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Page 34
On the 28th of May, about ten days after Napoleon had been declared
Emperor, the trials of Moreau and others commenced. No similar event
that has since occurred can convey an idea of the fermentation which then
prevailed in Paris. The indignation excited by Moreau's arrest was
openly manifested, and braved the observation of the police. Endeavours
had been successfully made to mislead public opinion with respect to
Georges and some others among the accused, who were looked upon as
assassins in the pay of England, at least by that numerous portion of the
public who lent implicit faith to declarations presented to them as
official. But the case was different with regard to those individuals
who were particularly the objects of public interest, -viz. MM. de
Polignac, de Riviere, Charles d'Hozier, and, above all, Moreau. The name
of Moreau towered above all the rest, and with respect to him the
Government found itself not a little perplexed. It was necessary on the
one hand to surround him with a guard sufficiently imposing, to repress
the eagerness of the people and of his friends, and yet on the other hand
care was required that this guard should not be so strong as to admit of
the possibility of making it a rallying-point, should the voice of a
chief so honoured by the army appeal to it for defence. A rising of the
populace in favour of Moreau was considered as a very possible event,--
some hoped for it, others dreaded it. When I reflect on the state of
feeling which then prevailed, I am certain that a movement in his favour
would infallibly have taken place had judges more complying than even
those who presided at the trial condemned Moreau to capital punishment.
It is impossible to form an idea of the crowd that choked up the avenues
of the Palace of Justice on the day the trials commenced. This crowd
continued during the twelve days the proceedings lasted, and was
exceedingly great on the day the sentence was pronounced. Persons of the
highest class were anxious to be present.
I was one of the first in the Hall, being determined to watch the course
of these solemn proceedings. The Court being assembled, the President
ordered the prisoners to be brought in. They entered in a file, and
ranged themselves on the benches each between two gendarmes. They
appeared composed and collected, and resignation was depicted on the
countenances of all except Bouvet de Lozier, who did not dare to raise
his eyes to his companions in misfortune, whom his weakness, rather than
his will, had betrayed. I did not recognise him until the President
proceeded to call over the prisoners, and to put the usual questions
respecting their names, professions, and places of abode. Of the forty-
nine prisoners, among whom were several females, only two were personally
known to me; namely, Moreau, whose presence on the prisoner's bench
seemed to wring every heart, and Georges, whom I had seen at the
Tuileries in the First Consul's cabinet.
The first sitting of the Court was occupied with the reading of the act
of accusation or indictment, and the voices of the ushers, commanding
silence, could scarce suppress the buzz which pervaded the Court at the
mention of Moreau's name. All eyes were turned towards the conqueror of
Hohenlinden, and while the Procureur Imperial read over the long
indictment and invoked the vengeance of the law on an attempt against the
head of the Republic, it was easy to perceive how he tortured his
ingenuity to fasten apparent guilt on the laurels of Moreau. The good
sense of the public discerned proofs of his innocence in the very
circumstances brought forward against him. I shall never forget the
effect produced--so contrary to what was anticipated by the prosecutors--
by the reading of a letter addressed by Moreau from his prison in the
Temple to the First Consul, when the judges appointed to interrogate him
sought to make his past conduct the subject of accusation, on account of
M. de Klinglin's papers having fallen into his hands. He was reproached
with having too long delayed transmitting these documents to the
Directory; and it was curious to see the Emperor Napoleon become the
avenger of pretended offences committed against the Directory which he
had overthrown.
In the letter here alluded to Moreau said to Bonaparte, then First
Consul--
"In the short campaign of the year V. (from the 20th to the 23d of
March 1797) we took the papers belonging to the staff of the enemy's
army, and a number of documents were brought to me which General
Desaix, then wounded, amused himself by perusing. It appeared from
this correspondence that General Pichegru had maintained
communications with the French Princes. This discovery was very
painful, and particularly to me, and we agreed to say nothing of the
matter. Pichegru, as a member of the Legislative Body, could do but
little to injure the public cause, since peace was established. I
nevertheless took every precaution for protecting the army against
the ill effects of a system of espionage . . . . The events of
the 18th Fructidor occasioned so much anxiety that two officers, who
knew of the existence of the correspondence, prevailed on me to
communicate it to the Government . . . . I felt that, as a
public functionary, I could no longer remain silent . . . .
During the two last campaigns in Germany, and since the peace,
distant overtures have been made to me, with the view of drawing me
into connection with the French Princes. This appeared so absurd
that I took no notice of these overtures. As to the present
conspiracy, I can assure you I have been far from taking any share
in it. I repeat to you, General, that whatever proposition to that
effect was made me, I rejected it, and regarded it as the height of
madness. When it was represented to me that the invasion of England
would offer a favourable opportunity for effecting a change in the
French Government, I invariably answered that the Senate was the
authority to which the whole of France would naturally cling in the
time of trouble, and that I would be the first to place myself under
its orders. To such overtures made to a private individual, who
wished to preserve no connection either with the army, of whom nine-
tenths have served under me, or any constituted authority, the only
possible answer was a refusal. Betrayal of confidence I disdained.
Such a step, which is always base, becomes doubly odious when the
treachery is committed against those to whom we owe gratitude, or
have been bound by old friendship.
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