A D. 1804.1 BUONAPARTE DECLARED EMPEROR. 239 how they made use of them. In discussing the provision of occasion. Louis Buonaparte, as high constable of the emthe senatus consultum on the point, that the power should pire, presented to his imperial brother all the great officers be hereditary, the senators argued at great length, and of the army that were in Paris; and Napoleon at once their arguments were amusing contrasts with those which named eighteen of his chief generals marshals of the empire. many of these same men had advanced with even convulsive These were Berthier, Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, energy against all kingly and all hereditary power whatever, Augereau, Bernadotte, Soult, Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, from time to time, from 1789 to the present hour. It was at Davoust, Bessières, Kellermann, Lefevre, Perignon, and first proposed to give to Buonaparte the authority to nomi- Serrurier. Most of these had been as thorough jacobins as nate his successor, because, as he had no children by Josephine, their new master. Their title was to be monsieur le maréit was supposed that he might choose to adopt her son. But chal, and, when addressed in writing, monseigneur, or my this was altered, and the throne was made hereditary in lord. The princes and princesses of the blood—namely, the the male line of the Buonapartes. Some have imagined brothers and sisters of Buonaparte-were to be styled imtaat even already Buonaparte contemplated divorcing Jo-perial highness, and the grand dignitaries of the empire ephine and marrying the daughter of some royal house, so to leave an heir to the throne. In failure of such issue, Len Buonaparte's brothers, Joseph and Louis, or their male Ders, were to succeed. The female line was expressly excluded, according to the old Salic law, in these words: Amongst a people essentially warlike, women must, of Lecessity, be perpetually excluded." Buonaparte's second bether, Lucien, and his fourth, Jerome, had both offended the great man by their marriages with women of ordinary rank, and they were therefore excluded from the succession, except in the case that all male heirs in the other branches had failed, when it was put into the power of the emperor to name his successor from any of the sons or grandsons of the excluded brothers who had reached his eighteenth year. Lacien had married twice, in defiance of his family, women of low condition; the second time, a vender of lemonade, ad was refused by Buonaparte the title of prince; but Jerome, who had married a beautiful and clever woman, the Lighter of Mr. Paterson, a merchant of New York, was used by him to abandon her, on the plea that the marPage was invalid, and was married to a princess of Würteming, and made king of Holland. Some years ago, in con*quence of this separation of Jerome Buonaparte from American wife, that wife (now dead) contended for the lity of her marriage in Paris, and with the singular ait of the court of law pronouncing the children of both -riages legitimate. serene highness. The secretary of state and the president of the senate were styled your excellence. Buonaparte ordered the senate to proclaim his accession by publishing their senatus consultum, which was done on the 20th of May. This was followed by all public functionaries and municipal bodies taking the necessary oaths. Dessaix was named grand marshal of the palace; Caulaincourt, grand huntsman; and the count de Ségur, master of ceremonies. By this latter appointment, and by that of the count de Narbonne to another honourable office, it was expected that the various parvenus fresh dignitaries would be soon enabled to go through their duties with some degree of propriety. The senatus consultum being passed, Cambacères headed senate, who went in a body to present it, to congratulate new emperor, and afterwards the empress. In return this compliment, Buonaparte immediately issued an erial mandate, appointing Cambacères arch-chancellor the empire, and Lebrun, the third consul, arch-treasurer. his mandate Buonaparte assumed at once the imperial "Given at the Palace of St. Cloud, the 28th Floreal, FAP XII-NAPOLEON, emperor. H. B. Maret, secretary [state." The republican calendar used in the date, and word "republic" on the coins, were now the only iges of that anti-monarchical state of things which had some millions of lives. The next day, the 19th of May, the brand-new emperor empress proceeded from St. Cloud to the Tuileries, to I their first grand levée. A decree of the senate had ned the offices of grand-elector, arch-chancellor of the jere, arch-chancellor of state, high constable, and great eral of the empire, as fixed appendages of the empire. se officers had to appear in their new dignities on this Thus Napoleon had stepped into the throne of what was absurdly still called a republic without consulting the people at all. When, therefore, the senatus consultum was proclaimed, it was received most chillingly, says Fouché, in all quarters :-"There were fêtes without animation and without joy." It seemed, according to several writers, as if the shades of d'Enghien and Pichegru hovered over the ceremony, and shed a gloom over it. Yet Buonaparte would not omit the sanction drawn from the votes of the people, though he did not choose to wait for it. He took care, however, to have the machinery of election properly adjusted, so as to be confident of the result, and he sought previously the sanction of the army, of which he was certain. In July he went to Boulogne to review the grand army of England, assembled on the heights above the town, overlooking the British Channel, and from which the white cliffs of England were conspicuous. Everything had been elaborately got up for this occasion, on which the enthusiasm of the soldiers was to be raised to the highest pitch. The common people believed that he was going to lead the army at once across the channel, and return loaded with the enormous wealth of London, and with the king, queen, royal family, William Pitt, and the heads of the aristocracy, as prisoners in his train. Buonaparte had no such wild idea; but, since the duke d'Enghien's murder, the powers of almost all Europe had manifested unequivocally their abhorrence of the act, and of the man who perpetrated it, and he now designed, by the display of enthusiasm in his army, at once to awe his own people, and the sovereigns of other nations. The army of England was encamped on the high ground above Boulogne, close to the tower before called La Tour d'Ordre, but now Cæsar's Tower, because the remains of a Roman camp had been discovered on the spot, and therefore it was convenient to assume that Julius Cæsar had encamped there, and had from thence passed over to England, whose cliffs he could descry. Buonaparte had the army drawn up around a CHAPTER VI. THE REIGN OF GEORGE III-(Continued) mound-probably an ancient cairn, or barrow, in the Coronation of Buonaparte and Josephine by the Pope-Creation of New centre of the table-land-and there he seated himself himself on an iron chair, said to have belonged to king Dagobert, having in front of him the channel, and the hostile coasts of England. All this had been carefully arranged, with the utmost regard to scenic effect, by the great tragedian, Talma, who was accustomed to represent Roman kings and pageants. From this throne Buonaparte delivered the oath to be taken by the legion of honour: "Commanders, officers, legionaries, citizens, soldiers, swear, upon your honour, to devote yourselves to the service of the empire; to the defence of the emperor, of the laws of the republic, and of the property which they have made sacred; swear to combat, by all the means which justice, reason, and the laws authorise, every attempt to re-establish the feudal system; in short, swear to concur, with all your might, in maintaining liberty and equality—which are the bases of all our institutions. Swear! There was a simultaneous shout of "We swear!" from the whole army. Buonaparte, to ingratiate himself with the soldiers, had taken care beforehand to have all such men as had served in Egypt picked out, and put in the front line of their regiments. He had a list of them, and probably the officers of the regiments acted as prompters, for, as he rode along, he was sure to address each of these men, as if familiarly recognising them. He would stop and say, "Ah! so you are here. I saw you at Aboukir. How is your old father? What! a brave fellow like you not have the cross! Stay, I will give it you." And so he went on. The soldiers were enchanted. They said, "You see, the emperor knows us all. He knows our families; he knows where we have served!" They all imagined that, some day or other, they should become marshals of the empire, like the lucky fellows they saw commanding them. Heaven seemed to smile on the occasion. The weather was very stormy, but, when he ascended the throne, the sky cleared, and all was bright sunshine. The review over, the storm returned; and the vessels of the flotilla, having been steered a little out of port, to add to the completeness of the spectacle, were in danger of wreck; but Buonaparte hastened down to the harbour to assist in the orders for their return to port. No sooner did he arrive on the pier than the sun broke out again, and the vessels all came in safely. The army considered it a certain omen that they would make a successful descent on England. From Boulogne, Buonaparte proceeded to Brussels, Ostend, Antwerp, and so through Belgium, where Josephine met him, to the Rhine. Wherever he appeared, the authorities of the towns, both then and on his return through France, presented him the most adulatory addresses. You would no longer believe it the same people who had, for ten years, committed such unexampled horrors to destroy the royalty they were now again adoring. The mayor of Arras, Robespierre's own town, a M. de la Chaise, put the climax to all this civic incense by declaring, in his address, that "God made Napoleon, and then rested!" French Nobility-These Ceremonies and Titles adopted by the Negros of St. Domingo-Buonaparte addresses George III. as "Brother and King"- Intrigues against our Ambassadors on the Continent by Buonaparte-Seizure of Sir George Rumbold, at Hamburg-Coalition of Pitt and Addington-Addington made Lord Sidmouth-Spanish Affers -Lord Melville compelled to retire from Office- Case of Mr. Peter Stuart-Melville expelled the Privy Council-Order for Melville's inpeachment by the Commons, for Frauds as First Lord of the Admiralty -Sidmouth resigns-Changes in Cabinet-New Continental League formed with England against France-Napoleon made King of ItalyLeads the Army of England against Germany-Bavaria joins FrancePrussia and Baden remain Neutral-The French enter Bavaria-M the Austrian General, beaten, and surrenders at Ulm-The Battle of Trafalgar, on the same Day as Mack's Surrender-The French ente Vienna-The Austrians driven out of Italy-The Austrians and Russ defeated at the Battle of Austerlitz-Austria makes Peace-Buonape gives Regal Titles to the Electors of Würtemberg and Bavaria, an marches into the Austrian Territory-Marries his Relatives into them new Royal Families-Abortive Attempts to bring the Swedes and Ru sians against Buonaparte - Actions at Sea-Fight betwixt Admiraa Calder and Villeneuve-Death of Nelson at Trafalgar - Fresh Mahratt War-Successful Campaigns of Lord Lake-Death of Pitt-The Greave and Fox Ministry, called "All the Talents" Ministry-Abortive Neg tiations with Buonaparte for Peace-Windham's System of Army Be -Abolition of the Slave Trade-Trial and Acquittal of Lord MelveCommission of Inquiry into the Conduct of the Princess of WalesEnglish and Russians in Naples-Return of the French-Joseph Bur parte proclaimed King of the Two Sicilies-The War in Sicly Calabria maintained by the English, under Sir John Stuart and Sidney Smith-Recovery of the Cape of Good Hope-Conquest of Ba Ayres by Sir Hope Popham and General Beresford-Beresford captaret Proposals of General Miranda to England for the Subjugation of t Spanish American Colonies-Miranda's Attempt, with American .'Civil War in Hayti-Admiral Duckworth's Defeat of the French F=" off St. Domingo-Other Sea Fights-Fresh Honours and Princedoms da~buted by Buonaparte-Louis Buonaparte made King of Holland-B parte organises a German Confederation and a Confederate German Ar to fight for France-Makes War on Prussia-Overruns Brunswick Saxony-Murder of Palm, the Bookseller, of Nuremberg, by Boo-Defeat of the Prussians at Jena and Auerstadt-Buonaparte m*~ Berlin-Prince Hohenlohe defeated and taken at Prenzlow-Sur:vt of General Blücher - Buonaparte calls on the Poles to rise Russia and Prussia-Makes an Ally of Saxony-The French, repu# by the Russians, retire into Warsaw-Death of Charles Fox. BUONAPARTE now prepared for his coronation. While Mayence, on the Rhine-where the German princes flickto pay the most abject homage to him as their "protector no nations, except England, Russia, and Sweden, keep aloof -he dispatched one of his aides-de-camp, ge Caffarelli, an Italian, to invite the pope to go to Paris crown the new emperor and empress. Caffarelli was ho to be selected for this embassage because he spoke L language well, and was a good diplomatist; but, in trai there needed only to announce at the Vatican the wa Buonaparte to have it fulfilled. Pius VII. had alr been compelled to submit to the terms of the concr which had made such inroads into the ancient power the church; and he knew very well that, to refuse request, would bring down upon him fresh humiliat Buonaparte, who affected to imitate Charlemagne as i founder of the French nation, passing over all the king France as unworthy of notice, determined to inaugurate second empire by a still bolder stretch of authority t Charlemagne himself. That monarch had condescende. make the journey to Italy to receive the privilege of cer tion from pope Leo; but Buonaparte resolved that the old pope Pius VII. should come to him in France. F Caffarelli reminded him of the probability of being ercepted by the heretic English, and carried to their matic island. The people on his route everywhere eived him with the most profound veneration, and the Bants had secured the Alpine precipices by parapets rever the passage was dangerous. He arrived at Fonebleau on the 25th of November. Bourrienne and ary relate the pains that were taken by Buonaparte to bage so that he should secure a position of superiority hunting costume, dashed out from amongst the trees just before the pope's carriage; then, perceiving the pope, Buonaparte stopped, and the pope, perceiving him, hastened to descend from his carriage. Rapp, who had been bred a protestant, laughed heartily with Bourrienne at the whole farce. The pope got out of the left door of his carriage in his white costume; the ground was dirty, he did not like to step upon it with his white silk shoes, but was obliged to do so at last. Napoleon alighted to receive him. They em braced; and the emperor's carriage, which had been purposely driven up, was advanced a few paces; but men were posted to hold the two doors open. At the moment of getting in, the emperor took the right door, and an officer of the court handed the pope to the left, so that they entered the carriage by the two doors at the same time. The emperor naturally seated himself on the right; and this first step decided, without negotiation, the etiquette to be observed the whole time the pope was at Paris. The pope, being driven first to the Tuileries, was afterwards lodged in the archiepiscopal palace, but an incident occurred in his removal which greatly amused the Parisians. It was the etiquette at Rome that the chamberlain should precede him on such occasions on an ass, and carry a large cross, such as is used in processions. The chamberlain could not for the world depart from the practice, and accept a horse. All the grooms of the Tuileries were dispatched in quest of an ass, and, one being found, the chamberlain, with his cross, rode, with a composure which nothing could disturb, through the immense multitudes who lined the quays, and could not help laughing at this odd spectacle, which they beheld for the first time. Ceremonies equally or more odd were all this time going on in the Tuileries. As the coronation was to be conducted on a new plan, to resemble as much as possible that of Charlemagne, David, the painter, and Isabey, the miniature painter to the imperial court, were in full activity planning the costumes, and the arrangement of the chief figures and attendant groups who were to appear in the ceremony. It was something more than ludicrous-—it was disgusting-to see this sanguinary and rancorous jacobin, David, who had figured in all the horrors of the reign of terror, who had vowed to drink hemlock with Robespierre, and who had so often sworn destruction to all tyrants and aristocrats, now busied, most blandly, and, to all appearance, most earnestly, in preparing the inauguration of the great military despot. David had arranged the ceremonies for many an atheistical and deistical pageant and procession; he had painted and praised Robespierre and Marat, and scenes of Roman republicanism, for the imitation of France, and now he was employed to design the plan of this coronation of an imperial master by the man whom he and his fellow-revolutionists had styled the prince of superstitions! But M. Isabey far outvied him in ingenuity on this occasion. Buonaparte proposed that the whole scene, with its actors, should be represented or modelled in plaster, and then M. Isabey conceived a happy idea. He purchased a number of dolls in the shops, and dressed them in coloured paper, and placed them in the proper attitudes, and then grouped them, so that he astonished the emperor and court by presenting every one who was to be engaged in the great pageant exactly in the place, posture, and appearance, that he or she was to occupy. The emperor was delighted, and the coronation was repeatedly rehearsed in private before it was enacted in public and in reality. As Josephine was to be crowned with him, a serious objection was raised by the pope, that her marriage had not been celebrated by a priest, but merely in republican fashion, by a magistrate. It was necessary to be remarried, to satisfy the pontifical scruples, and this was done in private by cardinal Fesch. The 2nd of December was the day fixed for the august occasion, and, by a circular letter, the mayors and chief municipal officers of the different towns, and the magistrates and judges, and chief persons of note throughout France, were invited to attend and add to its importance by their presence. It was a trying occasion to the new dignitaries, most of whom had risen from very low stations, to play their parts under the critical eyes of many of the old noblesse, who gathered to the spectacle, with what feelings it may be supposed; and not they only, but numbers of the German princes and barons, as well as Dutch and Spanish, to pay their court to the parvenu monarch. The Parisians, however they might acquiesce in the new style of things, could not forbear indulging in their ridicule of the awkwardnesses of these grandees, who now shone in robes of state, but whom they had been more accustomed to see in the red night-caps and blouses of sans-culotteism. Not the least did they make merry over the grotesque appearance of the pop. in his silk-embroidered shoes, cardinals in their red stockings, and the whole paraphernalia of these heads of the church. They were again amused at the sight of the pope's chamberlain preceding the papal carriage, riding on his ass, and holding aloft the huge cross. Marshal Serrurier carrie! the ring of the empress on a cushion; marshal Moncey, br mantle; marshal Murat, her crown; Pauline and Carolina her sisters-in-law, bore her train. Marshal Kellerman: carried the crown of Charlemagne; marshal Perignon, sceptre; marshal Lefebvre, his great sword; marshal Ber nadotte bore the collar of gold of the legion of honour Eugène Beauharnais, Josephine's son, the imperial ring and marshal Berthier, the symbolical ring and cross. Th came Buonaparte, arrayed in the imperial mantle, and carrying the sceptre and the hand of justice. At the gra entrance of Notre Dame, a cardinal presented the hol water, and the canons of the cathedral held up a baldaquin, over the head of Napoleon. The psalm, Creator," burst forth as the emperor and empress approach the altar and knelt. There was a great mummery ceremonies performed by the courtiers, and the pope an cardinals celebrated high mass. Then the pope anoin Napoleon, and blessed the crown, the sceptre, the mant. and the other regalia, and approached to take up the crow: and put it on the emperor's head. But there Napol prevented him. He had won the diadem himself, and would receive it from no hand but his own—not even t of the so-styled vicar of Christ. He took up the crown put it on his own head; he beckoned Josephine to appr and kneel, and he also placed her crown on her head hin The poor pope, however annoyed he might be, subm with a patient smile, and then, accompanying the emp to an elevated throne, a fauteuil being placed beside it ́ the empress, and kissing Napoleon on the right cheek. shouted-" Vivat Imperator in æternum!" which cry echoed by thunders of "Long live the emperor and empres But these cries rose chiefly from the dignitaries them and the officials, and the spectators had to be stimulate! the act by the imperial functionaries. As the proc returned, the people gazing in cold silence, there were so audible murmurs of disgust in old jacobins, and fr Bernadotte and Augereau looked gloomy and ill at A.D. 1804.] LETTER FROM BUONAPARTE TO GEORGE III. And this was the end of so many years of overturnings, of murders of king, queen, and princes, of such wholesale guillotinings and drownings, to purge the country of royalty and aristocracy! And here they were more vigorous than ever: the persons only changed. One of the most characteristic facts of the day showed how intensely Buonaparte felt the wondrous elevation of his fortunes, and that he never forgot anything which wounded his vanity: he sent for M. Raguadeau, a public notary, who had formerly been Josephine's adviser, and whom he had once overheard expressing his astonishment at her intention of marrying him, observing that he had nothing but his cloak and his sword. His overhearing of this he had never mentioned even to Josephine, but now, whilst they were still clad in their imperial splendour, he had Raguadeau introduced, and said—" Well, Raguadeau, have I now nothing but my cloak and my sword?" Josephine heard the words with not less amazement than the confounded notary himself. The day before the coronation, only, was presented to Napoleon the result of his election to the empire. The numbers who had voted in his favour were three millions five hundred thousand, and of those who had voted against him, three thousand five hundred. This the vice-president of the senate, Neufchateau, who presented it, declared to be the unbiassed expression of the people's choice, and that no monarch could plead a title more authentic. This was what Buonaparte himself always boasted. He said that, if he were not a legitimate sovereign, William III. of England was a usurper, for he was brought in chiefly by the aid of foreign bayonets; that George I. was placed on the British throne by a faction composed of a few nobles; but that he was chosen by the votes of nearly four millions of Frenchmen. In his last days, at St. Helena, he repeated these statements. But, to say nothing of the means by which even these numbers of votes were got up, what is the fact? The population of France was upwards of thirty millions, and yet, when called upon to vote in confirmation of the dree of the senate, for Napoleon as emperor, only three millions five hundred thousand had voted for him; the rest, therefore, whether voting against him, or prudently silent, must be held to be adverse. Had they desired him, they ald have voted for him; had they dared, they would ¡robably have voted against him—the very silence at his ronation said as much. There was, therefore, in fact, a jority of two-thirds of the nation against, instead of a sjority for him; and, what is more, the act of the senate, : the votes of a small minority, which had, indeed, not en waited for, annulled the votes of vast majorities of mer years for the abolition of monarchy, which were by ar more sacred, because they were majorities pronounced by e soul and enthusiasm of the nation. The advocates of ́apoleon, however, sensible of the weakness of his claim, ari contended that his use of the power which he had amed justified the assumption of it. It will be one of -- chief functions of this history to demonstrate the real aracter of that use. The first result of the establishment of this new system of ality was to create a numerous nobility: that hateful tocracy which had thrown all France into such parox. 243 ysms of rage and murder. There was a rapid reproduction of princes, dukes, counts, barons, and, besides these, of orders of distinction. They were not the old nobles, however, who were restored, but a totally new race of men. Buonaparte told the French that he would give them something better than that equality for which they had made the revolution: he would give to men of humble origin the places which the expelled Montmorencies, Tremouilles, and other ancient families had occupied. And this was a doctrine which was sure to find listeners. It made all the difference whether these honours and advantages were to be confined upon old lines, or to be open to the aspirations of the sons of hostlers, innkeepers, and the like. The most provoking thing, nevertheless, was, that the negroes in St. Domingo went on parodying all these changes, burlesquing all these new distinctions. Dessalines, who was now in the ascendant there, no sooner heard of Buonaparte assuming the rank of emperor, than he caused himself to be proclaimed emperor too; and, when the news of the new creations of nobility arrived, he commenced making similar batches of nobles amongst his black courtiers. The English newspapers took great delight in detailing these, to them amusing, but, to Napoleon, provoking imitations. The year 1805 was opened by Buonaparte addressing a second letter to George III. This letter was dated January 2nd, and commenced::-"Sir and brother,"-(it was ostensibly a zealous advocacy for peace, and was well drawn up for the purpose)—" Called," he said, "to the throne of France by Providence, and by the suffrages of the senate, the people, and the army, my first sentiment is a wish for peace. France and England abuse their prosperity. They may contend for ages; but do their governments well fulfil the most sacred of their duties, and will not so much blood, shed uselessly and without a view to any end, condemn them in their own consciences? I consider it as no disgrace to make the first step. I have, I hope, sufficiently proved to the world that I fear none of the chances of war. It, besides, presents nothing that I need to fear; peace is the wish of my heart, but war has never been inconsistent with my glory. I conjure your majesty not to deny yourself the happiness of giving peace to the world, nor of leaving that sweet satisfaction to your children; for, certainly, there never was a more fortunate opportunity, nor a moment more favourable, to silence all the passions, and listen only to the sentiments of humanity and reason. This moment once lost, what end can be assigned to a war which all my efforts will not be able to terminate? Your majesty has gained more within ten years, both in territory and riches, than the whole extent of Europe. Your nation is at the highest point of prosperity; what can it hope for more? To form a coalition with some powers of the continent? The continent will remain tranquil: a coalition can only increase the preponderance and continental greatness of France. To renew intestine troubles? The times are no longer the same. To destroy our finances? Finances, founded on a flourishing agriculture, can never be destroyed. To take from France her colonies? The colonies are, to France, only a secondary object; and does not your majesty already possess more than you know how to preserve? If your majesty would but reflect, you must perceive that the |