied his mind, and gave birth to the
idea of that fatal campaign which took place eleven years afterwards, and
which had other causes than the re-establishment of Poland. That object
was merely set forward as a pretext.
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