M. Capefigue

There is no county in Europe whose national character is so ancient, so thoroughly peculiar, as the Island of Corsica. Imagine a vast landscape of Salvator Rosa's, with all the features which he alone was capable of depicting, and whose type he has sought in Calabria and the Abruzzi; add to this a people whose disposition is hardy and obstinate; whose affections, love, hatred, or jealousy, are perpetuated from one generation to another; whose proud and patriotic attachment to their native soil forms part of their earliest existence, and terminates only with their life; also cities cheerful as those of Tuscany, and wild, uncultivated, mountainous districts; you will still have but a feeble representation of Corsica, that picturesque and fertile island of the Mediterranean.

The population is divided into two distinct races; the one comprehending the old aboriginal families, the other composed of foreign colonists, the greater part descended from refugees who were compelled to fly from revolutions in PiÉmont, Genoa, and Tuscany, and were successively deposited in the island, like the layers of lava around a volcano. To the first of these races belong the Paolis and the Pozzo di Borgos; to the second, the Buonapartes and the Salicettis. According to the usual custom among primitive nations, each family forms a clan, and each village a community; sentiments are inherited like the patrimony of the family—it is like ancient Rome suckled by a wolf in the time of the companions of Romulus.

The family of the Pozzo di Borgos, as I have already stated, belongs to the aboriginal races; its antiquity may be ascertained by consulting the book of the statutes of Corsica, and also the history of the feudal war between the Castellans of Montechi and the city of Ajaccio, of which they even disputed the sovereignty. One of the family is mentioned in the charters as orator of the people, and at the time the island was under the dominion of Genoa, the illustrious Pozzo di Borgo is described as attorney-general for the provinces of Ajaccio and Sartene; his name, like that of the Paolis, was Pascal. His opponents, even at that period, were from the family of the Bacciochi, then merely merchants of Ajaccio; and his notary was Jerome Buonaparte, who certifies the mission of Captain Secondos Pozzo di Borgo, deputy to the republic of Genoa.[16] There is some pleasure in relating these circumstances, because the life of Count Pozzo di Borgo, during its whole course, appeared to be connected with ancient times. Nothing is forgotten on that burning soil, and we shall again meet with the Paolis, the Buonapartes, the Pozzos, the Bacciochis, and the Salicettis, engaged in the most important conflicts on the theatre of the great world, as they had formerly been in the little town of Ajaccio.

In disturbed times European diplomacy employs two powerful engines of political research; in the first place, accredited ambassadors, who examine and decide upon affairs in a regular and almost a classical manner; and secondly, active agents, the greater part of whom are military men employed to travel about in Europe, for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the strength and the resources of each power. During the time of the French Republic and the Empire of Napoleon, England and Russia considerably augmented the number of their military diplomatists, and this may be said to have been the first employment of Charles Andrew Pozzo di Borgo, before the Russian cabinets had decided upon pursuing a regular and comprehensive system. The people of the south of Europe are especially gifted with a quick, subtle, and acute understanding, and the Corsicans add to these qualities an obstinate adherence to their purpose, and a rugged sentiment of their own rights, which formed such prominent features in the character of Buonaparte. Metternich is fond of repeating, "It was not the armies of Napoleon that occasioned us the most uneasiness; it was his inventive spirit, his acute subtleties, in short, his diabolical intellect, by which we Germans were hemmed in and entangled on every side." Count Pozzo di Borgo possessed the same species of sharp and sagacious activity; in that country there was a sort of general type common to all, like the bronzed complexion and the sparkling, searching eyes.

A few leagues from Ajaccio lies a small village, which bears the name of Pozzo di Borgo (well of the city); tradition says, however, that the family of that name inhabited the little fort of Montechi among the mountains: the Pozzis, the Poggis, and the Pazzis, were all families of the middle ages. As it was in Germany with the Castellans of the Seven Mountains, so also in Corsica the nobles reckoned their pedigree from some of the highest peaks in the island, under the shelter of rocks and wild fig-trees, where so many black crosses, symbols of Vendetta, are still to be seen. When Corsica was annexed to France, the noble descent of the Pozzos was substantiated by a supreme council of the island. The subject of this memoir was born the same year as Napoleon, if we rectify a little the date assigned by chronologists to the latter event. He first saw the light on the 8th of March, 1768, and had, therefore, attained his majority at the time of the revolution, when the popular agitation produced a most startling and arousing effect upon Corsica; and as if awaking from slumber two parties started up—a national party, and one devoted to the French interests. Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo indulged in dreams of the independence of their country, but without the intervention of foreign aid. The Buonapartes, who had for a short time ranged themselves under the banner of Paoli, afterwards joined the Arenas and the Salicettis, partisans of the French and Jacobin school. Before these divisions had assumed a very decided complexion, they contented themselves with giving an enthusiastic welcome to the revolution; intoxication prevailed every where, and at the age of twenty-two years Pozzo di Borgo, secretary to the corps of the nobility, was despatched as deputy-extraordinary to the National Assembly.

This primary office afterwards led to his appointment to the definitive deputation; and as the friend of Paoli, a circumstance which at that time conferred the greatest popularity, young Pozzo took his seat in that insane convocation, which, under the name of the Legislative Assembly, and in the midst of tumults and massacres, soon made an end of the French monarchy. He was appointed one of the diplomatic committee, at the time their proceedings were conducted in so singular a manner by Brissot, under whose management despatches to foreign powers consisted of speeches borrowed from the tragedy of "Brutus," and directed against Austria and Prussia. Such language ought to have been backed by victories, but the Legislative Assembly had not as yet the internal strength of which, at a later period, the convocation became possessed, through the energy of its committee of public safety. The Legislative Assembly threw every thing into disorder: at war with the ministers of the king, governed by the idea of a republic, yet without daring openly to proclaim it, they permitted the horrors of the 10th of August, and the 7th of September, to take place before their eyes. This wretched meeting possessed neither the brilliancy of the Constituent Assembly nor the terrible authority of the Convention, but always represented a state of transition, which is invariably one of mediocrity, because men dare not undertake any thing, nor, indeed, are they capable of doing so.

Pozzo very rarely appeared in the tribune, but whenever he had occasion so to do, for the purpose of expressing the opinions of the committee, he had recourse to the favourite phraseology of the period, for which less blame is due to the orators than to the general bent of the public mind: it was the pleasure of society to be governed after that fashion. I have preserved some fragments of a speech made by him on the 16th July, 1792, with the object of inducing the assembly to declare war against Germany. It is well known that two different parties were at that time equally desirous of commencing hostilities in Europe—the court party, who, being desirous of placing Louis at the head of an overpowering public force, considered war as the most probable means of attaining a military dictatorship; while, on the other hand, the republican faction, headed by the Girondists, entertained hopes that the democratic principle would be more easily rendered triumphant in the midst of tumults and excesses. Pozzo di Borgo was the willing representative of the Girondist party at the tribune. "The German confederation," said he, "whose independence is naturally protected by France, the only power capable of preserving it from the insatiable ambition of Austria, has beheld with joy the formation of that formidable league intended to overturn your constitution: their territory is already overrun by the enemy's troops, the northern league seeks to reduce the whole of Europe into a state of servitude, and exhibits every where a menacing appearance, supported by a strong force of mercenaries covered with iron and greedy of gold, to whom all usurpations will become easy. To the French nation belongs the task of preserving the world from this terrible scourge, and of repairing the mischiefs occasioned by the shameful carelessness, or the perfidious malignity of those, who view with indifference the utter destruction of all kinds of liberty. The French nation, by combating all the common enemies of mankind, will have the glory of restoring the political harmony which will preserve Europe from general slavery. We have contracted a vast debt towards the whole world, it is the establishment and the practice of the rights of man upon the earth; and Liberty, fertile in virtues and talents, affords us abundant means of discharging it in full. Our enemies' hopes, no doubt, have been raised by the transient dissensions that disturb our unanimity; they augur from thence the disorganisation of our government, but we will not accomplish their guilty desires. We are well aware that in the present state of affairs a change in our political institutions would necessarily occasion an interregnum in the laws, a suspension of authority, licentiousness, mischief in all parts of the kingdom, and the inevitable loss of our liberty. Our vigilance will preserve without destroying; it will place the traitors in a state in which they will be incapable of injuring us; and by the stability of our government we will deprive the ambitious of all the opportunities they hope for, in the incessant changes and revolutions incident to empires. By thus uniting energy and wisdom, we may attain to perfect and glorious success."

It may be observed that in the midst of these expressions, set forth in the phraseology then in fashion, the stability of the government and the necessity for preserving order were spoken of by M. Pozzo di Borgo, both of which principles were afterwards displayed in the highest degree in his mind.

The mission of the Legislative Assembly being concluded, the deputy returned to Corsica, and was associated with General Paoli for the direction of the administration of the island. The shocks sustained by the people had added fresh energy to their patriotic character, a public spirit was aroused, a proud independence in accordance with the national feelings of the ancient Corsica. Does not every people long for liberty? The Girondists had dreamed of federalism for France; and Paoli, in his turn, took a pride in forming a republic which should be perfectly independent and detached from the surrounding sovereignties. Paoli was a man of powerful understanding, completely the child of nature, and already old in years, though young in energy. He delighted in the idea of a Corsican republic, as being in some measure a return towards primitive habits; and this motive was strengthened by the horror inspired by the revolutionary events that were taking place in France. So ardent an enthusiasm never was known as that with which he inspired the Corsican families dwelling among the most rugged peaks of that mountainous country, and whose sole passion appeared to be a vehement love of liberty, acquired by the most laborious efforts.

The families of the Arenas and Buonapartes, who were inhabitants of the plains and the cities, had sided warmly with the French party; they were connected with the clubs; and Salicetti was their organ at the National Convention, to denounce Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo as propagators of a system tending to separate Corsica from France; and as that island had been declared an integral part of the French Republic, they were both summoned to the bar of the nation to offer a justification of their conduct. In this lay one of the first germs of the deeply rooted hatred entertained by Salicetti, Arena, and Buonaparte, against Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo; from thence arose the enmity which, in their inflamed minds, overstepped the limits of the island of Corsica, and contributed, more than people suspected, to the marvellous events of the Revolution and the Empire.

When Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo received this terrible summons, they were together at Corte, the capital of the mountainous district. It was not unexpected, and they were both well aware of the consequences of a refusal to obey the commands of the Convention, for the conduct of this inexorable tribunal was that of a victor with whom lenity and forgiveness are unknown. What was to be done? To obey would be to submit at once to the yoke of the territorial unity, which sought to reduce all the various nations comprehended within it to one level. Resistance would, perhaps, be a still more dangerous course, for the French Republic had an army which they would be utterly incapable of withstanding, and it was also supported by a considerable party in Corsica. A few regiments occupied the city of Ajaccio, and a battalion formed the garrison of the fort of Corte and several posts on the sea-coast. Signals announced the arrival of a squadron bearing the tricoloured flag. Under these circumstances, the commissioners of the departments declared themselves a permanent assembly in a meeting of the people of Corte, and the tumultuous comitia of the national party unanimously invited their chief, Paoli, and Pozzo di Borgo, to continue their administration. Finally, they declared that it was beneath the dignity of the people of Corsica to trouble themselves with the two families of Arena and Buonaparte, and that they should be abandoned to their remorse and to infamy for having deserted the public cause. I here copy the expressions of the national consulta.[17]

The popular energy, which sways in all instances the first movements in favour of liberty, was here very evident. What steps did they propose taking to maintain themselves in this improvisÉ independence, as well as to uphold the decrees published by the assembly of Corsica? In the meanwhile fearful intelligence arrived among the mountains: Toulon, hitherto in the occupation of the English, had just fallen into the hands of the French Republic, whose orders Corsica had treated with contempt; and, to crown the whole, a young officer of twenty-six years of age, even the Buonaparte devoted to infamy and remorse by the Corsican council, had taken part in that memorable enterprise, and had been the principal cause of its success. The port of Toulon being now in the hands of the Republic, in thirty-six hours a squadron might arrive, and threaten with entire destruction the companions of Paoli.

Just at this difficult juncture the English Mediterranean fleet appeared off Ajaccio, bringing news from Toulon and tidings of the warlike preparations going on there; the admiral also offered his protection to Corsica, agreeing to recognise her independence, under the sovereignty of the king of Great Britain. Paoli went on board the squadron to treat with the admiral regarding his country, and a general assembly was convoked to meet on the 10th of June, 1794, for the purpose of determining upon the form of constitution to be established. Their plan tallied nearly with the ideas of the English Magna Charta, proposing the establishment of a parliament which should consist of two chambers, a council of state, and a viceroy supported by responsible ministers. Paoli proposed Pozzo di Borgo as president of the council. When the latter was presented to Admiral Elliott he gazed upon his swarthy complexion, his sparkling eyes, and meagre and active figure, and asked Paoli whether that was the person he proposed placing at the head of the government. "I can answer for him," said Paoli; "he is a young man as well fitted for the government of a nation as he is capable of leading his countrymen unflinchingly on the field of battle. You may place implicit confidence in him." Upon this testimony the admiral confirmed his choice.

The state-council being the executive portion of the Corsican government, the duty devolved upon Pozzo di Borgo of remodelling the institutions of his country, which was henceforward to be free. I have seen the complete code of this administration: it is a summary of the public rights of the nation, a collection of primitive laws, one of those codes which regulates the most trifling circumstances affecting the interests of the people; among us it is a great historical curiosity, for we are too far advanced in civilisation to be capable of forming an idea of the first requirements of a people of such primitive habits.

The national government in Corsica lasted, however, barely two years; the protection afforded by England was at too great a distance, and a few regiments despatched from Gibraltar did not possess sufficient influence to restrain the population of the cities devoted to France, which was at that time every where victorious, and, by its proximity, constantly held a sword suspended over the government of Paoli and Pozzo di Borgo. The latter embarked on board the English fleet when it became evident the crisis could no longer be averted, and that the standard of the French Republic was about to be planted at Ajaccio. This squadron quitted the shores of Corsica, bearing with it all the sad remains of the ruined government; it touched at the island of Elba, sailed towards Naples, and from thence again to Elba—rather a curious circumstance, which long held a place in the recollection of Pozzo di Borgo, and which may possibly have in some degree influenced the resolution of the Allies, in 1814, to confer upon Napoleon the sovereignty of Porto Ferrajo. The Corsican president completed his voyage to England in the Minerva, which formed part of the squadron of Nelson, who lost an eye in Corsica, and was afterwards so celebrated; but he was then only in the dawn of his fame, and had not attained to the renown which crowned his name at Aboukir and Trafalgar.

Pozzo di Borgo remained eighteen months in London, where he received great attention from the English ministry, who considered him to have displayed great method and ability during his short administration. Having become intimate with some old French families, he then began his career of diplomacy and secret negotiations; which, at a late period, led him into a more extended sphere of action. He was at Vienna in 1798, at the time of the campaign of Suwarof, when foreign courts were agitated by so many various projects. Tremendous shocks had been experienced in France. On emerging from the reign of terror, and the formidable system of unity proclaimed by the Convention, a strong and deeply rooted reaction towards the restoration of the royal family had taken place; the royalist colours were worn in good society, and the most extreme detestation was felt for the revolution, because it had not as yet given birth to any regular system of government. At this time Buonaparte was in Egypt, with the greater part of the brave legions who had conquered Italy and the Rhine; all our foreign conquests were lost to us; on the Alps we were hardly able to retain a few posts, and they were closely pressed; and, as a climax, Suwarof appeared with victory in his train—Suwarof, the hero and saint of the Russian army—Suwarof, around whom rallied all the hopes of the coalition! Pozzo di Borgo was engaged in all the diplomatic arrangements that accompanied the military proceedings.

The antipathy that existed between the Austrians and Russians, far more than the battle of Zurich, put a stop to the progress of the coalition, and Pozzo di Borgo remained some time at Vienna, receiving a pension there as a French emigrant of noble birth. It was at the time when one of that family of Buonapartes, proscribed by the Assembly of Corsica, was elevated to the Consulate, and being now in the position of a powerful dictator, he had established an efficient government in France, and was engaged in repairing the wrecks of the administration by means of his steady energy. The power of the laws once more became manifest; the executive administration was lodged in the hands of a few, and was active and advantageous to the people; and, by a singular chance, which the caprices of fortune can alone explain, the old friends of the Buonapartes, the Arenas of Ajaccio, were proscribed by the young Corsican, and delivered over to military law, or driven into exile. Other destinies, besides those of a city, or a population of about 100,000 souls, claimed the attention of Napoleon Buonaparte, now completely detached from his native country; but, in spite of all these commotions, his thoughts more than once turned upon his old personal enemy, Pozzo di Borgo, then on his journey from London to Vienna, and who must have shed some tears of vexation when he saw the power of the young consul extend so far as to prescribe to Europe the peace of Amiens. The shade of Paoli arose to protest against this immense advancement of the Buonapartes.[18]

When war again resounded on the earth, Pozzo di Borgo entered the service of Russia, and devoted himself to the diplomatic line. The firmness of character, the quick apprehension of facts, and the knowledge of mankind which he evinced, together with an extreme delicacy of judgment, were certain pledges of his success in the conduct of business between one government and another. He received the title of Conseiller d'Etat at St. Petersburg, and was soon despatched to the court of Vienna, charged with a secret mission. The prince whose service he had entered was that Alexander whose generous and mystical mind was sadly employed in veiling, by the uprightness of his conduct, and the exalted tenor of his life, a mournful recollection which weighed upon his heart and his conscience. The revolution of the palace, that had placed Alexander on the throne, had been directed by England; and consequently must have been inclined to favour the coalition against Buonaparte, who was about to place the imperial crown upon his heroic brow; and Pozzo di Borgo was one of the diplomatic agents charged with special and secret missions to the allied courts, once more united against France.

We now find him at Vienna; but he only remained there a few months, for the Czar was desirous of acting with great vigour, and therefore despatched him, as Russian commissioner, to the Anglo-Russian and Neapolitan army, which was about to commence operations in the south of Europe under the influence of the noble Queen Caroline, so grossly slandered in the pamphlets issued by Napoleon. This army had hardly assembled at Naples, when the artillery of Austerlitz and the shouts of victory filled the air; and, as an immediate consequence, the peace of Presburg was signed. As this treaty separated Austria from the coalition, it occasioned the dissolution of the army of Naples; and Pozzo di Borgo returned to Vienna, and from thence to St. Petersburg, where great military events were in preparation.

During the campaign crowned by the battle of Austerlitz, when Napoleon had advanced so boldly into the interior of Moravia, Prussia had hesitated whether she should join the coalition. It was impossible to deny her public conduct in that respect, and Napoleon had borne it in mind; this indecision, however, ceased after the battle of Austerlitz, and a twelvemonth afterwards the united force of the Russians and Prussians was drawn up together.

Pozzo di Borgo was called upon to accompany the emperor in this campaign, and the Czar offered him rank in the army; such being the custom of Russia, where there is no advancement except by means of military rank: he therefore received the title of Colonel in the suite of the emperor, a post which attached him to the person of the sovereign. Being, for the fourth time, despatched to Vienna, after the battle of Jena, he strove to arouse Austria from the torpor into which the peace of Presburg had plunged her, but in vain; for the Austrian cabinet was then desirous of peace at any price. Colonel Pozzo received a commission to proceed to the Dardanelles, to treat for peace with the Turks, in conjunction with the English envoy; he was received on board the Russian fleet, under the orders of Admiral Siniavim, stationed at the entrance of the Dardanelles, and off the island of Tenedos; he was present in the admiral's ship at the battle of Mount Athos, between the Russian fleet and that of the sultan, and there received his first military decoration.

Napoleon was now approaching the apogÉe of his glory: the French and Russian armies had bravely measured their strength, and the French emperor had so greatly risen in Alexander's estimation that, at the peace of Tilsit, Napoleon was saluted with the title of Brother, at the very time the old Russian aristocracy were accusing their sovereign of abandoning the cause of his country. In the interchange of projects which took place at Tilsit—in those friendly meetings, when the waters of the Niemen flowed beneath the two emperors, locked in each other's arms, was it possible Colonel Pozzo should not be aware that his services would henceforth be an embarrassment to Russia? Upon his arrival at St. Petersburg he held a conversation with the emperor, full of confidence and unreserve on both sides, when each party took a candid survey of his position. The Emperor Alexander declared to Colonel Pozzo that there was no reason he should leave his service, and that the ties of friendship he had contracted with Napoleon did not oblige him to make such a sacrifice. The colonel replied that he could no longer be useful to his sovereign; on the contrary, he should be a source of embarrassment to him, for Buonaparte had not forgotten the feud of his early days: sooner or later he would demand the banishment of his old enemy, the Czar would be too generous to agree to this, and his refusal would raise difficulties for his government. "Besides," said he, "the alliance between your majesty and Napoleon will not be of long duration; I am well acquainted with the deceitful character and insatiable ambition of Buonaparte. At this moment one of your majesty's hands is held by Persia, the other by Turkey, and Buonaparte presses upon your chest; get your hands free in the first instance, and then you will cast off the weight that now troubles you. Some years hence we shall meet again."

Count Pozzo requested permission to travel; and he was again at Vienna in 1808, when Austria, with her patient resignation, was preparing fresh armaments against Napoleon, and declaring the rupture that had taken place with him. I am not aware if history records a longer or more honourable struggle than that of Austria against the Revolution and the Empire. She submitted to every sacrifice, then prepared for battle; vanquished, she had recourse to negotiation; then again tried the fortune of war, until victory finally decided against her, and she was crushed under the weight of the French eagles. Patient and laborious German nation, never didst thou despair of thy cause!

Pozzo di Borgo remained at Vienna during the whole campaign of 1809, and when peace was again imposed, Buonaparte did not forget him. He had taken an active part in all the diplomatic proceedings of Austria and Russia, and Napoleon was a person who always retained the remembrance of his enemies; accordingly, after the peace of Vienna, his first step was to demand the banishment of Colonel Pozzo di Borgo from the Austrian dominions. Alexander, warmly attached to Napoleon, had the weakness to consent, and this gave occasion to the fine and energetic letter, in which Colonel Pozzo already prophesied the invasion of Russia, and said to the Czar, "Sire, it will not be long before your majesty again summons me to your presence." In order to escape the fate which awaited him if his enemy of Ajaccio should succeed in seizing his person, he took the precaution of retiring to Constantinople, the only spot which still afforded him the power of quitting continental Europe and seeking refuge in England.

He was now a proscribed man, travelling in Syria, visiting Smyrna and Malta, and from Malta proceeding to London, where he arrived in October 1810. He was already an agent of some importance, on account of the missions upon which he had been employed; and the limited intercourse between England and the Continent made her set a value upon the information to be obtained from a man of political talent and experience, who had just arrived from the principal capitals of Europe. In several conferences with Lord Castlereagh, Colonel Pozzo explained to him the hopes he still entertained of a continental rising against the colossal empire of France: in the midst of all his great qualities, Napoleon had still some vulnerable points, and nobody was better aware of them than Pozzo di Borgo, because he had studied them through the medium of his resentment. Who could be so well acquainted as he with that Buonaparte, whom he had had such opportunities of observing in the closest manner, with his infirmities, his fits of anger, his weaknesses, and his ambition?

At last the terrible war of 1812 broke out, and the French armies passed the Niemen. Russia was invaded; the battles of Moscowa and the Mojaisk drove back the armies of Alexander towards the sacred city of Moscow, and the ancient capital was reduced to ashes. During the whole of this campaign Pozzo di Borgo remained in London, and his influence was of service in promoting the union between Alexander and the English cabinet; he did not join the army of the Czar, because a revolution had taken place in the ideas of the cabinet of St. Petersburg. The fact was, that when Alexander found his finest provinces invaded, and the murderous war which was desolating his territory, he summoned to his assistance the old Russian spirit and the ancient traditions of the country; the banner of St. Nicholas was unfurled, the churches resounded with prayers and calls to arms against the invader, and the Czar placed himself at the head of the army: but this popular appeal had precisely the effect of rousing the national spirit against foreigners. Ever since the time of Peter the Great, the ideas of civilisation had favoured in Russia the influence of the Italians, the Germans, and the French, who filled many important military situations, and were raised to the first dignities of the state; and the old Russian families naturally entertained a jealous feeling regarding this influence. This colony of courtiers offended their pride, and interfered with their interests; therefore, when Alexander had occasion to invoke the shades of his country at the foot of the Kremlin, and to rouse the devotion of the Muscovite nobility, who lived among their serfs in the central provinces, he was obliged to sacrifice the strangers to their prejudices. Pozzo di Borgo was not recalled till the close of the campaign, when the impulse had ceased to be entirely Russian, but had become more eccentric and inclined towards Poland and Prussia, and he returned through Sweden just at the time when Bernadotte was becoming more nearly connected with England, and, without however openly committing himself, had begun to lend a favourable ear to the overtures of the court of London. The Russian councillor was commissioned to encourage the inclination of Bernadotte, and to strive to forward a decision which would afford his sovereign a new opportunity of taking vengeance for the invasion of his country by the Emperor of the French. This was the first beginning of his intimacy with the Crown Prince of Sweden.

The Emperor Alexander received Pozzo di Borgo at Kalisch, after a separation of five years. They had parted immediately after the interview of Tilsit, which had so greatly reconciled the Czar to the politics of Napoleon. Now, how different was the situation of affairs! Alexander had seen his empire invaded by his ancient ally, his cities in flames; and, according to the excited ideas of Alexander, it was the sainted spirits of the ancient Russians who had raised the stormy tempests, and engulfed the immense army of Napoleon in the icy floods of the Beresina. The language of Alexander to Pozzo di Borgo reminded him of his sagacious prophecies, and the colonel made great efforts to win him back to simple and positive plans against the power of Napoleon; for having been one of the patriots of 1789, Colonel Pozzo perfectly understood the importance of the conspiracy of Mallet, and of the discontent that was beginning to pervade France. He was opposed to all species of compromise, and his view of the case was to strive to effect a separation between the interests of France and her leader. Whilst Alexander, still prepossessed with the idea of the stupendous power of Napoleon, hesitated to plunge into the perils of a distant campaign, Pozzo di Borgo advised him to induce Prussia to take advantage of the secret societies, which proudly raised their heads at the cry of Germania or Teutonia, and to assemble all Buonaparte's rivals in glory under their banners, so as to occasion confusion and disorder in his preparations for war.

A threefold negotiation was now opened; the first with Moreau, whom they were desirous of drawing into France, to rouse the Republican party by the influence of his name; the second with EugÈne and Murat, between whom they wanted to divide the kingdom of Italy; the third and last with Bernadotte, who was to join with the Swedish troops and effect a division in the French army. Pozzo di Borgo was charged with this last mission, furnished with full powers from the Emperor Alexander, while the Russians were advancing into Saxony. Without clearly explaining the views of the alliance with regard to France, or on the distinctive and positive results of the war, he was directed to suggest, in his conversations with the crown prince, all the possible events which might encourage the emulation of the old companions of the Emperor Napoleon; and he engaged, in the name of the Czar, to acknowledge Bernadotte as Crown Prince, and eventually, according to the order of succession, as King of Sweden: in the same manner he had promised to Moreau the presidency of a republic, if it should arise from the order of affairs, or from a popular anti-Buonapartist movement in Paris. One ought to have heard the ambassador himself recount all the trouble and anxiety he experienced during this negociation; the vacillations of the Crown Prince, his ill-humours and discontent. Still he hesitated. At last, when the Swedish army was embarking at Karlscrona and landing at Stralsund, the artillery of Lutzen and Bautzen were heard in thunders through the whole of Germany. These brilliant victories had astonished the Crown Prince, and the Russian army was in full retreat through Upper Silesia. Still, though his troops were already assembled, he did not dare to come to a final decision; he could not forget the star of his former master, the remembrance of his victorious eagles, the irresistible influence of his glory; the Swedes, therefore, halted at Stralsund, and awaited the course of events. Bernadotte was a powerful ally; not only did he bring into the field 20,000 brave Swedes, but also his name, like that of Moreau, might be the means of sowing dissension and uneasiness in the French army, if the invasion were to take place; when, therefore, in the interval afforded by the armistice of Neumark, Colonel Pozzo observed the hesitation he still exhibited, he hastened to Stralsund, by the desire of Alexander, to endeavour to persuade him to march at once. He had, however, the greatest difficulty in inducing him to join the military congress of Trachenburg, where the plans were laid for the campaign against Napoleon, and it was necessary he should exhibit, at the same time, firmness with Bernadotte and forbearance towards Sir Charles Stewart, afterwards Lord Londonderry, a young and rather presumptuous officer, who was commissioner from England, and was always ready to give offence to an old soldier like Bernadotte. His efforts were crowned with success; the Crown Prince had already had an interview with Moreau, and Pozzo di Borgo afterwards held a confidential conversation with both those personal enemies of Napoleon, in which they reciprocally exchanged their hopes, their present hatred, and old resentments, Pozzo against the adversary of Paoli, Moreau against the Consul, and Bernadotte against the Emperor. The plan adopted by the allied powers at the military congress of Trachenburg was very simple. Colonel Pozzo di Borgo maintained that they ought to march at once upon Paris, the central point of Napoleon's strength or weakness, where the question would speedily be settled; and this was the opinion entertained by all those military men who mingled any political ideas of the decline of Buonaparte's power and of his personal character with the question of war. Besides, in the opinion of the Russian envoy, Buonaparte and France were not synonymous terms; and it was to save France and her liberty that he so closely pursued the Emperor.

At this time the congress of Prague was assembled, which was in reality nothing more than an armistice required by all the forces. Metternich had assumed for Austria a position of armed mediation, being the commencement of a new political system, a wary and provident plan, which, in her state of relative weakness and isolation, gave her a predominant influence over cabinets far more powerful than her own. All the negotiations of this congress tended to one point only; the endeavour to detach Austria from this mediatorial system, and to induce her to decide in favour of one side or the other,—either for the coalition, or for France. In the army of Napoleon, as well as among the allies, a strong desire for peace existed, with this difference, that the victorious soldiers of the Emperor were thoroughly weary of war; for them the illusions of conquest had no longer any charms, and their generals, in the midst of the wonderful success that had crowned their arms, regretted the life of luxury and enjoyment they had been accustomed to lead in Paris. The sons of Germany, ardent in their desire for liberty, flocked to the ranks of the allied armies, under the command of old Blucher, whose mind was also full of enthusiasm for the German unity; while the general officers of the French army indulged in dreams of their hotels, in the ChaussÉe d'Antin, or the Rue de Bourbon, or their delightful retreats at Malmaison and Grosbois, while their brothers-in-arms were falling under the enemy's fire,—that fire which no longer respected the marshals. An unanimous cry of bitter accusation was heard among the staff, "That man will make an end of us all!" Exaggerated accounts of disaffection were brought to the Emperor. At one time some thousands of conscripts were said to have mutilated their fingers, in order that they might be sent back to their homes; at another they reported the desertion of the brave fellows who had cried "Vive l'Empereur!" under the grape-shot of Lutzen and Bautzen. The allies were well aware of this decline of military ardour in the French camp, and they knew a feeling of weakness and a disposition to discord were connected with it. The proposals for peace at Prague never were sincere on the part of Russia and Prussia, and the Emperor was thoroughly deceived in imagining them to be so.

The main object was to prevail upon Austria to declare herself openly; and here Napoleon was guilty of many faults. In the situation assumed by the cabinet of Vienna, a good deal was naturally exacted, and with perfect justice, for upon them depended the strength, and we may almost say the success, of the coalition. In offering herself as a mediator, Austria was desirous of regaining the position she had lost during the struggle with Napoleon, and the law was now in her own hands, for she could throw the weight of 300,000 men into either scale. Napoleon committed the great oversight of not acceding to the offers of the cabinet of Vienna: he went farther still; he deeply offended the minister who directed the fates of that cabinet—Prince Metternich, a man of extraordinary ability and consideration, and whose inclinations had previously tended towards France. I have elsewhere related the stormy and imprudent scene which broke up the conference between Buonaparte and the Austrian minister.[19]

The allied sovereigns awaited the decision of the cabinet of Vienna with indescribable anxiety. It was eleven o'clock at night, and they were all assembled in a barn; the ministers, Count Nesselrode, Pozzo di Borgo, and Hardenburg, in the lower apartment; the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia on the first floor: the rain descended in torrents, and it was one of those stormy nights which add even to the horrors of war, when all at once a courier arrived, bearing a letter for Count Nesselrode, which contained merely these words,—"Austria has decided, and four armies will be at the disposal of the Alliance." Imagination may picture the shouts of joy, the transports of the coalition, on thus receiving the support of 300,000 men, who were to join the rest of the army by the mountains of Bohemia. The chances of war were now clearly against Napoleon; and General Pozzo di Borgo, for he had lately been raised to the rank of major-general, was again despatched, in the character of commissioner, from the Emperor Alexander to the Crown Prince of Sweden, who at this time covered Berlin at the head of an army, composed of 40,000 Prussians, 30,000 Russians, and 20,000 Swedes.

The most glorious events recorded in the military history of France have nothing that can bear a comparison with the admirable defence of Dresden by Napoleon, when all the armies of the coalition went successively to try their strength under its walls. They were repulsed with considerable loss, and Moreau was mortally wounded on the field of battle; but this admirable manoeuvre of concentration was followed by a very great fault—the division of the main body of his army, one portion being intrusted to General Vandamme, the other to some marshals upon whose deeds the star of Napoleon's fortune did not shine. At Gross Beeren, Bernadotte broke the brilliant line of the French, at the same time that the corps of Vandamme was cut to pieces or taken prisoner by the coalesced enemy, and the Emperor was obliged to retreat beyond the Elbe. I cast a veil over the mournful catastrophe of Leipsic, where so many faults were committed, and so much want of foresight exhibited, both on the part of Napoleon, and also of those who were charged with the execution of his orders; the sad disorder, the horrible confusion that prevailed, when the soldiers were decimated at once by sickness in the hospital, the steel of the enemy, and the hordes of peasants raised by Blucher along his path, and which swallowed up the French army, already perishing with hunger, without guns, and barefooted, in the midst of the cold rains of October.

The coalition was now victorious; its advanced guard had reached the banks of the Rhine. Still they could not refrain from a degree of secret terror as they approached the French territory, which was still pervaded by the presiding genius of Napoleon. The army of Bernadotte was separated from the allies to march against Holstein, invade Denmark, and prepare a rising in Holland; and General Pozzo di Borgo quitted him to proceed on a mission to Frankfort, to concert military operations with the allies. They had there a better opportunity of judging of the state of public feeling in France, and were able to study the progress that had been made by the different opinions and parties against the imperial government. The Emperor's administration had surpassed itself; the Senate had voted troops upon troops, the levies proceeded with extraordinary energy, and they sought by every means, pamphlets, songs, operas—in short, nothing was neglected to re-awaken the cry of national independence in the breasts of the French nation. But though from the powerful organisation of the empire every thing appeared clear on the surface, its stability went no deeper; there was an under-current of murmurs, complete dissatisfaction, and weariness of mind; commerce was annihilated, leaving the unemployed workmen no resource but a musket, and no choice but of seeking bread or death with the army. Secret agitations began to be whispered about every where; the legislative body had separated itself from Napoleon by a protest, executed under the influence of discontent, and of MM. LainÉ and Reynouard, and it had in consequence been dissolved; the council of the regency of Maria Louisa was composed of timid, hesitating men; some, like Talleyrand, ready to abandon a falling cause; the people called for a termination of this state of affairs, and gloomy, foreboding clouds hung on the brow of Napoleon.

Existing circumstances certainly offered a favourable opportunity for invading the imperial territory; but were the allies well agreed upon the end they proposed to themselves? Were they all actuated by the same interests? Although Austria had made an effort to shake off the enormous power of Napoleon, would she be willing to ruin the son-in-law of her own emperor, Francis II., especially when the advantages resulting from it would fall principally to the share of Russia and Prussia, whose power had been already excessively augmented by the late events? Having regained the territories of which Napoleon had formerly deprived her, why should she join in the invasion of France, and aim a last blow at a nation so necessary to the balance of power in Europe? Even England, though the determined enemy of Buonaparte, could not fail to entertain some degree of uneasiness in observing the immense increase of the Russian influence, and the ministers were assailed with incessant questions as to the object and probable termination of the war. All these circumstances caused a dread that the coalition was ready to fall to pieces at the very moment its great object had been attained. This state of affairs soon became evident to the diplomatic chiefs assembled at the conference of Frankfort, and Pozzo di Borgo was despatched by the three sovereigns on a mission to the Prince Regent to request the presence of Lord Castlereagh, the English prime minister, at head-quarters, in order to strengthen the bands of the coalition and determine its object. The general lost no time in accomplishing his voyage, and arrived in London in the beginning of January 1814, while parliament was sitting, and just at the time when Lord Castlereagh had been obliged to enter into an explanation in answer to the pressing requisitions of the Whigs. He was the bearer of an autograph letter to the Prince Regent from the allied sovereigns, by which they engaged to follow the most moderate measures, and as far as possible to keep the balance of power in Europe in view, so as to remove any fears on the part of England. It was just six years since Pozzo di Borgo, as a proscribed person, had last visited that country, and under what different auspices he now returned to it! He came as the organ of the triumphant coalition, and his reception was distinguished by all the magnificence and joy inspired by the late victories. With what cordiality Lord Wellesley pressed his hand! "I believe, my dear Pozzo," said the marquess, "you and I are the two men who most earnestly desire the fall of Buonaparte." Lord Castlereagh had already begun to entertain some thoughts of the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, and he communicated his idea to General Pozzo di Borgo, who replied, "You are well aware, my lord, that we must never present any but a perfectly simple idea to the sovereigns; complicated matters do not take hold of their minds. Let us first overturn Buonaparte,—this is a thing we shall easily make the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia understand,—and then afterwards, when the coast is clear, we can return to examine the second difficulty." "Very well," said Lord Castlereagh, "whom do you wish us to send to the Continent?" "If Mr. Pitt were alive," replied the general, "I would tell him to hold himself in readiness; it is sufficient to make you understand that we are most anxious to see you in person on the Rhine, that the question may not get perplexed and confused."

It was with these opinions that Pozzo di Borgo visited the French princes, especially the Comte d'Artois. His royal highness was anxious to appear at head-quarters, and blend the idea of a restoration with the plan of the campaign of the allies, but General Pozzo strongly opposed his design. "Monseigneur," said he, "you are well aware of my devotion to your person and to your interests, but do not come to spoil our game; we still have great difficulties to overcome effecting the fall of Napoleon, when that point is gained it will be necessary to turn to something else, and your turn and your name will naturally occur."

It was a matter of some delicacy to obtain the departure of Lord Castlereagh and the full and entire adhesion of England to the coalition; they were obliged to work at it a long while with the Prince Regent and some influential members of parliament; at last, at a dinner given by Lady Castlereagh, the English minister, on rising from table, said to the emperor's messenger, "Well, my dear Pozzo, it is decided that I am to accompany you; the Prince Regent has given me an autograph letter for the sovereigns, and we shall act in concert and good fellowship with you." The two diplomatists embraced each other with delight, two days afterwards they embarked for the Continent, and in three weeks rejoined the sovereigns at Baden.

Lord Castlereagh's arrival at head-quarters strengthened the unity of the alliance and enabled them to form some resolutions for the general benefit, and also to decide upon the plan of the political campaign about to be commenced against Buonaparte. England had never recognised the Emperor of the French, and in all the acts of parliament, as well as those of the cabinet, he had no other designation than that of the common enemy, or the head of the government, a circumstance which facilitated Pozzo di Borgo's labours with Lord Castlereagh towards gaining the object he had in view, viz., the complete overthrow of Napoleon. The English minister, who was armed with full powers, laid down as the fundamental principle of all their diplomatic transactions, that France, although necessary to the balance of power in Europe, must be reduced within her ancient territorial limits, a principle which almost inevitably involved the restoration of the ancient dynasty. This, however, was only mentioned in the acts, both public and secret, of the congress, as a possibility reserved for a further consideration of the French question.

One of the most important principles laid down in the political plan of the alliance was the separation of the question concerning Napoleon from those regarding the interests of France. This line of conduct was recommended by Bernadotte, Pozzo di Borgo, and the patriot party, who were the enemies of the emperor, and it was formally announced in the public acts of Frankfort and the proclamations of all the allied troops who crossed the Rhine. Their great object was to weaken the common enemy, at the same time that they promised France that her ancient territory should remain untouched, and hinted at the possibility of establishing a constitution independent of the emperor. By adopting this plan they summoned all disaffected persons to the assistance of the coalition; and, without entering into engagements with any one party, they offered to all the hope of bringing their pretensions and wishes to a favourable issue; they even contrived to conciliate the partisans of a republican form of government as well as the advocates of the regency of Maria Louisa.

Pozzo di Borgo continued attached to the person of the Emperor Alexander during the whole of the operations of 1814, that glorious but melancholy campaign where the military genius of Napoleon shone with so brilliant a lustre—a bright ray emanating from that star which appeared but for a fleeting moment, soon to grow dim and set for ever! During the negotiations at Chatillon, General Pozzo urged the rejection of all the propositions of the French emperor, and also that the time and circumstances granted by the coalition to him whose attempts had so often been crowned with victory, should have a limit defined with the utmost accuracy. "Grant no armistice, but march en masse straight to Paris!" Such was the advice of Pozzo di Borgo, to whom some overtures had already been made by Talleybrand and the disaffected party in the capital. Had the preliminaries of peace been accepted, a treaty might possibly have been entered into at Chatillon with Napoleon and Maria Louisa; but how would it have been possible for the emperor to submit to the ancient limits of France, without exposing himself to inevitable ruin in the interior of his kingdom? M. de Caulaincourt, it is true, received orders to accede to the proposed conditions, but it was then too late. It would, however, have been impossible for Napoleon to have continued peaceably on the throne, even had pacific terms been granted him, under existing circumstances; for his government would have been overturned by an internal revolution. How could the victorious emperor, who had given laws to the world, now in his turn submit to receive laws from the whole of Europe combined against him? And, supposing he had returned to Paris with the humiliating treaties which deprived France of all her conquests and reduced her within the narrow limits she formerly occupied, would not the loss of his throne have been, sooner or later, the inevitable consequence of such a change of circumstances? Would not discontent have reared its head at every step he took? Or would his government still have retained sufficient power and influence to secure him the possession of absolute dominion? As soon as peace had been proclaimed, the adverse parties would have burst forth with violence, and Napoleon have been overcome by a republican insurrection. They would have said to the emperor, "What have you done with the conquests of the republic and with the legions it bequeathed to you?" And, to escape from the tumult of public opinion, the emperor would have been forced again to engage in some military enterprise. "The peace you grant to Napoleon," said Pozzo di Borgo, "will merely be giving him an opportunity of recruiting his strength, and in less than a year you will find him again engaged in an attack upon your territories; with the spirit of a gambler, he will stake his last crown upon his last card."

For the sake of giving a powerful unity to the alliance, the sovereigns signed the famous treaty of Chaumont, which was a general coalition of the whole of Europe against the common enemy; they declared, in the first place, that they would not separate until they had attained the objects they proposed to themselves, which were a general peace and the establishment of independence and of the rights of all the nations of Europe. In addition to this, it was agreed that each power was to keep up a standing army of 150,000 men besides those in garrison; England undertook to furnish immense subsidies; and they engaged mutually to support each other with a formidable armed contingent, in case any of the governments should be threatened. The campaign then proceeded with fresh vigour, and the advance upon Paris produced all the effect anticipated by the sovereigns. I will not describe the sad events that succeeded; they are, alas! but too well known. General Pozzo di Borgo was in the suite of the Emperor Alexander when he entered the city, and from that time forth he assumed the part of a mediator between France and the allies.

We must take a retrospect of that melancholy period of our disasters in order to form a reasonable judgment of the events about to be accomplished. The hearts of the whole nation were filled with weariness to a most painful degree. Some few soldiers might, perhaps, have been ready to range themselves around the emperor and defend his eagles which, though now abased, had so often led them to victory; but the great mass of the population was no longer desirous of war; a feeling of hatred towards Napoleon had gradually arisen among the republican party and the Royalists, who were in a state of commotion; while, on the other hand, the proclamations of Schwartzenburg, and the promises he had made at the time of his entry into Paris, had inspired hopes of repose and reasonable liberty. Pozzo di Borgo exerted all his influence over the mind of Alexander to lead him towards the liberal system, upon which his resolutions appear to have been formed. The whole idea of the constitutional charter, and all the plans breathing a spirit of liberty, were suggested at the meetings in Talleyrand's house, where the patriots used to assemble to give vent to their dissatisfaction with the conduct of Napoleon. I must here mention a curious circumstance relating to the famous proclamation of Schwartzenburg which first made open mention of the Bourbons. It was the work of Count Pozzo, and Schwartzenburg had not signed it when Alexander said to him in a meeting at the head-quarters of Bondy, "My dear prince, you have written an admirable proclamation—it is perfect; sign it, you will get great credit for it." And the prince, partly through self-love, and partly through respect for the Emperor Alexander, affixed his signature to the document.[20]

General Pozzo di Borgo had kept up his acquaintance with all the patriots of 1789, whose noble and generous principles of independence met with a sympathetic feeling in the breast of Alexander. Napoleon, the representative of a powerful and united system of government, would only be overcome by the principle of liberty. "Europe," said Talleyrand, "was then on the highroad to emancipation; it was with the name of Fatherland, with the enthusiasm for free institutions, that the people had been excited to rise against him, who was termed by the Germans the oppressor of mankind." These ideas prevailed, and Count Pozzo di Borgo was appointed commissioner from the Emperor Alexander to the provisional government.

That government certainly stood in need of the support of the friend of Paoli, who pursued with relentless perseverance the last glimmering ray of Napoleon's fortune. Some of the marshals had just made an attempt to induce the Emperor Alexander to treat with the regency, and, moved by the recollection of his ancient friendship, and by the influence which the noble countenance of Napoleon exercised over his mind, the Czar would, perhaps, have agreed to the proposal, when Pozzo di Borgo was despatched in haste by the provisional government to Alexander, to put a stop to the treaty, and he worked on the mind of the Czar by means of the same considerations he had formerly presented to his view, and of which he had acknowledged the justice. "The regency was still Napoleon, and France no longer desired his rule; to sign a peace with him was merely to expose themselves to a repetition of hostilities; if Europe was desirous of rest, they must have done with the imperial system altogether." The commissioner spent two hours in this conversation, and, by his perseverance, he obtained the important declaration of the allied sovereigns, that they would enter into no treaty with the emperor or his family. Having gained this point, he returned with speed to the provisional government, and gave vent to the picturesque expression of his triumph in his communication to Talleyrand. "My dear prince," said he, "I certainly cannot be said single-handed to have politically killed Buonaparte, but I have cast the last clod of earth upon his head."

Thus was played the drama of life between these two men: Pozzo, formerly proscribed by Buonaparte, now came in his turn to be present at the obsequies of his rival's power! Born within a few months of each other, the one had quitted Ajaccio merely with the rank of a sub-lieutenant, and had ascended the greatest throne under heaven; the other, as an exile, had traversed Europe, to rouse the spirit of war and vengeance against his compatriot, and, after unheard-of efforts, had at last succeeded in realising the plan which had always kept possession of his mind. He had his foot on his enemy's neck, and had him banished to the island of Elba, which he had himself twice sailed past, pursued by the fortune of his rival. General Pozzo never would admit the hypothesis that France and Buonaparte were the same thing; and in this respect he was as good a patriot as Moreau, Lannes, Bernadotte, Massena, Dessoles, and Gouvion St. Cyr.

As soon as the senate had decided upon the restoration of the ancient dynasty, and laid the foundations of the constitution, Pozzo di Borgo was commissioned by the sovereigns to go to London, to meet Louis XVIII. This was not only an honourable mission of congratulation to the new French sovereign; the general's special duty was to explain to Louis the real state of public opinion in France, and the necessity of adopting the constitutional forms and liberal ideas of a charter, to answer the public expectation. He went with all possible speed to London, for the provisional government were well aware that the ardent royalist party would immediately surround the French king, and it was necessary to prevent his being guilty of any imprudence; and this they hoped to effect by means of the salutary intervention of Pozzo di Borgo, especially as his being the confidential servant of the Emperor Alexander would naturally invest him with a considerable degree of influence over the mind of Louis XVIII. When the general arrived at Calais, he engaged a packet-boat for his sole use, and at the moment of his embarkation, an episode occurred, which he often related as a proof of the instability of human opinions. He was standing on the sea-shore, when a stranger accosted him, and requested a passage in his little vessel to enable him to go and meet the king. "Who are you?" asked Pozzo di Borgo. "I am the Duc de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt," replied the stranger; "and I am going to the king to resume my ancient office." One may imagine the amazement of the ambassador; the Duc de Liancourt had not only deeply insulted the Comte de Provence at the Constituent Assembly, but he had afterwards carried his offence still farther, by sending back to him, from the United States, the ribbon of his orders, as a mark of his contempt for what he called the crotchets of the old school: Louis XVIII. could not forget this contemptuous bearing in a man of noble birth.

The ambassador did not refuse a passage to the noble duke; and it was a most curious circumstance that the first step taken by M. de Liancourt when they reached the royal yacht in which Louis had embarked, was to adorn himself with the blue ribbon he had formerly sent back to the king during his sojourn in the land of equality and liberty. It is impossible to describe the despair of the duke when he found he could not be received by Louis XVIII., while Count Pozzo was welcomed in the warmest manner, and the king expressed himself in the most flattering language, with tears in his eyes. The ambassador from the allies explained the orders he had received. "Though the constitution proclaimed by the senate might have fallen into contempt, it was no reason for abandoning the principles of liberty upon which it was founded." Pozzo di Borgo remained with the king during his voyage, and assisted him in preparing the declaration issued at St. Ouen, containing the plan of such a representative system as the liberal party were desirous of establishing in France. Let us imagine that country passing from the military rule of Napoleon into constitutional principles, finding herself free, on emerging from the firm, but despotic government of the emperor, had she not already gained an immense step in securing the advantages of a public representation? The treaty of Paris was based on the diplomatic scheme determined upon at Chaumont and Chatillon: it restrained France within her ancient limits, and placed her under the government of the ancient dynasty, thus offering a pledge of peace and the maintenance of order, so necessary to the tranquillity of Europe.

General Pozzo di Borgo remained in Paris as Russian ambassador to the new French government, until the meeting of the Congress of Vienna, where all the diplomatic chiefs were summoned to attend. I will not recount the events of that period, having related them in a work especially devoted to the history of those times;[21] I will only observe, that had they listened at Vienna to the warnings, derived from the former experience of the friend of Paoli, France would never have suffered the misfortunes inflicted by the reign of the Hundred Days. The corps diplomatique received intelligence that Napoleon was seeking the opportunity of returning from exile, and reappearing in Europe, and General Pozzo, who well knew the energy of his countryman, proposed removing him to a more secure spot,—as, for example, one of the islands of the African Ocean, from whence escape would be impossible, so as to prevent any risk of his again throwing the whole of Europe into a state of danger and revolution.

At Vienna, a coldness took place for the second time between Alexander and his confidential employÉ, occasioned by the difference of their opinions on the question of Poland. The Czar had taken it into his head that Poland must be formed into a vast kingdom, separated by its constitution from Russia, and even comprehending its ancient provinces within its boundaries, and Pozzo di Borgo was strongly opposed to the whole scheme: he foretold the consequences of such a proceeding in an exceedingly well-written memorial, full of sound judgment, and evincing a deep and extensive consideration of the subject. "The creation of such a kingdom," said he, "would only be encouraging the spirit of rebellion, and this would eventually involve the nobility and people of Poland in a deeper slavery; for if an insurrection were to take place, it would be necessary to repress it with severity."[22] Alas, he spoke but too truly! What has been the ruin of Poland, and caused the dispersion of her generous nobility? Was it not the insane project of an impossible revolution? The Emperor Alexander withdrew for a short time his confidence from General Pozzo, to place it in Count Capo d'Istria, a man of rather a dreamy and visionary cast of mind, and whose opinion exactly coincided with his own, concerning the emancipation of Greece and Poland, under the suzerainetÉ of the Czar.

But all these occurrences were suddenly interrupted by the landing of Napoleon in the gulf of Juan. It was like the fall of a thunderbolt. Pozzo di Borgo, however, received the intelligence without any appearance of surprise; and when the corps diplomatique sought to remove the fears that had been excited as to the probability of war, he replied, "I well know Buonaparte; since he has landed, he will proceed to Paris, and if so, there must be no delay, no attempt at pacific measures; Europe should march at once against the common enemy." The Emperor Alexander sent for Pozzo di Borgo, to whom he restored his perfect confidence, and then despatched him to Ghent to Louis XVIII., charged with a military mission to the Anglo-Prussian army of the Low Countries. A general cry for war now arose at Vienna, and the allied powers made preparations for a fresh campaign, in spite of all the endeavours of Napoleon to separate Austria and Russia from the coalition. With this view, it is well known that he transmitted to Alexander a copy of the secret treaty concluded in March 1814, between England, France, and Austria, against Russia, relative to the Polish question; and from this point dates the extreme antipathy of Alexander for Talleyrand—an antipathy which more than once stood in the way of diplomatic transactions after the second invasion of France.

General Pozzo arrived in Belgium, now the inevitable theatre of war, as Russian commissary to the Anglo-Prussian army, which formed the advanced guard of the coalition, at the very moment Napoleon made his appearance on the frontier. The Duke of Wellington was informed of the sudden arrival of his terrible adversary, in the midst of a brilliant ball, under the thousand lustres of the palace of Laeken: the English troops were assembled in all haste, and a courier was despatched to Bulow, to desire him to quicken his march, and join the rest of the army. The Prussians, under Blucher, received a check at Ligny, and the English took up their position at Mont St. Jean. Pozzo di Borgo arrived there in a state of considerable anxiety. "How long do you think you can hold out?" said he. "I do not put much faith in the Belgians," replied the Duke of Wellington; "but I have a dozen British regiments with me, and I will engage to maintain my ground all day; but Bulow must come to my assistance before five o'clock in the evening." In the middle of the battle a note arrived from Bulow, promising his arrival in less than three hours; the news flew along the ranks, and the English army, feebly supported by the Belgians, resisted with an obstinate courage, which gained them the victory. At the funereal battle of Waterloo, Count Pozzo di Borgo received rather a serious wound.

Napoleon's last battle-field was fought and lost! still Count Pozzo felt uneasy, and with reason, for the army of Alexander had taken no part in these events, indeed it had scarcely reached Germany; and was it not probable that the Duke of Wellington and Blucher, profiting by their successes, might take upon themselves to decide alone upon the fate of France? Pozzo di Borgo sent for a young Russian officer serving in the Prussian army, and said to him, "Spare not your horses, but in forty-eight hours let the czar be informed of this victory! Your fortune awaits you at the end of your journey." Though suffering from his wound, the diplomatist followed the Duke of Wellington closely to Paris: he resumed his office of ambassador to Louis XVIII., but without the same favourable circumstances in regard to credit, as he had enjoyed in 1814. As he had foreseen, the occupation of Paris by the English and Prussian generals had rendered them all powerful there, the FouchÉ-Talleyrand ministry was almost entirely formed by the Duke of Wellington, and both those political characters were known to be devoted to England. Russia thus played but a secondary part, which it was very desirable should be augmented; but the arrival of the Emperor Alexander at the head of 230,000 bayonets soon changed the face of affairs.

Talleyrand had evidence of this from the very first steps taken towards the preliminaries of peace; the Czar had an old grudge against the French plenipotentiary at Vienna, and he would not hear of any negotiation carried on by him; still Alexander's mediation was indispensable to our interests, in the discussions preparatory to a treaty of peace. England, Prussia, and Germany, exacted the most exorbitant conditions, being apparently desirous of making the most of their victory, and vieing with each other in the pillage of our unfortunate country. Lord Castlereagh's first minutes demanded the cession of a chain of fortresses along the Belgic frontier from Calais to Maubeuge; while the Prussians and Germans claimed Alsace and part of Lorraine; who but the Czar could defend us from the greediness of our conquerors? Talleyrand tried to appease Alexander by promising a high political situation to his ambassador; he offered Pozzo di Borgo the ministry of the interior, combined with that of the police, now vacant by the resignation of FouchÉ, or any other appointment he might prefer; but Count Pozzo declined his offers, declaring he could only be useful to France as an intermediate agent between the two governments; a Frenchman in his affections, and a Russian in his position and duty, he would appear as a type of alliance between the two cabinets and the two nations. Talleyrand's plans fell to the ground, owing to the invincible objections of the Emperor Alexander, who persisted in his desire of seeing the ministry for foreign affairs intrusted to a man of his choice, and in whom he could place confidence; and he recommended the appointment of the Duc de Richelieu, designating him as the best of Frenchmen, and the most upright of men: Talleyrand was, therefore, obliged to give way; he gave in his resignation to Louis XVIII., who intrusted the Duc de Richelieu with the formation of another cabinet.

From this moment the influence of Russia on public affairs became clearly defined. The Czar placed himself as the intermediary in all questions regarding territory, and he had, in point of fact, some object in wishing to uphold the active power of France in the south of Europe, in order that he might hereafter meet with an ally and supporter there. Pozzo di Borgo's influence increased with that of his emperor, and he always exercised it in a kind and favourable manner towards France. Let us take a retrospective glance of that most disastrous period, when the country, invaded by 800,000 foreigners, was completely crushed under the burden of military contributions; but Alexander threw the weight of his opinion and his power into the scale, as opposed to the demands of the English, Prussians, and Germans, and the question of the cession of Alsace, Lorraine, and a great part of the northern provinces, was at an end.

In the secret conferences of the plenipotentiaries, the Russian minister pressed the necessity of not exercising too much severity in the conditions exacted from France and the new dynasty; because, when dishonour, weakness, or degradation, are imposed upon a king or a nation, a natural reaction takes place against a yoke too oppressive to be borne. The treaty of Paris, the result of these conferences, was no doubt a very hard measure; when the Duc de Richelieu signed it, the trembling of his hand shewed the pain and grief he endured, and he wrote a most noble letter, which is still extant, deploring this cruel necessity; still, compared with the conditions imposed by the Anglo-Prussians, a great step had been gained. France underwent no partition; though she lost some posts on the frontier, though she was obliged to submit to a military occupation, though a contribution of seven hundred millions[23] of francs was levied, at least she could look forward to a limit, however distant, to the evils of war, she neither lost Lorraine nor Alsace, she still was a great nation.

When the Emperor Alexander quitted Paris, he invested Pozzo di Borgo with full power to uphold the government of Louis XVIII., to watch his first proceedings and prevent his first faults. A powerful royalist reaction had taken place; the greater part of the Chamber of 1815 had decided in favour of a system of unbounded energy, in which parties, when left to themselves, are always apt to indulge in the first joy of victory. This chamber was strongly opposed to the Richelieu ministry, and made political order of impossible attainment, though it was the only means of realising the loans, and, consequently, of fulfilling the terms imposed by the army of occupation. Under existing circumstances, moderation was not merely a natural impulse of elevated minds, it was an actual law of necessity; besides which, reactions do not create real resources, they only disturb people's minds, and destroy public prosperity. Pozzo di Borgo upheld the Duc de Richelieu in the plan common to both, of endeavouring to arrest the ultra-royalist movement, which threw obstacles in the way of the fulfilment of their engagements towards the allies; and the ordonnance of the 5th of September altered the course of ideas, and political principles of the Restoration. The despatches of Pozzo di Borgo had prepared the Emperor Alexander for this change, being altogether in favour of the moderate royalist system, which the duke was desirous of following; "It was necessary," said he, "to put a stop to the reaction of 1815;" and the emperor perfectly agreed with him in opinion. The Russian minister considered this ordonnance as an act evincing the royal will, likely to be favourably received in Europe, and thus to advance the deliverance of the country from foreign occupation; the event shewed he was not mistaken, for Louis soon received letters from the Czar, congratulating him upon the act of firmness which enabled his government to pursue the path of salutary moderation.

The Russian influence continued to increase. The military occupation was still in force, and France, which had to arrange pecuniary conventions resulting from various treaties, was exposed to very severe trials: war was succeeded by famine, famine by internal disorders, and simultaneous revolts. In his despatches to the emperor, Pozzo di Borgo endeavoured to convince him of the necessity of alleviating the burden of the military contributions, unless they wished to drive to despair a nation which they might find it difficult to bring into entire subjection. I never met with a collection of documents better reasoned, or more thoroughly imbued with the desire of putting an end to the military occupation of the country; perhaps his strong and patriotic anxiety on that head often made him form too severe a judgment of the royalist party.

The influence of the Russian ambassador was favourable to all the negotiations of the French government, and at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle it assumed the character of a most generous intervention. Before starting for the congress he had received full authority from his sovereign to endeavour to prevail upon the Duke of Wellington to declare himself arbiter and mediator in the delicate question regarding the debts claimed by foreigners from the French government. These liabilities exceeded all bounds; and Pozzo di Borgo, appealing to the generosity and military honour of the Duke of Wellington, persuaded him to give over the military occupation which injured and tormented France, and to make an end of these liquidations, which appeared to have neither limit nor probable termination. Though the Duke of Wellington had an interest in keeping up a command which invested him with such vast authority in France, he consented to become the arbiter of the different interests; and affairs were thus arranged beforehand, that no obstacle might arise to interfere with the resolutions already formed, and which were to be finally settled at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The result of that congress was the liberation of France, the credit and trouble attending which are due to the Duc de Richelieu; but the exertions of Pozzo di Borgo also contributed greatly to calm the fears of Alexander, which had been excited by the liberal tendency at that time so vehement in Europe.

The disposition of the Czar always evinced a greater degree of warmth and generosity than of deep reflection; a bias had been given by education, and he was also surrounded by timid people, constantly ready to be alarmed at the posture of affairs, and more especially uneasy at the excited state of the German universities. During his brief stay in Paris, after the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, Alexander had entered into an explanation on this subject with the French king. According to his ideas, the principal danger in Europe at that time arose from Jacobinism, and this was an evil above all others to be avoided; it was a disorder of a new species, against which the Holy Alliance would have some difficulty in acting so as to preserve the world from its contagion. The instructions left with Pozzo di Borgo bore the stamp of the same opinions; and what must have been the disappointment of the emperor, when, upon his arrival at Warsaw, he received intelligence that the Richelieu ministry was dissolved, and that a political system more decidedly liberal had been adopted by France! The Russian ambassador felt no repugnance for General Dessole, and Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, who formed part of this administration, for they both belonged to the military opposition which had formed the basis of the restoration; but, when the choice fell upon M. GrÉgoire, and when the Duc de Berri was assassinated, terror and amazement took possession of the corps diplomatique, and Pozzo di Borgo was not unacquainted with the resolutions which again placed the Duc de Richelieu at the head of affairs. The influence of the ambassador was then neither very strong nor important, for a very simple reason; from the year 1815 to 1818 it was impossible the French government should act independent of foreigners; they occupied the country; it was necessary to consult their diplomatic agents, and be in a great measure decided by their opinion; but, when France was delivered from them, the influence changed its nature, there was then no material action, only a moral, and consequently limited, influence exercised by the corps diplomatique.

The revolutionary spirit began to be manifest in Europe: Spain, Naples, PiÉmont, had all proclaimed the constitution with arms in their hands; the assassination of Kotzebue, the excited state of the universities, the mysterious societies in the Russian army, the riots at Manchester, the commotions of the active population of Paris in the month of June 1820, all were presages of a popular movement against crowned heads. The thrones of Europe were never more shaken than in those two years of 1820 and 21; it was necessary they should defend themselves. Pozzo di Borgo, therefore, received orders to uphold the royalist system of the Duc de Richelieu's second ministry, and he entered into it with a loyal ardour which proceeded not only from the personal friendship he entertained for that minister, but also from his profound conviction that certain limits would not be overstepped. Nevertheless, from the hands of M. de Richelieu the government fell into those of MM. de Montmorency and De VillÈle, the representatives of the ultra-monarchical and religious opinions, and who had a bias towards the English system. Count Pozzo felt some annoyance in viewing the triumph of men with whom he was well acquainted, and whom he had even been called upon to oppose in the ordonnance of the 5th of September; but the orders of his sovereign were imperative, and he became their organ at Paris. He approved of the occupation of PiÉmont by the Austrians; and his advice principally decided the question of the war with Spain, which had been suggested at the congresses of Troppan and Laybach, and finally resolved upon at Verona.

The royalist party returned in triumph from Cadiz, having replaced Ferdinand VII. on his throne. In that country, where moderation either in politics or religion is unknown, the power had fallen into the hands of Don Saez, the king's confessor; and the object of Russia being always to exercise a powerful influence in the south of Europe, in order to counterbalance that of England, Count Pozzo received orders to repair to Madrid and use all his endeavours to push M. Hirujo into the ministry, who was a man of moderate views, and consequently inclined to favour the Russian interests. A perfect understanding on this head existed between the Russian minister and M. de VillÈle. M. de Hirujo, forerunner of M. ZÉa, gained the ascendant at Madrid, and people could reckon upon the government of Ferdinand being conducted with some degree of order and regularity. Pozzo di Borgo then returned to Paris; he was on intimate terms with MM. Pasquier and MolÉ, friends of the Duc de Richelieu, and disapproved highly of the folly of the royalist party, who tormented France every year with fresh laws, still more remarkable for their silliness and want of importance than for their unpopular tendency; but the ambassador had now hardly any influence upon the government; it was almost entirely confined to the opposition formed in the diplomatic circles and in good society, which before long extended to the conduct of the sovereign. Although he approved of the law regarding the conversion of the rentes,[24] he had no hesitation in giving utterance to his opinion concerning the extreme unpopularity the measure would naturally be attended with. "The King of France," said he, "wishes to become the richest sovereign in Europe; but I greatly fear this measure will lead to some unfortunate catastrophe. People do not play with impunity with the pot-au-feu of the citizens." And the event shewed his opinion to have been well founded.

At this period the Russian ambassador lost his protector, I may almost say his friend. Alexander died on his journey into the Crimea, a pilgrimage enveloped in mystery,[25] and which was immediately followed by the revolutionary movement in St. Petersburg. Some officers were desirous of throwing the government into the hands of the old Russian nobility, always ready to enter into any measure calculated to restore the predominance of the Muscovite aristocracy, which was a sort of republic formed of the great vassals of the crown. Would the Emperor Nicholas repose the same confidence in Pozzo di Borgo that his predecessor had done? He had not like Alexander a sort of brotherhood in arms and affairs with his ambassador, but as Count Nesselrode remained at the head of affairs, he retained his situation and presented his renewed credentials to Charles X. at the time when the storms of the opposition assumed every where a menacing aspect. Two years afterwards the ministry of M. de VillÈle was at an end, and the king formed a fresh administration, at the head of which he intended placing M. de Martignac and M. de la Ferronays. The latter was at that time ambassador at St. Petersburg, and enjoyed the confidence of the Emperor Nicholas, who was therefore likely to be satisfied with his appointment to the ministry, and Pozzo di Borgo considered it necessary to support him with all his power; for the interests of Russia had at that time assumed so complicated a form, that the concurrence of France was a matter of the greatest importance to her.

Russia had deeply offended the Porte by signing the treaty of the month of June 1827, which established the independence of Greece; and the Mussulmans, proud of their ancient glory, had been still further irritated by the battle of Navarino. The occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia had given rise to fresh dissensions, which ended by the Russian ambassador's quitting Constantinople. Every thing was thus progressing towards a war likely to involve Russia in considerable danger, especially if England were to take part with the Sultan: the Emperor Nicholas was determined to pass the Balkan, for he found it necessary to employ the superstitious and turbulent disposition of the old Russian nobility in active military operations, to prevent its bursting out in revolutionary attempts.

Under these circumstances Count Nesselrode commissioned Pozzo di Borgo to sound the French cabinet as to the conditions they would require,—not for an armed alliance, but simply to observe a friendly neutrality during the oriental war. Count Pozzo proposed that France should keep up a force of 100, or 150,000, to act as a check upon Austria, and augment her armaments, so as to restrain England; he also hinted that should any important advantages result to Russia from the events of the campaign, the frontiers of France might possibly be reconsidered and the natural boundary of the Rhine granted to her without expense, by arranging an indemnity for Prussia and Holland; and that indeed it was not impossible the Morea might be given her as a compensatory measure, with the same rights as those enjoyed by England over the republic of the seven islands. What a magnificent portion this would have been for France!

The first operations of the campaign were not attended with success: there were sanguinary sieges and doubtful battles. During this time Count Pozzo exhibited the utmost activity in Paris, where the checks sustained by the Russians were the general subject of conversation, and General Lamarque had even published a series of articles to prove that the destruction of the army was inevitable. General Pozzo entered much into society, and at every fresh disaster or difficulty he strove to remove the fears they excited as to the consequences of the war: "Wait, have patience," repeated he incessantly, "and then you will see." The best understanding existed between him and M. de la Ferronays, who exerted himself to calm the minds which England took equal pains to disturb.

The following year the Russian armies were more fortunate, having advanced upon Constantinople, and the position of the ambassador became less difficult; but to counterbalance this advantage, the ministerial revolution took place in the month of August, which placed Prince Polignac, and consequently the English system of precedents and opinions, at the head of affairs. Pozzo de Borgo was much annoyed at this change; the cabinet of St. Petersburg entered into an explanation on the subject with M. de Mortemart, and in proportion as the French ministry advanced in the adventurous path of coups d'État, Count Pozzo multiplied his despatches to his government to warn them of an impending catastrophe. The information he gave on this subject was so positive, that the Emperor spoke to M. de Mortemart, telling him he was well aware some foolish steps were about to be taken in Paris. "The king of France," added he, "is at liberty to act as he pleases in his kingdom, but if evil comes of it, so much the worse for him. Give him warning that he will not be supported, and that Europe will not engage in a quarrel on his account."

The Russian ambassador only became acquainted with the ordonnances of July the evening before they were promulgated; he had neither been informed confidentially, nor had he received any official intimation; only a few days before the event he said in a conference with Polignac, "Prince, I do not wish to inquire into your secrets, I do not ask you what you are about, only take precautions not to compromise Europe;" and then Prince Polignac replied with his habitual smile, so expressive of perfect security, "All we ask is, that Europe will not compromise us." At these words the ambassador turned his back upon him. When the fatal ordonnances appeared the next day in the Moniteur, Pozzo di Borgo expressed great dissatisfaction and alarm at seeing the utter carelessness of the government in the midst of so much difficulty and danger, and the total absence of any military force or precaution. "How," said he, "are there no troops? The bridges are not occupied! Have no military precautions been taken?" "Every thing is quiet," replied they, "nobody stirs." "Every thing quiet!" repeated the ambassador warmly, "yes, every thing will probably be quiet to-day, but to-morrow we shall have firing in the streets, and the next day who knows what may happen? I shall be obliged to ask for my passports."

Here was the commencement of another series of events. It is necessary to judge the conduct of the ambassador during the latter days of the government which was about to expire, and the commencement of that which succeeded to it.

The events of July were characterised by so much agitation and importance, that the corps diplomatique must have found itself placed in an embarrassing position: Charles X. had quitted St. Cloud and sought refuge at Rambouillet, and a municipal commission had restored order in the midst of the insurrection. If Prince Polignac had possessed the slightest political forethought, he would have notified to the corps diplomatique that the king proposed removing his menaced government to such and such a part of the kingdom; this resolution would have served as an official order to all the ambassadors, to accompany the sovereign who had received their credentials, and by whom they were officially accredited, and their presence at St. Cloud would have been a sort of protest against the events then taking place at Paris; it might also have facilitated the negotiation between the royal party and the HÔtel de Ville, for the provisional government would have been afraid of committing itself with Europe, and being exposed to a general war. But with the utter carelessness he displayed in the whole business, Prince Polignac, minister for foreign affairs, made no official communication to the corps diplomatique, but treated every thing with a degree of levity quite in keeping with his predestinarian character.

The ambassadors naturally hesitated what course they should pursue in the midst of so many difficulties. Should they proceed to St. Cloud? But it was necessary the translation of the government should be officially notified to them by the minister for foreign affairs; ought they to make observations, to mix themselves up with the withdrawal of the ordonnances, or the negotiations of the HÔtel de Ville and the provisional government? That was not their duty, nor had they any right to interfere. The only plan, then, they could adopt was to await the end of the struggle, and not concern themselves with the plan of the government, until it placed itself in communication with their respective courts by requiring to be recognised.

In a meeting at the residence of the Nuncio, they decided upon remaining at Paris until further orders, and taking no part in events until they should receive an official communication from Charles X. Couriers extraordinary were despatched to the different courts to keep them constantly informed of the progress of this important affair, and request further instructions; generally speaking, all the despatches blamed Prince Polignac's carelessness, and described the events that had taken place in Paris in moderate language; mentioning the order that prevailed in the midst of disorder, the appointment of a lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and the abdication of the King and of the Duke of AngoulÊme: they then awaited patiently the termination of the insurrection, without compromising themselves, and without either giving or receiving an impulsion.