CHAPTER XXXVII
THE AMBASSADOR
We have seen that Roland, on returning to the Luxembourg, asked
for the First Consul and was told that he was engaged with Fouché,
the minister of police.
Roland was a privileged person; no matter what functionary was
with Bonaparte, he was in the habit, on his return from a journey,
or merely from an errand, of half opening the door and putting
in his head. The First Consul was often so busy that he paid no
attention to this head. When that was the case, Roland would
say "General!" which meant, in the close intimacy which still
existed between the two schoolmates: "General, I am here; do
you need me? I'm at your orders." If the First Consul did not
need him, he replied: "Very good." If on the contrary he did
need him, he said, simply: "Come in." Then Roland would enter,
and wait in the recess of a window until the general told him
what he wanted.
On this occasion, Roland put his head in as usual, saying: "General!"
"Come in," replied the First Consul, with visible satisfaction;
"come in, come in!"
Roland entered. Bonaparte was, as he had been told, busy with
the minister of police. The affair on which the First Consul
was engaged, and which seemed to absorb him a great deal, had
also its interest for Roland.
It concerned the recent stoppages of diligences by the Companions
of Jehu.
On the table lay three _procès-verbaux_ relating the stoppage
of one diligence and two mail-coaches. Tribier, the paymaster of
the Army of Italy, was in one of the latter. The stoppages had
occurred, one on the highroad between Meximieux and Montluel, on
that part of the road which crosses the commune of Bellignieux; the
second, at the extremity of the lake of Silans, in the direction
of Nantua; the third, on the highroad between Saint-Etienne and
Bourg, at a spot called Les Carronnières.
A curious fact was connected with these stoppages. A sum of four
thousand francs and a case of jewelry had been mixed up by mistake
with the money-bags belonging to the government. The owners of
the money had thought them lost, when the justice of the peace
at Nantua received an unsigned letter telling him the place where
these objects had been buried, and requesting him to return them
to their rightful owners, as the Companions of Jehu made war
upon the government and not against private individuals.
In another case; that of the Carronnières--where the robbers,
in order to stop the mail-coach, which had continued on its way
with increased speed in spite of the order to stop, were forced
to fire at a horse--the Companions of Jehu had felt themselves
obliged to make good this loss to the postmaster, who had received
five hundred francs for the dead horse. That was exactly what
the animal had cost eight days before; and this valuation proved
that they were dealing with men who understood horses.
The _procès-verbaux_ sent by the local authorities were
accompanied by the affidavits of the travellers.
Bonaparte was singing that mysterious tune of which we have spoken;
which showed that he was furious. So, as Roland might be expected
to bring him fresh information, he had called him three times
to come in.
"Well," said he, "your part of the country is certainly in revolt
against me; just look at that."
Roland glanced at the papers and understood at once.
"Exactly what I came to speak to you about, general," said he.
"Then begin at once; but first go ask Bourrienne for my department
atlas."
Roland fetched the atlas, and, guessing what Bonaparte desired
to look at, opened it at the department of the Ain.
"That's it," said Bonaparte; "show me where these affairs happened."
Roland laid his finger on the edge of the map, in the neighborhood
of Lyons.
"There, general, that's the exact place of the first attack, near
the village of Bellignieux."
"And the second?"
"Here," said Roland, pointing to the other side of the department,
toward Geneva; "there's the lake of Nantua, and here's that of
Silans."
"Now the third?"
Roland laid his finger on the centre of the map.
"General, there's the exact spot. Les Carronnières are not marked
on the map because of their slight importance."
"What are Les Carronnières?" asked the First Consul.
"General, in our part of the country the manufactories of tiles
are called _carronnières_; they belong to citizen Terrier.
That's the place they ought to be on the map."
And Roland made a pencil mark on the paper to show the exact spot
where the stoppage occurred.
"What!" exclaimed Bonaparte; "why, it happened less than a mile
and a half from Bourg!"
"Scarcely that, general; that explains why the wounded horse was
taken back to Bourg and died in the stables of the Belle-Alliance."
"Do you hear all these details, sir!" said Bonaparte, addressing
the minister of police.
"Yes, citizen First Consul," answered the latter.
"You know I want this brigandage to stop?"
"I shall use every effort--"
"It's not a question of your efforts, but of its being done."
The minister bowed.
"It is only on that condition," said Bonaparte, "that I shall
admit you are the able man you claim to be."
"I'll help you, citizen," said Roland.
"I did not venture to ask for your assistance," said the minister.
"Yes, but I offer it; don't do anything that we have not planned
together."
The minister looked at Bonaparte.
"Quite right," said Bonaparte; "you can go. Roland will follow
you to the ministry."
Fouché bowed and left the room.
"Now," continued the First Consul, "your honor depends upon your
exterminating these bandits, Roland. In the first place, the
thing is being carried on in your department; and next, they
seem to have some particular grudge against you and your family."
"On the contrary," said Roland, "that's what makes me so furious;
they spare me and my family."
"Let's go over it again, Roland. Every detail is of importance;
it's a war of Bedouins over again."
"Just notice this, general. I spend a night in the Chartreuse of
Seillon, because I have been told that it was haunted by ghosts.
Sure enough, a ghost appears, but a perfectly inoffensive one.
I fire at it twice, and it doesn't even turn around. My mother
is in a diligence that is stopped, and faints away. One of the
robbers pays her the most delicate attentions, bathes her temples
with vinegar, and gives her smelling-salts. My brother Edouard
fights them as best he can; they take him in their arms, kiss
him, and make him all sorts of compliments on his courage; a
little more and they would have given him sugar-plums as a reward
for his gallant conduct. Now, just the reverse; my friend Sir
John follows my example, goes where I have been; he is treated
as a spy and stabbed, as they thought, to death."
"But he didn't die."
"No. On the contrary, he is so well that he wants to marry my
sister."
"Ah ha! Has he asked for her?"
"Officially."
"And you answered?"
"I answered that the matter depended on two persons."
"Your mother and you; that's true."
"No; my sister herself--and you."
"Your sister I understand; but I?"
"Didn't you tell me general, that you would take charge of marrying
her?"
Bonaparte walked up and down the room with his arms crossed;
then, suddenly stopping before Roland, he said: "What is your
Englishman like?"
"You have seen him, general."
"I don't mean physically; all Englishmen are alike--blue eyes,
red hair, white skin, long jaws."
"That's their _th_," said Roland, gravely.
"Their _th_?"
"Yes. Did yon ever learn English, general?"
"Faith! I tried to learn it."
"Your teacher must have told you that the _th_ was sounded
by pressing the tongue against the teeth. Well, by dint of punching
their teeth with their tongues the English have ended by getting
those elongated jaws, which, as you said just now, is one of
the distinctive characteristics of their physiognomy."
Bonaparte looked at Roland to see if that incorrigible jester
were laughing or speaking seriously. Roland was imperturbable.
"Is that your opinion?" said Bonaparte.
"Yes, general, and I think that physiologically it is as good
as any other. I have a lot of opinions like it, which I bring
to light as the occasion offers."
"Come back to your Englishman."
"Certainly, general."
"I asked you what he was like."
"Well, he is a gentleman; very brave, very calm, very impassible,
very noble, very rich, and, moreover--which may not be a
recommendation to you--a nephew of Lord Grenville, prime minister
to his Britannic Majesty."
"What's that?"
"I said, prime minister to his Britannic Majesty."
Bonaparte resumed his walk; then, presently returning to Roland,
he said: "Can I see your Englishman?"
"You know, general, that you can do anything."
"Where is he?"
"In Paris."
"Go find him and bring him here."
Roland was in the habit of obeying without reply; he took his
hat and went toward the door.
"Send Bourrienne to me," said the First Consul, just as Roland
passed into the secretary's room.
Five minutes later Bourrienne appeared.
"Sit down there, Bourrienne," said the First Consul, "and write."
Bourrienne sat down, arranged his paper, dipped his pen in the
ink, and waited.
"Ready?" asked the First Consul, sitting down upon the writing
table, which was another of his habits; a habit that reduced
his secretary to despair, for Bonaparte never ceased swinging
himself back and forth all the time he dictated--a motion that
shook the table as much as if it had been in the middle of the
ocean with a heaving sea.
"I'm ready," replied Bourrienne, who had ended by forcing himself to
endure, with more or less patience, all Bonaparte's eccentricities.
"Then write." And he dictated:
Bonaparte, First Consul of the Republic, to his Majesty the King
of Great Britain and Ireland.
Called by the will of the French nation to the chief magistracy
of the Republic, I think it proper to inform your Majesty
personally of this fact.
Must the war, which for two years has ravaged the four quarters
of the globe, be perpetuated? Is there no means of staying it?
How is it that two nations, the most enlightened of Europe,
more powerful and strong than their own safety and
independence require; how is it that they sacrifice to their
ideas of empty grandeur or bigoted antipathies the welfare
of commerce, eternal prosperity, the happiness of families?
How is it that they do not recognize that peace is the first
of needs and the first of a nation's glories?
These sentiments cannot be foreign to the heart of a king who
governs a free nation with the sole object of rendering it happy.
Your Majesty will see in this overture my sincere desire to
contribute efficaciously, for the second time, to a general
pacification, by an advance frankly made and free of those
formalities which, necessary perhaps to disguise the dependence
of feeble states, only disclose in powerful nations a mutual
desire to deceive.
France and England can, for a long time yet, by the abuse of
their powers, and to the misery of their people, carry on the
struggle without exhaustion; but, and I dare say it, the fate
of all the civilized nations depends on the conclusion of a
war which involves the universe.
Bonaparte paused. "I think that will do," said he. "Read it over,
Bourrienne."
Bourrienne read the letter he had just written. After each paragraph
the First Consul nodded approvingly; and said: "Go on."
Before the last words were fairly uttered, he took the letter
from Bourrienne's hands and signed it with a new pen. It was
a habit of his never to use the same pen twice. Nothing could
be more disagreeable to him than a spot of ink on his fingers.
"That's good," said he. "Seal it and put on the address: 'To Lord
Grenville.'"
Bourrienne did as he was told. At the same moment the noise of
a carriage was heard entering the courtyard of the Luxembourg.
A moment later the door opened and Roland appeared.
"Well?" asked Bonaparte.
"Didn't I tell you you could have anything you wanted, general?"
"Have you brought your Englishman?"
"I met him in the Place de Buci; and, knowing that you don't
like to wait, I caught him just as he was, and made him get into
the carriage. Faith! I thought I should have to drive round to
the Rue Mazarine, and get a guard to bring him. He's in boots
and a frock-coat."
"Let him come in," said Bonaparte.
"Come in, Sir John," cried Roland, turning round.
Lord Tanlay appeared on the threshold. Bonaparte had only to
glance at him to recognize a perfect gentleman. A trifling
emaciation, a slight pallor, gave Sir John the characteristics
of great distinction. He bowed, awaiting the formal introduction,
like the true Englishman he was.
"General," said Roland, "I have the honor to present to you Sir
John Tanlay, who proposed to go to the third cataract for the
purpose of seeing you, but who has, to-day, obliged me to drag
him by the ear to the Luxembourg."
"Come in, my lord; come in," said Bonaparte. "This is not the
first time we have seen each other, nor the first that I have
expressed the wish to know you; there was therefore positive
ingratitude in trying to evade my desire."
"If I hesitated," said Sir John, in excellent French, as usual,
"it was because I could scarcely believe in the honor you do me."
"And besides, very naturally, from national feeling, you detest
me, don't you, like the rest of your countrymen?"
"I must confess, general," answered Sir John, smiling, "that they
have not got beyond admiration."
"And do you share the absurd prejudice that claims that national
honor requires you to hate to-day the enemy who may be a friend
to-morrow?"
"France has been almost a second mother country to me, and my
friend Roland will tell you that I long for the moment when,
of my two countries, the one to which I shall owe the most will
be France."
"Then you ought to see France and England shaking hands for the
good of the world, without repugnance."
"The day when I see that will be a happy day for me."
"If you could contribute to bring it about would you do so?"
"I would risk my life to do it."
"Roland tells me you are a relative of Lord Grenville."
"His nephew."
"Are you on good terms with him?"
"He was very fond of my mother, his eldest sister."
"Have you inherited the fondness he bore your mother?"
"Yes; only I think he holds it in reserve till I return to England."
"Will you deliver a letter for me?"
"To whom?"
"King George III."
"I shall be greatly honored."
"Will you undertake to say to your uncle that which cannot be
written in a letter?"
"Without changing a syllable; the words of General Bonaparte are
history."
"Well, tell him--" but, interrupting himself, he turned to
Bourrienne, saying: "Bourrienne, find me the last letter from
the Emperor of Russia."
Bourrienne opened a box, and, without searching, laid his hand
on a letter that he handed to Bonaparte.
The First Consul cast his eye over the paper and then gave it
to Lord Tanlay.
"Tell him," said he, "first and before all, that you have read
this letter."
Sir John bowed and read as follows:
CITIZEN FIRST CONSUL--I have received, each armed and newly
clothed in the uniform of his regiment, the nine thousand
Russians, made prisoners in Holland, whom you have returned
to me without ransom, exchange, or condition of any kind.
This is pure chivalry, and I boast of being chivalrous.
I think that which I can best offer you in exchange for this
magnificent present, citizen First Consul, is my friendship.
Will you accept it?
As an earnest of that friendship, I am sending his passports
to Lord Whitworth, the British Ambassador to Saint Petersburg.
Furthermore, if you will be, I do not say my second, but my
witness, I will challenge personally every king who will not
take part against England and close his ports to her.
I begin with my neighbor the King of Denmark, and you will
find in the "Gazette de la Cour" the ultimatum I have sent him.
What more can I say to you? Nothing, unless it be that you and
I together can give laws to the world.
I am your admirer and sincere friend, PAUL.
Lord Tanlay turned to the First Consul. "Of course you know,"
said he, "that the Emperor of Russia is mad."
"Is it that letter that makes you think so, my lord?" asked
Bonaparte.
"No; but it confirms my opinion."
"It was a madman who gave Henry VI. of Lancaster the crown of
Saint-Louis, and the blazon of England still bears--until I scratch
them out with my sword--the fleur-de-lis of France."
Sir John smiled; his national pride revolted at this assumption
in the conqueror of the Pyramids.
"But," said Bonaparte, "that is not the question to-day; everything
in its own time."
"Yes," murmured Sir John, "we are too near Aboukir."
"Oh, I shall never defeat you at sea," said Bonaparte; "it would
take fifty years to make France a maritime nation; but over there,"
and he motioned with his hand to the East, "at the present moment,
I repeat, that the question is not war but peace. I must have
peace to accomplish my dream, and, above all, peace with England.
You see, I play aboveboard; I am strong enough to speak frankly.
If the day ever comes when a diplomatist tells the truth, he will
be the first diplomatist in the world; for no one will believe
him, and he will attain, unopposed, his ends."
"Then I am to tell my uncle that you desire peace."
"At the same time letting him know that I do not fear war. If
I can't ally myself with King George, I can, as you see, do so
with the Emperor Paul; but Russia has not reached that point
of civilization that I desire in an ally."
"A tool is sometimes more useful than an ally."
"Yes; but, as you said, the Emperor is mad, and it is better to
disarm than to arm a madman. I tell you that two nations like
France and England ought to be inseparable friends or relentless
enemies; friends, they are the poles of the world, balancing its
movements with perfect equilibrium; enemies, one must destroy
the other and become the world's sole axis."
"But suppose Lord Grenville, not doubting your genius, still
doubts your power; if he holds the opinion of our poet Coleridge,
that our island needs no rampart, no bulwark, other than the
raucous murmur of the ocean, what shall I tell him?"
"Unroll the map of the world, Bourrienne," said Bonaparte.
Bourrienne unrolled a map; Bonaparte stepped over to it.
"Do you see those two rivers?" said he, pointing to the Volga
and the Danube. "That's the road to India," he added.
"I thought Egypt was, general," said Sir John.
"So did I for a time; or, rather, I took it because I had no
other. But the Czar opens this one; your government can force
me to take it. Do you follow me?"
"Yes; citizen; go on."
"Well, if England forces me to fight her, if I am obliged to
accept this alliance with Catherine's successor, this is what I
shall do: I shall embark forty thousand Russians on the Volga;
I shall send them down the river to Astrakhan; they will cross
the Caspian and await me at Asterabad."
Sir John bowed in sign of deep attention. Bonaparte continued:
"I shall embark forty thousand Frenchmen on the Danube."
"Excuse me, citizen First Consul, but the Danube is an Austrian
river."
"I shall have taken Vienna."
Sir John stared at Bonaparte.
"I shall have taken Vienna," continued the latter. "I shall then
embark forty thousand Frenchmen on the Danube; I find Russian
vessels at its mouth ready to transport them to Taganrog; I march
them by land along the course of the Don to Pratisbianskaïa,
whence they move to Tzaritsin; there they descend the Volga in
the same vessels that have transported the forty thousand Russians
to Asterabad; fifteen days later I have eighty thousand men in
western Persia. From Asterabad, these united corps will march to
the Indus; Persia, the enemy of England, is our natural ally."
"Yes; but once in the Punjab, the Persian alliance will do you
no good; and an army of eighty thousand men cannot drag its
provisions along with it."
"You forget one thing," said Bonaparte, as if the expedition were
already under way, "I have left bankers at Teheran and Caboul.
Now, remember what happened nine years ago in Lord Cornwallis' war
with Tippo Saïb. The commander-in-chief fell short of provisions,
and a simple captain--I forget his name."
"Captain Malcolm," said Lord Tanlay.
"That's it!" cried Bonaparte. "You know the story! Captain Malcolm
had recourse to the Brinjaries, those Bohemians of India, who
cover the whole Hindostan peninsula with their encampments, and
control the grain supplies. Well, those Bohemians are faithful
to the last penny to those who pay them; they will feed me."
"You must cross the Indus."
"What of that!" exclaimed Bonaparte, "I have a hundred and eighty
miles of bank between Déra-Ismaël-Khan and Attok to choose from.
I know the Indus as well as I do the Seine. It is a slow current
flowing about three miles an hour; its medium depth is, I should
say, at the point I mentioned, from twelve to fifteen feet, and
there are ten or more fords on the line of my operations."
"Then your line is already traced out?" asked Sir John smiling.
"Yes, in so far as it follows a broad uninterrupted stretch of
fertile, well-watered provinces; that I avoid the sandy deserts
which separate the lower valley of the Indus from Rajputana;
and also that I follow the general bases of all invasions of
India that have had any success, from Mahmoud of Ghazni, in the
year 1000, to Nadir Shah, in 1739. And how many have taken the
route I mean to take between the two epochs! Let us count them.
After Mahmoud of Ghazni came Mohammed Ghori, in 1184, with one
hundred and twenty thousand men; after him, Timur Tang, or Timur
the Lame, whom we call Tamerlane, with sixty thousand men; after
Tamerlane, Babar; after Babar, Humajan, and how many more I can't
remember. Why, India is there for whoever will go and take it!"
"You forget, citizen First Consul, that all the conquerors you
have named had only the aboriginal populations to deal with,
whereas you have the English. We hold India--"
"With from twenty to twenty-two thousand men."
"And a hundred thousand Sepoys."
"I have counted them all, and I regard England and India, the
one with the respect, the other with the contempt, they merit.
Wherever I meet European infantry, I prepare a second, a third,
and if necessary, a fourth line of reserves, believing that the
first three might give way before the British bayonets; but wherever
I find the Sepoys, I need only the postilion's whip to scatter
the rabble. Have you any other questions to put to me, my lord?"
"One, citizen First Consul: are you sincerely desirous of peace?"
"Here is the letter in which I ask it of your king, my lord,
and it is to be quite sure that it reaches his Britannic Majesty
that I ask Lord Grenville's nephew to be my messenger."
"It shall be done as you desire, citizen; and were I the uncle,
instead of the nephew, I should promise more."
"When can you start?"
"In an hour I shall be gone."
"You have no wish to express to me before leaving?"
"None. In any case, if I have any, I leave my affairs to my friend,
Roland."
"Shake hands with me, my lord; it will be a good omen, as you
represent England and I France."
Sir John accepted the honor done him by Bonaparte, with the exact
measure of cordiality that indicated both his sympathy for France,
and his mental reserves for the honor of his own nation.
Then, having pressed Roland's hand with fraternal effusion, he
bowed again to the First Consul and went out. Bonaparte followed
him reflectively with his eyes; then he said suddenly: "Roland,
I not only consent to your sister's marriage with Lord Tanlay,
but I wish it. Do you understand? _I wish it_."
He laid such emphasis upon those three words, that to any one
who knew him they signified plainly, not "I wish," but "I will."
The tyranny was sweet to Roland, and he accepted it with grateful
thanks.
