the medium price had been twenty-one franes forty-six cents.* The system advocated by the director-general was, the imposition of a duty on exports, when the price of grain approached the rate at which, by law, exportation was to cease, and the free importation of grain at all times, from foreign countries. The south of France, where corn generally obtained a price about one-fourth more than the average price of the kingdom, exported its manufactures, he said, to the Levant and the States of Barbary; and if France did not take their corn they would cease to receive her manufactures. These principles the chamber thought proper to adopt, and a law was passed allowing exportation of corn from France, when under a certain price, and free importation at all times without regard to prices. During the latter years of the reign of Napoleon, the public schools in France, under the "university system,"+ were confined almost exclusively to a military education, and instruction in the duties of civil life, as well as in those of religion and morals, was lamentably neglected. In order to retrieve the credit, and to extend the influence of the clerical body in France, a royal ordinance was published by the. king, on the 11th of October, for the establishment of ecclesiastical schools, in all the departments, under the sanction and superintendence of the archbishops and bishops of the Gallican church. A single incident serves sometimes to designate a reign; and the distinguishing characteristics of the reigns of Napoleon I. and Louis XVIII. were distinctly manifested in the systems of education patronized by the two Sovereigns. With the former, military glory was every thing, and the education of youth was directed exclusively to the attainment of this object; with the latter, the interest of the church was the prevailing feeling of the royal mind, and bis ecclesiastical schools contributed exclusively to this end. No contrast could be more palpable. The one was a warrior, the other a devotee. Neither of them had the necessary qualifications to secure the happiness of the French people, although the two characters amalgamated, might have made either of them a fit sovereign. Another ordinance of Louis XVIII. was exposed to fewer objections, and reflected honour upon his reign: In the administration of the criminal law of the country, one of the first objects of the state should be to correct the vicious habits of criminals, and to prepare them, by habits of order and industry, combined with 1815 the influence of moral and religious instruction, BOOK V. to become, at the termination of their periods of imprisonment, peaceable and useful members of CHAP. IV. society. For the purpose of effecting an object so desirable, all prisoners, under twenty years of age, against whom the sentence of the law had been denounced, were ordered to be collected together in one gaol, to be called "The prison of experiment;" the governor of which was to be charged with the superintendence of its police, and of the labour and instruction deemed necessary for the reform of the criminals. To aid him in an undertaking so important to the interest of the state, an assistant and six inspectors were to be placed under him, and these offices were to be filled gratuitously. Once in every month, the minister of the interior was to make a report of the state of the prison; and a commission, composed of a counsellor of state, and two masters of request; and a second commission, composed of three members of the court of session; were to visit this penitentiary twice a year, for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of its management, and the probable extent of its benefits. This wise and salutary plan seems to have originated with one of the most enlightened and benevolent men in France, and the Duke de la Rochefoucault was appointed director-general of an institution, which was indebted to him for its existence. this, as well as in many of the other plans and measures of the new government, there was one feature which demands the tribute of praise-the whole of the details, verified and approved by the minister of the interior, were to be submitted, not only to the king, but also to the public. In Notwithstanding the pacific disposition of the king, there still existed in France too many restless spirits, and too great a fondness for national glory. The consequence was, that the hope of regaining a compensation for what they had lost by the peace of Paris, still animated the public mind, and the compensation was, they vainly hoped, to be found in the conquest of St. Domingo. The French part of this imperial island was in possession of two negro chiefsPetion and Christophe; the latter of whom, under the title of King Henry, displayed a wise and enlightened policy in the administration of public affairs, worthy of imitation by the monarchs of Europe. The indigenous part of the population was estimated at three hundred and twenty thousand souls; and the two chiefs could bring into the field upwards of sixty thousand warriors. Such were the sovereigns and * Equal to about 47s. per quarter, English. BOOK V. the people, whom the French government, uninstructed by the fatal termination of General CHAP. IV. Leclerc's expedition, wished to enslave.* But no sooner had King Henry learned that Louis 1815 XVIII. whose own misfortunes might have inspired him with sentiments of justice and humanity, was fitting out an expedition against the kingdom of Hayti, than he issued an energetic proclamation,† justifying, at the tribunal of nations, the legitimacy of his sable government; and in which, while he promised security and protection to the subjects of those powers who visited the island of St. Domingo for the purposes of commercial intercourse, he declared the determination of his subjects, rather to bury themselves under the ruins of their country, than to behold the destruction of that edifice, which they had cemented with their blood. "The king of a free people," said he, "a soldier by habit, we fear no war, nor dread any enemy. We have already signified our determination not to interfere in any way in the internal government of our neighbours. We wish to enjoy peace and tranquillity among ourselves, and to exert the same prerogatives which other nations enjoy, of making their own laws. If, after the free exposition of our sentiments, and the justice of our cause, any power should, contrary to the laws of nations, place a hostile foot on our territory, then our first duty will be to repel such an act of aggression by every means in our power. We solemnly declare, that we will never consent to treaty, or any condition, that shall compromise the honour, the liberty, and the independence, of the Haytian people. Faithful to our oath, we will rather bury ourselves under the ruin of our country, than suffer our political rights to sustain the slightest injury." A language so decided, and so well timed, had its proper influence upon the councils of France; and the obstacles, both physical and military, in the way of the conquest of St. Domingo, induced the French government to abandon an expedition prepared for that purpose, and preserved the inhabitants of that island from the galling influence of those chains, which French ambition and cupidity had forged for the colonists in the western islands of the Atlantic. The first session of the restoration parliament of France closed its sittings on the 30th of December; and a review of its proceedings will serve to show, that much valuable time had been spent in the discussion of questions, that tended neither to promote the security of the throne, nor to advance the happiness of the people: such was the question for restricting the liberty of the press, by placing censors over its operations. The salutary regulations introduced into the department of finance, appeared, on the contrary, calculated to retrieve the public credit, by affording facilities for the reduction of the debt already incurred, and by making provision against its future augmentation. In order to regulate the affairs of commerce, and to retrieve its drooping operation, the circle of representation was enlarged, by the creation of a commercial chamber; and the tides of the ocean, which had for years flowed in vain, were again made subservient to the prosperity of France. Whatever might be the feelings of the nation and of the army, the two chambers of legislation manifested their regard for the person and family of the sovereign, by voting a civil list, equal to that with which the crown was endowed under Louis XVI. and by an unanimous resolution to make the nation responsible for the debts incurred by her sovereign, during a long period of exile. Unhappily for the tranquillity of the state, the vital question regarding emigrant property, though frequently before the assembled legislators of France, was brought to no decision; and the indemnity of the clerical body for the confiscation of church property, made during the revolution, involved considerations too delicate to be submitted to the immediate consideration of the chambers. The state of parties in France, as it appeared at the beginning of the year 1815, was such as to indicate the existence of wide differ ences in opinions and interest among large classes of the community; and although, in a wellestablished government, and among a people of sedate character and temperate feelings, it is found by experience, that such diversities may prevail without materially endangering the publie tranquillity; yet under the rule of a dynasty restored, after a long intermission, by foreign troops, to the throne of a nation_distinguished for the vehemence and promptitude of its emotions, there was sufficient reason to apprehend, that secret dissensions could not long subsist without bursting into a flame. In the military class in particular, who deeply felt the humiliation of the French arms, hitherto triumphant beyond example, the hostility to the reigning family was no longer disguised. A spirit of military enterprise still strongly predominated in the nation, and a recent ordinance, for the reduction of officers of all ranks, not actually employed, to half pay, combined with the recall of the Swiss guards to Paris, and the exclusion * See Vol. I. Book III. p. 418. † Dated, "Sans Souchi, the 18th of September, 1814, 11th year of independence, and the 4th of our reign." of the old imperial guard from the capital swelled the mass of discontent. Both officers and soldiers, with scarcely any exceptions, retained a high sentimental attachment to the man who had so long led them to victory, and under whose banners, notwithstanding recent disasters, they fondly regarded themselves as destined to retrieve the honour and glory of their country. The imperial rank, which he had been still suffered to preserve, maintained his titular dignity; and his position at Elba, separated only by a narrow space of sea, kept him almost in view of the French shores, and allowed a ready intercourse with his numerous partizans. The year, however, commenced in the French capital with those demonstrations of loyalty, which are always at the service of power, and which too frequently serve to lure sovereigns to their ruin. The municipal body of Paris ushered in the season of gratulation by an address to the king, in which the peculiar advantages of legitimate authority were eloquently expatiated upon, and his majesty was assured that all the subjects in his realm would cheerfully sacrifice their lives and fortunes for the maintenance of those blessings, which it was his felicity to confer, and their happiness to enjoy. A religious service calculated to revive a recollection of the errors and crimes of the revolution, and by no means adapted to the temper of the times, was performed on the 21st of January, the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI.* Two and twenty years had elapsed since that "deed without a name" was perpe trated; and the chief actors in the scene had BOOK V. long since perished, by that tempest which their own violence had raised. The retributive hand CHAP. IV. of providence, and the voice of surrounding 1815 nations, had already stamped this act with its appropriate character; and the ceremonial of re-interment was as uncalled for as it was impolitic. Suspicions had long been entertained, that a design existed to restore the principles of the ancient monarchy; and the official order for shutting up the theatres of Paris, on the day of re-interment, and for the introduction into the French liturgy of a service commemorative of the death of the royal martyr, served to encourage this apprehension. There was, indeed, nothing in the character of the king to justify such an opinion; but other branches of the royal family were supposed to have imbibed a greater portion of the maxims of prerogative, and many of the emigrant noblesse, and ecclesiastics, were known to have retained all the political feelings with which they left the country. If, on these accounts, the friends of constitutional liberty found reasonable grounds for withholding their confidence from the existing government, there were not wanting others, who, from factious motives, aggravated the public discontents, disseminating reports of designs to invalidate the purchase of national property, to effect the restoration of tythes, and to re-establish feudal and seignorial rights, and from these causes, a mass of secret disaffection was engendered in the nation, which was ready to manifest itself whenever any superinducing cause should call it into action. * DISINTERMENT OF LOUIS XVI. AND HIS ROYAL CONSORT. "On the 18th of Jau. the Chancellor, Count de Blacas, and others, proceeded to the cemetery of the Magdaleine, now a garden, attached to the house of M. Descloseaux. After causing the ground to be dug up by labourers, one of whom was present at the inhumation of the queen, a bed of lime, ten inches thick, was found, under which was discovered the mark of a bier about five and a half feet long, with several planks still sound; a great number of bones along this bier was carefully collected. Some were, however, wanting, which had, doubtless, been reduced to dust. The head was found entire, and the position in which it had been placed indicated with certainty that it had been detached from the body. Some remains of clothes were also found, and a pair of elastic garters, pretty well preserved, which were put aside to be presented to his majesty, along with two pieces of the bier. The bones were then placed in a box which had been brought for the purpose of receiving them, and the earth and lime which had been found along with the bones were deposited in another box.-To discover the remains of the king, next day the digging re-commenced, and some planks of a bier were found, but there was no bed of pure lime as about the bier of the queen. The earth and the lime appeared to have been purposely mixed. In the midst of the lime and the earth were found the bones of a male body; several of which being almost entirely corroded, were on the point of crumbling into dust. The head was covered with lime, and was found between two leg bones. This was the situation indicated as that of the head of Louis XVI.; no trace of any clothes could be found, nor could any complete bed of lime be discovered near the spot. "The relics were then inclosed in a large box, which was fastened and sealed with the signet of the arms of France. The box was afterwards carried into the chamber where the remains of the queen had been deposited the day before, in order that the ecclessiastics already assembled might continue round the two bodies the prayers of the church, till the time fixed for placing them in leaden coffins, and for carrying them to the royal church of St. Denis, where they were finally entombed. Marshals Soult and Oudinot held the pall over the coffin of Louis XVI.; and the Presidents Barthelemy and Laine, over the coffin of the queen. But not among the least interesting assistants at the ceremony, were M. M. Hue, Deséze, and Descloseaux. The first had remained constantly with the king till his death; the second had ably defended him at the bar of the convention; and the third had preserved, and watched over, his mortal remains."-Moniteur. BOOK V. 1814 CHAPTER V. THE SECOND REIGN OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON: Introductory Matter: Exile-Return from Elba-Debarkation in the Gulf of Juan-Triumphal March from the Coast to the CapitalDeparture of Louis XVIII.-His Arrival at Ghent-Unsuccessful Efforts to raise the Royal Standard in the South and West of France-Proceedings of the Congress at Vienna in consequence of the Return of Napoleon-Declaration of the 13th of March-Proceedings of the British Parliament-Coalition Treaty of the 25th of March-Pacific Overtures made by France-Letter of the Emperor Napoleon to the Sovereigns of Europe-Justificatory Manifesto of the French Government-Fidelity of some of the French Marshals to the Royal CauseDeath of Berthier-Napoleon's Ministry-Policy of his Government-Efforts to rouse the French Nation to resist the threatened Invasion of their Country-New Constitution, entitled Acte Additionnel aux Constitutions de l'Empire-Champ de Mai-Meeting of the Chambers-Speech of the Emperor at the Opening of the Session. FROM a review of the proceedings of the government of Louis XVIII. and the causes of CHAP. V. the dissatisfaction of his people, the mind is directed, by a natural transition, to the imperial exile of Elba. The departure of Napoleon from Fontainebleau, on the 20th of April, 1814, attended by the English, Russian, Austrian, and Prussian commissioners, afforded the troops, by whom he was surrounded, another opportunity of indicating their undiminished attachment to a leader, under whose banners they had attained so much glory, and in whose cause they had endured so many sufferings. The cries of Vive Empereur! which attended the departure of the imperial cavalcade, were reiterated in every town and village from Fontainebleau to Moulins, and the discontent of the populace at the presence of the commissioners, and the object of their journey, was expressed in the most unqualified terms of abuse.* At Lyons, which city Napoleon and his attendants passed through near midnight on the 23d, a few persons were assembled, and saluted him with the cry so familiar to his ears in the days of his prosperity. On the following day, Marshal Augereau crossed the emperor on his route at Valence, where an interview took place, in which Napoleon reproached Augereau for the asperity of his proclamation of the 16th,† and the marshal recri minated, by reminding the fallen monarch of that insatiable thirst for conquest to which he had sacrificed the fidelity of his friends, and the happiness of his country. In Valence, the troops belonging to Marshal Augereau's corps, though wearing white cockades, received the emperor with military honours, and their indignation was manifested in no equivocal terms towards the commissioners in his suite. Here, however, his triumphs ended; and his lacerated feelings were no longer soothed even with the homage of exclamations. At Avignon, on the morning of the 25th, a great concourse of persons were assembled, and the emperor and his attendants were saluted with cries of "Vive le Roi! Vivent les Allies! A bas Nicholas ! A bas le Tyran, le Coquin, le mauvais Gueux!" and even still coarser abuse. The conduct of the populace at Orgon and Aix was equally insulting; at the former of these places, a gallows was erected exactly on the spot where the relays of horses stood, from which was suspended a figure, in French uniform, sprinkled with blood, bearing a paper upon. its breast with this inscription: "Tel sera tot ou tard le sort du Tyran!" These repeated demonstrations of popular indignation became so alarming, that Napoleon changed his dress in his carriage, soon after he Narrative of Napoleon Bonaparte's journey from Fontainebleau to Frejus, in April, 1814, by Count Truchses-Waldburg (Valdeburgh Fruchsels) attendant Prussian Commissary. + See Vol. II. Book IV. p. 342. A name applied familiarly to Bonaparte, while he was a student at the college of Brienne, and revived as a term of opprobrium after his abdication, under an erroneous idea that Nicholas was actually his christian name. On this subject, his own writing, in the still existing registry of the second arrondissement of Paris, at the time of his first marriage in 1796, is pretty conclusive evidence-it is there written "Napolione.” An left the town, and mounting a post horse, rode on before, in the character of a courier. At a small inn, on the other side of Orgon, the imperial suite stopped to dinner, and here, in a kind of chamber, the former ruler of the world was found by the commissioners, buried in thought, with his head resting upon his hand, and his countenance bedewed with tears.* apprehension that the new government had determined to take away his life, continually haunted his imagination in the latter part of his journey, and after assuming various disguises, he quitted his own carriage entirely, and took a seat in a corner of General Koller's calêche.When his mind had regained some degree of composure, he spoke freely of his political projects while he was Emperor of France; but now, according to his professions, every thing that could happen in the political world, was to him perfectly indifferent, and he felt extremely happy in anticipating the tranquil life which he should pass at Porto Ferrajo, far from the intrigues of courts, and in the full enjoyment of his scientific pursuits. Yes; the throne of Europe might now be safely offered to him, for he should reject it; this conduct of the French towards him had evinced such black ingratitude, as to entirely disgust him with the ambition of reigning. On the morning of the 27th, the emperor and his train arrived in the neighbourhood of Frejus, when, finding himself under the protection of a body of Austrian troops, he again resumed his uniform, and once more occupied his own carriage. The Undaunted, an English frigate, under the command of Captain Usher, awaited his arrival, and on the evening of the 28th, he embarked on board that vessel in the harbour of St. Raphor, where fourteen years before he had landed on his return from Egypt. During the five days passed at sea, the manners of the emperor were unusually condescending and courteous; General Koller and Colonel Campbell, the two commissioners appointed to attend him to the island, were daily invited to his table, and he frequently expressed his regret at the scenes which they had been called to witness, during the latter days of his journey, through the instigation, as he imagined, of the French government. On the 3d of May, the Undaunted arrived off the coast of Elba, and on the following day the bee-studded flagt of the Elbese empire waved from the watch-towers of Porto Ferrajo. In answer to a congratula 1814 tory oration from the municipal body of his new BOOK V. The energies of the ever active mind of When the emperor received the visits of * Count Truchses-Waldburg's Narrative. †The ancient and peculiar ensign of Elba was singularly well adapted to Bonaparte's situation, being no other than a wheel-an emblem of the vicissitudes of human life, borrowed by the Elbese from the Egyptian mysteries. |