the seventh fructidor
let us leave cadoudal to continue his desperate struggles against the republicans, victor and vanquished by turns, and, with pichegru—the last remaining hope of the bourbons—let us cast an eye upon paris, and pause before the pile erected by marie de medicis, where the citizen-directors still abide in the respective apartments we have mentioned.
[pg 525]
barras had received bonaparte's message, with which augereau was charged.
on the eve of the latter's departure, the young commander-in-chief, choosing the anniversary of the 14th of july, which corresponded to the 26th messidor, had assembled the army for a celebration, and had had addresses drawn up in which the soldiers of the army of italy protested their attachment to the republic and their willingness to die for it if necessary.
on the grand square at milan a pyramid had been erected and surrounded by trophies taken from the enemy, that is to say, the flags and cannon. this pyramid bore the names of all the officers and soldiers who had died during the campaign in italy.
every frenchman in milan was urged to be present at this celebration, and more than twenty thousand men presented arms to the glorious trophies and the pyramid covered with the immortal names of the dead.
while these twenty thousand men formed in square and presented arms to their brothers, who lay stretched upon the battlefields of arcola, castiglione, and rivoli, bonaparte, with uncovered head, said, as he pointed to the pyramid:
"soldiers! to-day is the anniversary of the 14th of july. you see before you, on the pyramid, the names of those soldiers who have died on the field of honor for the cause of liberty. they have set you an example. you belong absolutely to the republic. the happiness of thirty millions of frenchmen is in your hands, and to your hands is also intrusted the glory of that name which has received new lustre from your victories.
"soldiers! i know that you are deeply grieved by the evils which threaten your country; but that country cannot be in real danger. the same men who are responsible for its triumph over allied europe are still there. mountains separate us from france. you would cross them with the speed of an eagle if it were necessary, in order to protect the safety of the constitution, defend liberty and republicanism.
"soldiers! the government watches over the trust which[pg 526] has been confided to it. the royalists, as soon as they appear, will forfeit their lives. have no fear; but swear by the spirits of the heroes who have died beside us for liberty, swear by our flags implacable war against the enemies of the republic and the constitution of the year iii."
then there followed a banquet, and toasts were offered. bonaparte gave the first.
"to the brave stengel, la harpe, and dubois, who died on the field of honor! may their shades watch over us and preserve us from the snares of our enemies!"
masséna proposed a toast to the re-emigration of the emigrés.
augereau, who was to start the next day with full authority from bonaparte, raised his glass and said:
"to the union of all french republicans! to the destruction of the clichy club! let the conspirators tremble! from the adige and the rhine to the seine is but a step. let them tremble! their iniquities are known, and the price is at the end of our bayonets!"
as he uttered the last words, trumpets and drums sounded the charge. each soldier sprang to his gun, as if he were obliged to start on the instant; and the men could scarcely be induced to resume their places at the tables.
the members of the directory received bonaparte's message with widely varying emotions.
augereau exactly suited barras, who, always ready to mount his horse and summon the jacobins and the people of the faubourgs to his assistance, considered him the man for the situation. rewbell and la reveillière, whose characters were cool and evenly balanced, wanted a general who was as cool and as evenly balanced as themselves. as for carnot and barthélemy, it is needless to say that augereau could in no wise accord with their plans.
indeed, augereau, such as we know him, was a dangerous auxiliary. a brave man, an excellent soldier, with an intrepid heart, but a boasting gascon tongue, augereau[pg 527] revealed too clearly the object of his mission. but rewbell and le reveillière succeeded in taking him aside and convincing him that it was necessary to save the republic by an energetic and decisive blow, but without bloodshed. in order to keep him quiet, they gave him command of the seventeenth military division, which included paris.
this was the 16th fructidor.
the relations between the two parties were so strained that a coup d'état was expected at every moment, either on the part of the directors or the councils.
pichegru was the natural chief of the royalist movement; if he were to take the initiative, the royalists would gather round him.
this book which we are writing is far from being a romance—perhaps, indeed, it is not enough of a romance to suit some of our readers; but we have already said that it was written along the shores of history from promontory to promontory. and just as we were the first to throw broad daylight upon the events of the 13th vendémiaire and the part which bonaparte played in it, so shall we, at this period which we have reached, show the over-calumniated pichegru in his true light.
pichegru, after his refusal to listen to the prince de condé—a refusal the causes of which we have already narrated—entered into direct negotiations with the comte de provence, who, since the death of the dauphin, had assumed the title of king louis xviii.
now, when louis xviii. sent cadoudal his commission as king's lieutenant, and the red ribbon, he sent pichegru at the same time (to show his appreciation of his disinterestedness, in that he had refused to accept honors and money, and would not attempt to bring about the restoration save for the glory of being a second monk without the duchy of albemarle) the following letter:
i have long desired to express to you, sir, the feelings which you early awakened in me and the esteem which i[pg 528] have for your person. i yield now to the imperious demands of my heart when i say to you that for the last eighteen months it has seemed to me that the honor of restoring the french monarchy was reserved for you.
i will not speak to you of the admiration which i feel for your talents and for the noble deeds which you have performed. history has already placed you in the ranks of the great generals, and posterity will confirm the verdict of all europe in regard to your victories and your virtues.
the most distinguished leaders have, for the most part, owed their victories to long experience in their professions; but from the first you were what you have never ceased to be throughout all your campaigns. you have united the bravery of marshal saxe to the disinterestedness of monsieur de turenne and the modesty of monsieur de catinat. and i may say that your name is indissolubly associated in my mind with those names which have made our annals great and glorious.
i confirm, sir, the full powers which m. de condé bestowed upon you. i put no limit upon them, and leave you entirely free to do anything you may think necessary for my service which is compatible with the dignity of my crown and in accord with the interests of the kingdom.
you know, sir, what are my sentiments toward you. they will never change.
louis.
a second letter followed the first. the two together furnish an exact measure of louis xviii.'s feelings toward pichegru, and should influence not only his contemporaries but posterity as well.
you are aware, sir, of the unfortunate events which have taken place in italy. the necessity of sending thirty thousand men there has forced an indefinite postponement of the project of crossing the rhine. your attachment to me will enable you readily to understand my chagrin at this unfortunate adverse stroke of fate, especially just as i saw the gates of my kingdom opening before me. on the other hand, these disasters increase, if that were possible, the respect and confidence with which you have inspired me. i am sure that you will re-establish the french monarchy; and whether the war continues, or whether we have peace this summer, i count upon you for the success of the great[pg 529] work. i place in your hands, sir, absolute power to act for me and in my name. make such use of it as you think necessary for my service.
if the valuable sources of information which you have at your command in paris and the provinces; if your talents, and, above all, your character, could permit me to fear an event which might oblige you to leave the kingdom, you would find your place between monsieur de condé and myself. in speaking thus to you, i have a heartfelt desire to prove to you my esteem and attachment.
louis.
therefore, on the one hand, augereau was urging matters to a climax with letters from bonaparte; and, on the other, pichegru was being urged to action with letters from louis xviii.
the news that augereau had been given command of the seventeenth military division—that is to say, that he had been placed at the head of the forces in paris—impressed the royalists with the fact that they had no time to lose. therefore, pichegru, barbé-marbois, dumas, murinais, delarue, rovère, aubry, laffon-ladébat—the whole royalist party, in short, assembled at adjutant-general ramel's house, the latter being commander of the guard of the corps legislatif.
this ramel was a brave soldier, and had been adjutant-general of the army of the rhine under the orders of general desaix, when, in january, 1797, he had received orders from the directory to return to paris and take command of the guard of the corps legislatif. this corps was composed of a battalion of six hundred men, most of whom had been selected from the grenadiers of the convention, whom we saw marching so bravely to the charge, under the command of bonaparte, on the 13th vendémiaire.
at this meeting pichegru clearly explained the situation. ramel sided entirely with the two councils, and was ready to obey any orders which the two presidents might give him. pichegru proposed that they should take command that very evening of two hundred men and arrest barras, rewbell, and la reveillière, and make charges[pg 530] against them the next day. unfortunately, they had agreed to abide by the decision of the majority. the temporizers opposed pichegru's motion.
"the constitution will be all-sufficient to defend us," said lacuée.
"the constitution can do nothing against cannon; and they will reply to your decrees with cannon," replied villot.
"the soldiers will not be with them," persisted lacuée.
"the soldiers will follow those who command them," said pichegru. "you will not decide, and you will be lost. as for me," he continued, sadly, "i sacrificed my life long ago. i am tired of all these discussions which come to naught. when you need me you can come for me."
and with these words he went away. at the very moment when pichegru left ramel's house, sad and depressed, a post-chaise drew up before the luxembourg, and citizen-general moreau was announced to barras.
