The Twin Lieutenants | Page 9

Austrian bullets are known to captains: witness Turenne and Marshal Berwick."
"You reply by a flattery to a fact, sir; I am not dead, and do not wish my succession to be shared and I living."
"Sire, that idea is far from all my thoughts, and especially from ours."
"So little is it far from your thoughts, on the contrary, my successor is already chosen, designated by you. Why have they not had him consecrated in advance? The moment is a good one--the Pope is about to excommunicate me! Do you believe, sir, that the crown of France fits all heads? They may make of a grand-duke of Saxe a king of Saxe, Monsieur; but they do not make of a grand-duke of Berri a king of France nor an emperor of the French; to be one, he must be of the blood of Saint Louis; to be the other, he must be of mine. It is true that you have a means of hastening the moment when I shall be no more."
"Sire," said Fouche, "I wait for your Majesty to indicate that means to me."
"Eh, morbleau ! it is to leave conspirators unpunished."
"What ! have men conspired against your Majesty and remained unpunished? Sire, name them."
"Oh, that's nothing difficult, and I will name you three."
"Your Majesty means the pretended conspiracy discovered by your Prefect of Police, M. Dubois?"
"Yes, my Prefect of Police, M. Dubois, who is not like you, devoted to the nation, Monsieur Fouche, but who is devoted to me."
Fouche slightly shrugged his shoulders; the movement, imperceptible, as it was, did not escape the emperor.
"Raise your shoulders, not daring to raise your voice !" said Napoleon, frowning. "I never like these strong minds; they make plots."
"Does your Majesty know the men he speaks of?"
"I know two of them, sir, I know General Malet, an incorrigible conspirator."
"Does your Majesty believe that General Malet conspires?"
"I am sure of it,"
"And your Majesty fears a conspiracy headed by a madman?"
"You are doubly wrong; first, I fear nothing; next, General Malet is not a madman."
"He is at least a monomaniac."
"Yes but one whose monomania is terrible, you will allow; for it consists in taking advantage, one day or another, of my absence, also in waiting until I am three hundred, four hundred, six hundred leagues, perhaps, away, to suddenly spread around the rumor of my death, and with that tidings, make an uprising."
"Does your Majesty believe the thing possible?"
"While I have no heir, yes."
"That's why I made so bold as to speak of divorce to her Majesty the Empress."
"Do not let us return to that. You scorn Malet; you have set him at liberty. Do you know one thing, Monsieur, one thing that my Minister of Police knows? It is that Malet is but one of the threads of an invisible conspiracy which even has hold in my army !"
"Ah, yes, the Philadelphians--does your Majesty believe in the magic of Colonel Oudet?"
"I believe in Arena, Monsieur; I believe in Cadoudal--I believe in Moreau. General Malet is one of these dreamers, one of these illuminati, one of these madmen if you will; but one of those dangerous madmen who must have cells and strait jackets; you have put yours at liberty ! As for the second conspirator, M. Servan, is he a madman? rather a regicide !"
"Like me, sire."
"Yes, but a regicide of the class of the Girondists, an old lover of Madame Roland, a man who, as the minister of Louis XVI., betrayed Louis XVI., and who to wipe away his disgrace made the 10th August."
"With the people."
"Monsieur, the people did what they were made to do! See your two faubourgs, the Faubourg Saint Marceau and the Faubourg Saint Antoine so disturbed under Alexandre and Santerre, do they stir today when my hand is over them? I do not know the third fanatic, a M. Florent Guyot, but I know Malet and Servan; would you set those two at defiance ! beside one is a general, the other a colonel; it is a bad example under a military government, for two officers to conspire."
"Sire, an eye shall be kept upon them."
"And now, Monsieur, there remains for me to make a reproach more grave than I have yet addressed you."
Fouche bowed like a man who awaits.
"What have you done with the public mind, sir?"
Fouche understood perfectly; only, to have time to answer he pretended not to have heard aright.
"The public mind?" repeated he; "I must ask what your Majesty means?"
"I mean," resumed Napoleon, whose anger passed all words, "you have allowed minds to wander upon the events of the day, you have permitted them to interpret my last campaign, marked at each step by success, as a campaign overflowing with reverses. Such are the words by which Paris elevates the foreigner ! Do you know from whence