The Companions of Jehu by Alexandre Dumas (great novels of all time .TXT) đ
- Author: Alexandre Dumas
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The door between the First Consulâs study and the secretaryâs office opened precipitately, and Bourrienne rushed in, his face terrified, as though he thought Bonaparte were calling for help. But when he saw him highly excited, crumpling the diplomatic memorandum in one hand and striking with the other on his desk, while Lord Tanlay was standing calm, erect and silent near him, he understood immediately that Englandâs answer had irritated the First Consul.
âDid you call me, general?â he asked.
âYes,â said the First Consul, âsit down there and write.â
Then in a harsh, jerky voice, without seeking his words, which, on the contrary, seemed to crowd through the portal of his brain, he dictated the following proclamation:
SOLDIERS!âIn promising peace to the French people, I was your mouthpiece; I know your power.
You are the same men who conquered the Rhine, Holland and Italy, and granted peace beneath the walls of astounded Vienna.
Soldiers, it is no longer our own frontiers that you have to defend; it is the enemyâs country you must now invade.
Soldiers, when the time comes, I shall be among you, and astounded Europe shall remember that you belong to the race of heroes!
Bourrienne raised his head, expectant, after writing the last words.
âWell, thatâs all,â said Bonaparte.
âShall I add the sacramental words: âVive la RĂ©publique!â?â
âWhy do you ask that?â
âBecause we have issued no proclamation during the last four months, and something may be changed in the ordinary formulas.â
âThe proclamation will do as it is,â said Bonaparte, âadd nothing to it.â
Taking a pen, he dashed rather than wrote his signature at the bottom of the paper, then handing it to Bourrienne, he said: âSee that it appears in the âMoniteurâ tomorrow.â
Bourrienne left the room, carrying the proclamation with him.
Bonaparte, left alone with Lord Tanlay, walked up and down the room for a moment, as though he had forgotten the Englishmanâs presence; then he stopped suddenly before him.
âMy lord,â he asked, âdo you think you obtained from your uncle all that another man might have obtained in your place?â
âMore, citizen First Consul.â
âMore! more! Pray, what have you obtained?â
âI think that the citizen First Consul did not read the royal memorandum with all the attention it deserves.â
âHeavens!â exclaimed Bonaparte, âI know it by heart.â
âThen the citizen First Consul cannot have weighed the meaning and the wording of a certain paragraph.â
âYou think so?â
âI am sure of it; and if the citizen First Consul will permit me to read him the paragraph to which I alludeââ
Bonaparte relaxed his hold upon the crumpled note, and handed it to Lord Tanlay, saying: âRead it.â
Sir John cast his eyes over the document, with which he seemed to be familiar, paused at the tenth paragraph, and read:
The best and surest means for peace and security, and for their continuance, would be the restoration of that line of princes who for so many centuries have preserved to the French nation its internal prosperity and the respect and consideration of foreign countries. Such an event would have removed, and at any time will remove, the obstacles which are now in the way of negotiations and peace; it would guarantee to France the tranquil possession of her former territory, and procure for all the other nations of Europe, through a like tranquillity and peace, that security which they are now obliged to seek by other means.
âWell,â said Bonaparte, impatiently, âI have read all that, and perfectly understood it. Be Monk, labor for another man, and your victories, your renown, your genius will be forgiven you; humble yourself, and you shall be allowed to remain great!â
âCitizen First Consul,â said Lord Tanlay, âno one knows better than I the difference between you and Monk, and how far you surpass him in genius and renown.â
âThen why do you read me that?â
âI only read that paragraph,â replied Sir John, âto lead you to give to the one following its due significance.â
âLetâs hear it,â said Bonaparte, with repressed impatience.
Sir John continued:
But, however desirable such an event may be for France and for the world, it is not to this means alone that his Majesty restricts the possibility of a safe and sure pacification.
Sir John emphasized the last words.
âAh! ah!â exclaimed Bonaparte, stepping hastily to Sir Johnâs side.
The Englishman continued:
His Majesty does not presume to prescribe to France her form of government, nor the hands into which she may place the necessary authority to conduct the affairs of a great and powerful nation.
âRead that again, sir,â said Bonaparte, eagerly.
âRead it yourself,â replied Sir John.
He handed him the note, and Bonaparte re-read it.
âWas it you, sir,â he asked, âwho added that paragraph?â
âI certainly insisted on it.â
Bonaparte reflected.
âYou are right,â he said; âa great step has been taken; the return of the Bourbons is no longer a condition sine quĂą non. I am accepted, not only as a military, but also as a political power.â Then, holding out his hand to Sir John, he added: âHave you anything to ask of me, sir?â
âThe only thing I seek has been asked of you by my friend Roland.â
âAnd I answered, sir, that I shall be pleased to see you the husband of his sister. If I were richer, or if you were less so, I would offer to dower herââSir John made a motionââbut as I know your fortune will suffice for two,â added Bonaparte, smiling, âor even more, I leave you the joy of giving not only happiness, but also wealth to the woman you love. Bourrienne!â he called.
Bourrienne appeared.
âI have sent it, general,â he said.
âVery good,â replied the First Consul; âbut that is not what I called you for.â
âI await your orders.â
âAt whatever hour of the day or night Lord Tanlay presents himself, I shall be happy to receive him without delay; you hear me, my dear Bourrienne? You hear me, my lord?â
Lord Tanlay bowed his thanks.
âAnd now,â said Bonaparte, âI presume you are in a hurry to be off to the ChĂąteau des Noires-Fontaines. I wonât detain you, but there is one condition I impose.â
âAnd that is, general?â
âIf I need you for another missionââ
âThat is not a condition, citizen First Consul; it is a favor.â
Lord Tanlay bowed and withdrew.
Bourrienne prepared to follow him, but Bonaparte called him back. âIs there a carriage below?â he asked.
Bourrienne looked into the courtyard. âYes, general.â
âThen get ready and come with me.â
âI am ready, general; I have only my hat and overcoat to get, and they are in the office.â
âThen let us go,â said Bonaparte.
He took up his hat and coat, went down the private staircase, and signed to the carriage to come up. Notwithstanding Bourrienneâs haste, he got down after him. A footman opened the door; Bonaparte sprang in.
âWhere are we going, general?â asked Bourrienne.
âTo the Tuileries,â replied Bonaparte.
Bourrienne, amazed, repeated the order, and looked at the First Consul as if to seek an explanation; but the latter was plunged in thought, and the secretary, who at this time was still the friend, thought it best not to disturb him.
The horses started at gallopâBonaparteâs usual mode of progressionâand took the way to the Tuileries.
The Tuileries, inhabited by Louis XVI. after the days of the 5th and 6th of October, and occupied successively by the Convention and the Council of Five Hundred, had remained empty and devastated since the 18th Brumaire. Since that day Bonaparte had more than once cast his eyes on that ancient palace of royalty; but he knew the importance of not arousing any suspicion that a future king might dwell in the palace of the abolished monarchy.
Bonaparte had brought back from Italy a magnificent bust of Junius Brutus; there was no suitable place for it at the Luxembourg, and toward the end of November, Bonaparte had sent for the Republican, David, and ordered him to place the bust in the gallery of the Tuileries. Who could suppose that David, the friend of Marat, was preparing the dwelling of a future emperor by placing the bust of CĂŠsarâs murderer in the gallery of the Tuileries? No one did suppose, nor even suspect it.
When Bonaparte went to see if the bust were properly placed, he noticed the havoc committed in the palace of Catherine of Medicis. The Tuileries were no longer the abode of kings, it is true, but they were a national palace, and the nation could not allow one of its palaces to become dilapidated. Bonaparte sent for citizen Lecomte, the architect, and ordered him to clean the Tuileries. The word might be taken in both senses âmoral and physical.
The architect was requested to send in an estimate of the cost of the cleaning. It amounted to five hundred thousand francs. Bonaparte asked if for that sum, the Tuileries could be converted into a suitable âpalace for the government.â The architect replied that the sum named would suffice not only to restore the Tuileries to their former condition, but to make them habitable.
A habitable palace, that was all Bonaparte wanted. How should he, a Republican, need regal luxury? The âpalace of the governmentâ ought to be severely plain, decorated with marbles and statues only. But what ought those statues to be? It was the First Consulâs duty to select them.
Accordingly, Bonaparte chose them from the three great ages and the three great nations: from the Greeks, from the Romans, from France and her rivals. From the Greeks he chose Alexander and Demosthenes; the genius of conquest and the genius of eloquence. From the Romans he chose Scipio, Cicero, Cato, Brutus and CĂŠsar, placing the great victim side by side with the murderer, as great almost as himself. From the modern world he chose Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, the great CondĂ©, Duguay-Trouin, Marlborough, Prince Eugene, and the MarĂ©chal de Saxe; and, finally, the great Frederick and George Washingtonâfalse philosophy upon a throne, and true wisdom founding a free state.
To these he added warlike heroesâDampierre, Dugommier, Joubertâto prove that, while he did not fear the memory of a Bourbon in the great CondĂ©, neither was he jealous of his brothers-in-arms, the victims of a cause already no longer his.
Matters were in this state at the period of which we are now speaking; that is, the last of February, 1800. The Tuileries had been cleaned, the busts were in their niches, the statues were on their pedestals; and only a favorable occasion was wanting.
That occasion came when the news of Washingtonâs death was received. The founder of the liberty of the United States had ceased to breathe on the 14th of December, 1799.
It was that event of which Bonaparte was thinking, when Bourrienne saw by the expression of his face that he must be left entirely to the reflections which absorbed him.
The carriage stopped before the Tuileries. Bonaparte sprang out with the same haste with which he had entered it; went rapidly up the stairs, and through the apartments, examining more particularly those which had been inhabited by Louis XVI. and Marie-Antoinette. In the private study of Louis XVI. he stopped short.
âHereâs where we will live, Bourrienne,â he said, suddenly, as if the latter had followed him through the mental labyrinth in which he wandered, following the thread of Ariadne which we call thought. âYes, we will lodge here; the Third Consul can have the Pavilion of Flora, and CambacĂ©rĂšs will remain at the Chancellerie.â
âIn that way,â said Bourrienne, âwhen the time comes, you will have only one to
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