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Page 9
"'Where do you come from?'--'From Narremburgh.'--'What is your father?'
--'A Protestant minister.'--'How old are you?'--'Eighteen.'--'What did
you intend to do with your knife?'--'To kill you.'--'You are mad, young
man; you are one of the illuminati?'--'I am not mad; I know not what is
meant by the illuminati!'--'You are ill, then?'--'I am not; I am very
well.'--'Why did you wish to kill me?'--'Because you have ruined my
country.'--'Have I done you any harm?'--'Yes, you have harmed me as well
as all Germans.'--'By whom were you sent? Who urged you to this crime?'
--'No one; I was urged to it by the sincere conviction that by killing
you I should render the greatest service to my country.'--'Is this the
first time you have seen me?'--'I saw you at Erfurt, at the time of your
interview with the Emperor of Russia.'--'Did you intend to kill me
then?'--'No; I thought you would not again wage war against Germany. I
was one of your greatest admirers.'--'How long have you been in Vienna?'
--'Ten days.'--'Why did you wait so long before you attempted the
execution of your project?'--'I came to Schoenbrunn a week ago with the
intention of killing you, but when I arrived the parade was just over; I
therefore deferred the execution of my design till today.'--'I tell you,
young man, you are either mad or in bad health.'
"The Emperor here ordered Corvisart to be sent for. Staps asked who
Corvisart was? I told him that he was a physician. He then said,
'I have no need of him.' Nothing further was said until the arrival of
the doctor, and during this interval Steps evinced the utmost
indifference. When Corvisart arrived Napoleon directed him to feel the
young man's pulse, which he immediately did; and Staps then very coolly
said, 'Am I not well, sir?' Corvisart told the Emperor that nothing
ailed him. 'I told you so,' said Steps, pronouncing the words with an
air of triumph.
"I was really astonished at the coolness and apathy of Staps, and the
Emperor seemed for a moment confounded by the young man's behaviour.--
After a few moments' pause the Emperor resumed the interrogatory as
follows:
"'Your brain is disordered. You will be the ruin of your family. I will
grant you your life if you ask pardon for the crime you meditated, and
for which you ought to be sorry.'--'I want no pardon. I only regret
having failed in my attempt.'--'Indeed! then a crime is nothing to you?'
--'To kill you is no crime: it is a duty.'--'Whose portrait is that which
was found on you?'--'It is the portrait of a young lady to whom I am
attached.'--'She will doubtless be much distressed at your adventure?'--
'She will only be sorry that I have not succeeded. She abhors you as
much as I do.'--'But if I were to pardon you would you be grateful for my
mercy?'--'I would nevertheless kill you if I could.'
"I never," continued Rapp, "saw Napoleon look so confounded. The replies
of Staps and his immovable resolution perfectly astonished him. He
ordered the prisoner to be removed; and when he was gone Napoleon said,
'This is the result of the secret societies which infest Germany. This
is the effect of fine principles and the light of reason. They make
young men assassins. But what can be done against illuminism? A sect
cannot be destroyed by cannon-balls.'
"This event, though pains were taken to keep it secret, became the
subject of conversation in the castle of Schoenbrunn. In the evening the
Emperor sent for me and said, 'Rapp, the affair of this morning is very
extraordinary. I cannot believe that this young man of himself conceived
the design of assassinating me. There is something under it. I shall
never be persuaded that the intriguers of Berlin and Weimar are strangers
to the affair.'--'Sire, allow me to say that your suspicions appear
unfounded. Staps has had no accomplice; his placid countenance, and even
his fanaticism, are easiest proofs of that.'--'I tell you that he has
been instigated by women: furies thirsting for revenge. If I could only
obtain proof of it I would have them seized in the midst of their
Court.'--'Ah, Sire, it is impossible that either man or woman in the
Courts of Berlin or Weimar could have conceived so atrocious a design.'--
'I am not sure of that. Did not those women excite Schill against us
while we were at peace with Prussia; but stay a little; we shall see.'--
'Schill's enterprise; Sire, bears no resemblance to this attempt.'
You know how the Emperor likes every one to yield to his opinion when he
has adopted one which he does not choose to give up; so he said, rather
changing his tone of good-humoured familiarity, 'All you say is in vain,
Monsieur le General: I am not liked either at Berlin or Weimar.' There
is no doubt of that, Sire; but because you are not liked in these two
Courts, is it to be inferred that they would assassinate you?'--'I know
the fury of those women; but patience. Write to General Lauer: direct
him to interrogate Staps. Tell him to bring him to a confession.'
"I wrote conformably with the Emperor's orders, but no confession was
obtained from Staps. In his examination by General Lauer he repeated
nearly what he had said in the presence of Napoleon. His resignation and
firmness never forsook him for a moment; and he persisted in saying that
he was the sole author of the attempt, and that no one else was aware of
it. Staps' enterprise made a deep impression on the Emperor. On the day
when we left Schoenbrunn we happened to be alone, and he said to me,
'I cannot get this unfortunate Staps out of my mind. The more I think on
the subject the more I am perplexed. I never can believe that a young
man of his age, a German, one who has received a good education,
a Protestant too, could have conceived and attempted such a crime.
The Italians are said to be a nation of assassins, but no Italian ever
attempted my life. This affair is beyond my comprehension. Inquire how
Staps died, and let me know.'
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