Memoirs of Napoleon, vol 10 | Page 9

you
out of the north for three years. When I heard of it I said, I am glad of it,
as it will embroil England irrecoverably with the Northern Powers. The
Danes being able to join me with sixteen sail of the line was of but little
consequence. I had plenty of ships, and only wanted seamen, whom
you did not take, and whom I obtained afterwards, while by the

expedition your Ministers established their characters as faithless, and
as persons with whom no engagements, no laws were binding." (Voice
from St. Helena.)]--
I have stated what were the principal consequences of the Treaty of
Tilsit; it is more than probable that if the bombardment of Copenhagen
had preceded the treaty the Emperor would have used Prussia even
worse than he did. He might have erased her from the list of nations;
but he did not do so, out of regard to the Emperor Alexander. The
destruction of Prussia was no new project with Bonaparte. I remember
an observation of his to M. Lemercier upon that subject when we first
went to reside at Malmaison. M. Lemercier had been reading to the
First Consul some poem in which Frederick the Great was spoken of.
"You seem to admire him greatly," said Bonaparte to M. Lemercier;
"what do you find in him so astonishing? He is not equal to
Turenne."--"General," replied M. Lemercier, "it is not merely the
warrior that I esteem in Frederick; it is impossible to refrain from
admiring a man who was a philosopher even on the throne." To this the
First Consul replied, in a half ill-humoured tone, "Certainly, Lemercier;
but Frederick's philosophy shall not prevent me from erasing his
kingdom from the map of Europe." The kingdom of Frederick the Great
was not, however, obliterated from the map, because the Emperor of
Russia would not basely abandon a faithful ally who had incurred with
him the chances of fortune. Prussia then bitterly had to lament the
tergiversations which had prevented her from declaring herself against
France during the campaign of Austerlitz.
Napoleon returned to Paris about the end of July after an absence of ten
months, the longest he had yet made since he had been at the head of
the French Government, whether as Consul or Emperor. The interview
at Tilsit, the Emperor Alexander's friendship, which was spoken of
everywhere in terms of exaggeration, and the peace established on the
Continent, conferred on Napoleon a moral influence in public opinion
which he had not possessed since his coronation. Constant in his hatred
of deliberative assemblies, which he had often termed collections of
babblers, ideologists, and phrasemongers, Napoleon, on his return to
Paris, suppressed the Tribunate, which had been an annoyance to him

ever since the first day of his elevation. The Emperor, who was 'skillful
above all men in speculating on the favourable disposition of opinion,
availed himself at this conjuncture of the enthusiasm produced by his
interview on the Niemen. He therefore discarded from the fundamental
institutions of the government that which still retained the shadow of a
popular character. But it was necessary that he should possess a Senate
merely to vote men; a mute Legislative Body to vote money; that there
should be no opposition in the one and no criticism in the other; no
control over him of any description; the power of arbitrarily doing
whatever he pleased; an enslaved press;--this was what Napoleon
wished, and this be obtained. But the month of March 1814 resolved
the question of absolute power!
In the midst of these great affairs, and while Napoleon was dreaming of
universal monarchy, I beheld in a less extensive sphere the inevitable
consequences of the ambition of a single man. Pillage and robbery were
carried on in all parts over which my diplomatic jurisdiction extended.
Rapine seemed to be legally authorised, and was perpetrated with such
fury, and at the same time with such ignorance, that the agents were
frequently unacquainted with the value of the articles which they seized.
Thus, for example, the Emperor ordered the seizure at Hamburg,
Bremen, and Lubeck of all English merchandise, whatever might be its
nature or origin. The Prince of Neufchatel (Berthier) wrote to me from
the Emperor that I must procure 10,000,000 francs from the Hanse
Towns. M. Daru, the Intendant-General, whose business it was to
collect this sort of levy, which Napoleon had learned to make in Egypt,
wrote to urge me to obtain a prompt and favourable decision. The
unfortunate towns which I was thus enjoined to oppress had already
suffered sufficiently. I had obtained, by means of negotiation, more
than was demanded for the ransom of the English merchandise, which
had been seized according to order. Before I received the letters of M.
Darn and the Prince of Neufchatel