History of the Expedition to Russia | Page 6

which
sacrificed its dignity, and the general cause of monarchs, to petty

aggrandizements." Whenever he followed with his finger the traces of
the Prussian frontiers upon the map, he seemed to be angry at seeing
them still so extensive, and exclaimed, "Is it possible that I have left
this man so large a territory?"
This dislike to a mild and pacific monarch was surprising. As there is
nothing in the character of Napoleon unworthy of historical
remembrance, it is worth while to examine the cause of it. Some
persons trace back the origin of it to the rejection which he experienced,
when First Consul, from Louis XVIII. of the propositions which he
made to him through the medium of the king of Prussia; and they
suppose that Napoleon laid the blame of this refusal upon the mediator.
Others attribute it to the seizure of Rumbold, the English agent at
Hamburgh, by the orders of Napoleon, and to his being compelled to
give him up by Frederick, as protector of the neutrality of the north of
Germany. Before that time, Frederick and Napoleon had carried on a
secret correspondence, which was of so intimate a nature, that they
used to confide to each other even the details of their household; that
circumstance, it is said, put an end to it.
At the beginning of 1805, however, Russia, Austria, and England,
made ineffectual attempts to engage Frederick in their third coalition
against France. The court of Berlin, the queen, the princes, the minister
Hardenberg, and all the young Prussian military, excited by the ardour
of displaying the inheritance of glory which had been left them by the
great Frederick, or by the wish of blotting out the disgrace of the
campaign of 1792, entered heartily into the views of the allied powers;
but the pacific policy of the king, and of his minister Haugwitz, resisted
them, until the violation of the Prussian territory, near Anspach, by the
march of a corps of French troops, exasperated the passions of the
Prussians to such a degree, that their cry for immediate war prevailed.
Alexander was then in Poland; he was invited to Potsdam, and repaired
thither immediately; and on the 3d of November, 1805, he engaged
Frederick in the third coalition. The Prussian array was immediately
withdrawn from the Russian frontiers, and M. de Haugwitz repaired to
Brünn to threaten Napoleon with it. But the battle of Austerlitz shut his

mouth; and within a fortnight after, the wily minister, having quickly
turned round to the side of the conqueror, signed with him the
participation of the fruits of victory.
Napoleon, however, dissembled his displeasure; for he had his army to
re-organize, to give the grand duchy of Berg to Murat, his
brother-in-law, Neufchatel to Berthier, to conquer Naples for his
brother Joseph, to mediatize Switzerland, to dissolve the Germanic
body, and to create the Rhenish confederation, of which he declared
himself protector; to change the republic of Holland into a kingdom,
and to give it to his brother Louis. These were the reasons which
induced him, on the 15th of December, to cede Hanover to Prussia, in
exchange for Anspach, Cleves, and Neufchatel.
The possession of Hanover at first tempted Frederick, but when the
treaty was to be signed, he appeared to feel ashamed, and to hesitate; he
wished only to accept it by halves, and to retain it merely as a deposit.
Napoleon had no idea of such timid policy. "What!" said he, "does this
monarch dare neither to make peace nor war? Does he prefer the
English to me? Is there another coalition preparing? Does he despise
my alliance?" Indignant at the idea, by a fresh treaty, on the 8th of
March, 1806, he compelled Frederick to declare war against England,
to take possession of Hanover, and to admit French garrisons into
Wesel and Hameln.
The king of Prussia alone submitted; his court and his subjects were
exasperated; they reproached him with allowing himself to be
vanquished without attempting to fight; and elevating themselves on
the remembrance of their past glory, they fancied that for them alone
was reserved the honour of triumphing over the conqueror of Europe.
In their impatience they insulted the minister of Napoleon; they
sharpened their swords on the threshold of his gate. Napoleon himself
they loaded with abuse. Even the queen, so distinguished by her graces
and attractions, put on a warlike attitude. Their princes, one of them
particularly (whose carriage and features, spirit and intrepidity, seemed
to promise them a hero), offered to be their leaders. A chivalrous
ardour and fury animated the minds of all.

It is asserted, that at the same time there were persons, either
treacherous or deceived, who persuaded Frederick that Napoleon was
obliged to show himself pacific, that that warrior was averse to war;