Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (76 page)

“A pretext” comes from an anonymous report to Hager, March 8, 1815,
DCV,
II, 1827. “If not the only topic of conversation,” “walks, at gatherings,” and the king of Bavaria as “deranged,” Alexander Ivanovich Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, February 26, 1815 (Russian calendar), trans. Alexander Sapojnikov in Ole Villumsen Krog, ed.,
Danmark og Den Dansende Wienerkongres: Spillet om Danmark
(2002), 146. Police agents also noted the king of Bavaria’s unease, for example, in a report to Hager, March 10, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1856, and bets are in several reports. Baronne du Montet’s words are in
Souvenirs
(1904), 137. The description of the make-believe scene at Metternich’s is in La Garde-Chambonas,
Anecdotal Recollections
(1904), 414–415. Vienna had been in Lent for weeks; Ash Wednesday was February 8. “Quivering violins” comes from Countess Lulu Thürheim’s
Mein Leben: Erinnerungen aus Österreichs Grosser Welt, 1788–1819
(1913), II, 91. Emperor Francis’s letter to the lord chamberlain about cutting back on expenses, dated March 21, 1815, is in HHSTA, OmeA Nr 237 ext 1815, in Krog, ed.,
Danmark og den dansende Kongress
(2002), 458.

Napoleon’s progress eluding ships is in Houssaye (1904), I, 203–209, and Mackenzie (1982), 217–223. The pace through the snow-covered Alps is in Fournier,
Napoleon the First,
trans. Margaret Bacon Corwin and Arthur Dart Bissell (1903), 689, and Thiers,
History of the Consulate and the Empire of France Under Napoleon,
XI (1894), 186, Napoleon’s proclamations to soldiers and the people, Fournier (1903), 689–690, Englund (2004), 427–428, Castelot (1971), 527–528, Kircheisen (1932), 689, Fisher (1912), 218, “delirious enthusiasm,” Johnston, 215–216. Marchand at Grenoble had orders to “stop…Buonaparte’s brigands,” Castelot (1971), 527, and more on the encounter at Laffrey, Chandler,
The Campaigns of Napoleon
(1966), 1011. “The inhabitants of Grenoble” is in Alan Schom’s
One Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Road to Waterloo
(1992), 26, and the strength of the Bourbon armies, David Hamilton-Williams’s
The Fall of Napoleon: The Final Betrayal
(1994), 174. Additional problems of the Bourbon government, particularly regarding the loyalty of Napoleon’s former marshals, is in Arnail-François de Jaucourt’s letter to Talleyrand, March 11, 1815,
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt avec le prince de Talleyrand pendant le Congrès de Vienne
(1905), 230–231. Napoleon’s flight and the market, for example, is recorded by the banker Jean-Gabriel Eynard, March 15, 1815,
Au Congrès de Vienne: journal de Jean-Gabriel Eynard
(1914–1924), II, 23. The happiness of the Prussians was noted already by Humboldt in a letter to his wife, Caroline, March 7, 1815,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen,
Anna von Sydow, ed. (1910), IV, 491. The increased warlike attitudes of the Prussians appears in many sources at this time, for instance, an intercepted letter from the king of Prussia, March 14, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1913. The scoundrels in Vienna were for Napoleon, the tsar observed, note to Hager, April 8, 1815, no. 2149.

The Committee of Eight signs the declaration against Napoleon: Talleyrand discussed it in many places, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, March 12, 1815,
TLC,
382–383; Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, March 14, 1815,
TLC,
387 (dated the thirteenth in his memoirs), and letter to the Duchess of Courland, March 15, 1815,
TLI,
138, as well as Talleyrand to Labrador, intercepted, April 15, 1815, no. 2210 (though the date was misprinted), and Labrador,
Mélanges sur la vie privée et publique
(1849), 40–41. Talleyrand’s words “if I succeed” come from Jean Orieux’s
Talleyrand: The Art of Survival,
trans. Patricia Wolf (1974), 481. The declaration against the outlaw, which was published on the front page of the
Wiener Zeitung
in French and German on March 15, can be read in
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), III, 912–913. Talleyrand was referring to Napoleon as a bandit already, in a letter, on March 8, 1815,
TLI,
135, and being outside the law, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, March 7, 1815,
TLC,
374, as were others in the French embassy, March 9, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1836.

Work on the declaration, note to Hager, March 12, 1815, no. 1872, and the meeting, Agent ** March 13, 1815, no. 1887; its duration and signing at midnight, Gentz,
Tagebücher,
March 13, 1815 (1873), I, 364. Several smaller powers were upset at not being included in the declaration, for example, Münster, March 18, 1815, George Herbert Münster,
Political Sketches of the State of Europe, 1814–1867: Containing Count Ernst Münster’s Despatches to the Prince Regent from the Congress of Vienna
(1868), 228. March 13 statement seen as “an incitement to murder, worthy of the days of barbarism,” Méneval (1894), III, 357, 491. “Dagger of the assassin,” Wellington to Wellesley Pole, May 5, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 61. Other criticisms of the declaration are in Archduke Johann’s diary, March 14–18, 1815,
Aus dem Tagebuche Erzherzog Johanns von Oesterreich, 1810–1815
, ed. Franz, Ritter von Krones (1891), 211.

News of Napoleon’s flight reaches Schönbrunn Palace and Empress Marie Louise, Méneval (1894), III, 349–351, her confusion, 355, and her dejection, 358. Weeping in her room, Goehausen to Hager, March 9, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1837, and the court around her, Nota to Hager, same day, no. 1838. Other reports of her sadness overheard by Agent **, March 13, 1815, no. 1887, and rumors that she might end up in Salzburg, then disputed heavily between Austria and Bavaria, were noted by Agent ** to Hager, February 14, 1815, II, no. 1624. Archduke John feeling sorry for Marie Louise, Méneval (1894), III, 435, and entourage still Bonapartist, Agent ** to Hager, March 16, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1910. Marie Louise change of livery is in a report to Hager, March 15, 1815, no. 1900.

Some historians are quick to dismiss rumors of a plot to kidnap young Napoleon as unfounded, or just an excuse to fire his Bonapartist staff, now that Napoleon had escaped, but this is not necessarily so easy a conclusion. It is possible that the police had the wrong person. Montesquiou’s defense, Premier Récit de “Mamman Quiou,” and, more important, the Second Récit de “Mamman Quiou,” are printed by her son, Anatole Montesquiou,
Souvenirs sur la révolution, L’empire, la restauration et le règne de Louis-Philippe
(1961), 356–383. Talleyrand’s advice for Anatole de Montesquiou to leave Vienna at once, Talleyrand to Louis XVIII, March 17, 1815, 413, and more on him, Münster (1868), April 8, 1815, 240. Little Napoleon’s sadness at the abrupt loss of his governess is clear from many intercepted letters, including, among others, nos. 2225, 2246, 2299, 2324, and 2388. Fouché’s words on the attempt and near success are in
Mémoires de Joseph Fouché
(1967), II, 191.

C
HAPTER
27. W
ITH THE
S
PRING
V
IOLETS

Ney’s words on the “iron cage” come from the supplement to Comte de Blacas d’Aulps letter to Prince Talleyrand, April 10, 1815, Talleyrand,
Memoirs,
III, 100. French securities dropped from 83 in early March to 51 in early April, Fournier,
Napoleon the First,
trans. Margaret Bacon Corwin and Arthur Dart Bissell (1903), 700. King Louis’ words on dying in defense of his country come from a speech before the chambers, Henri Houssaye,
1815: La première restauration, le retour de l’ile d’Elbe, les cent jours
(1904), I, 335–336. Description of Paris deserted came from the Royal Horse Artillery officer, Captain Edmund Walcot, in Antony Brett-James,
The Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Last Campaign from Eye-witness Accounts
(1964), 11–12, who also reported that Paris, on Napoleon’s return, resembled a fair. Paris and royal court on the eve of departure also in Thiers (1894), XI, 255–264. The flight of King Louis XVIII rumored, and reported beforehand, report to Hager, March 18, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1922. Crown diamonds and several millions with the king at his departure, Jaucourt to Talleyrand, April 10, 1815,
TLC,
435. On the series of military meetings, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, March 19, 1815,
TLC,
419–420, and another letter on the twenty-third, 422–423. The conference and treaty signed on March 25 are in
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), III, 969–976. Wellington on the difficulties of renewing the Treaty of Chaumont, and his support of the Allies in obtaining British subsidies, Wellington to Castlereagh, March 25, 1815,
BD,
CLXXXIV, 316, and also in
WD,
VIII, 9. “Nothing can be done with a small or inefficient force…” also comes from this dispatch.

“Debauched, dissolute” come from Agent Nota’s description of the Duchess of Sagan’s salon, March 2, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 1776. The Duchess of Sagan’s financial troubles, McGuigan,
Metternich and the Duchess
(1975), 451, and Metternich selling the duchess’s sapphires here, as well. See also Metternich’s letter to the Duchess of Sagan, March 21, 1815,
MSB,
279, and Montesquiou’s “
Second Récit de ‘Mamman Quiou,’
” in Anatole Montesquiou’s
Souvenirs sur la révolution, L’empire, la restauration et le règne de louis-philippe
(1961), 359–360. Many French émigrés reached Vienna that spring, Baronne du Montet,
Souvenirs,
138. Dorothée’s mother, the Duchess of Courland, arrived in Vienna, report to Hager, March 25, 1815, no. 2014, and Gentz,
Tagebücher,
March 25, 1815 (1873), 367. A number of short notes between Talleyrand and the Duchess of Courland after she arrived in late March are preserved and can be read in
TLI,
143–210. Spies had reason to believe of Napoleon’s return to Paris, note to Hager, March 21, 1815, no. 1977, and also from an intercepted letter, March 29, 1815, no. 2068. The king’s flight from another intercept, March 28, 1815, no. 2043, and Napoleon’s entrance, report to Hager, same day, no. 2044. “Paris had the characteristic air” comes from Antony Brett-James (1964), 13, and more on the setting, in
The Memoirs of Queen Hortense,
published by arrangement with Prince Napoleon, trans. Arthur K. Griggs (1927), II, 188, and Fleury de Chaboulon’s
Mémoires pour servir a l’histoire de la vie privée, du retour et du règne de Napoleon en 1815
(1820), I, 260–261. Napoleon carried up, John Holland Rose,
The Life of Napoleon I
(1916), II, 409, ascending, Fournier,
Napoleon the First,
trans. Margaret Bacon Corwin and Arthur Dart Bissell (1903), 693; “It’s you! It’s you!” André Castelot,
Napoleon,
trans. Guy Daniels (1971), 534. Napoleon on the happiest time of his life, said at St. Helena, Steven Englund,
Napoleon: A Political Life
(2004), 429, and Felix Markham,
Napoleon
(1963), 227. The Napoleonic bee under the Bourbon fleur-de-lis is in Comte de Lavalette’s
Mémoires et souvenirs du comte de Lavalette
(1905), 345.

Metternich’s return to the salon of the Duchess of Sagan and words “at last broken” are in McGuigan (1975), 449–450. On Wellington’s departure from Vienna on the morning of March 29, see Wellington to Castlereagh, April 5, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 15, Clancarty to Castlereagh letter that day,
BD,
CLXXXVII, 318, Talleyrand to King Louis XIV, March 29, 1815,
TLC,
433. Stewart to Rose, March 30, 1815, no. 2079, report to Hager, March 29, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2052, and confirmation, report to Hager, April 2, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2090. See also report to Hager, March 19, 1815, no. 1939. The kissing was noted, later in Paris, to Lady Shelley,
The Diary of Frances Lady Shelley, 1787–1817,
ed. Richard Edgcumbe (1914), 112, and also in Elizabeth Longford,
Wellington: Years of the Sword
(1969), 396. Wellington was often surrounded by women in salons, and some asked for a kiss also, in Countess Bernstorff,
Ein Bild aus der Zeit von 1789 bis 1835: Aus ihren Aufzeichnungen
(1896), I, 182. Earl of Clancarty to succeed Wellington after his departure, Wellington to Castlereagh, March 18, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 6. Metternich’s April Fools’ prank is in Gentz’s
Tagebücher,
April 1, 1815, 369, and Gentz’s insomnia, again, March 27, 1815, 367, with his reputation for “unreasonable cowardice,” Rzewuska, I, 103. The text of the fake paper and “both shaking hands” are Pflaum (1984), 257, and the words “nearly paralyzed” are in Bernstorff,
Ein Bild aus der Zeit von 1789 bis 1835: Aus ihren Aufzeichnungen
(1896), I, 180.

Dalberg on the desperate embassy is in a note to Hager, April 10, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2168, and France losing its position at congress after Napoleon, Dalberg to his wife, April 11, 1815, no. 2209. Credit problems, learned from banker Geymüller, Rosenkrantz, March 24, 1815,
Journal,
199, and Talleyrand’s attempts to deal with new realities, as a result of Napoleon cutting off funds the day of his arrival at Paris, Talleyrand to Jaucourt, April 23, 1815,
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt avec le prince de Talleyrand pendant le Congrès de Vienne
(1905), 287. French credit at the Bank of France stopped as of March 21, and the inability to pay staff, given the lack of money from Paris, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, May 5, 1815,
TLC,
498. Four secretaries at French embassy, report to Hager, undated,
DCV,
II, no. 1934, and more on staff, report to Hager, April 16, 1815, no. 2215. Rosenkrantz, March 25, 1815,
Journal,
201, Talleyrand’s possessions impounded, Talleyrand to the Duchess of Courland, April 5, 1815,
TLI,
160. Order of Elephant to Talleyrand, Rosenkrantz, March 30, 1815,
Journal
(1953), 204. Talleyrand’s inquiry about the state of his correspondence with the king and foreign ministry, and words cited on that subject, Talleyrand to King Louis XIV, March 29, 1815,
TLC,
434. “I did not take with me,” Reinhardt to Talleyrand, March 28, 1815, n. 4, 435, and the burning of a few, particularly from Mariotti, Jaucourt to Talleyrand, March 27, 1815, 436, and more fully in
Correspondance du comte du Jaucourt
(1905), 246–248. Fear of the secret treaty being found by Bonaparte, Castlereagh to Wellington, March 27, 1815,
CC,
X, 286–287, and fear confirmed a few days later, April 8, 1815, 300–301.