Vienna, 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna (77 page)

C
HAPTER
28. C
RIERS OF
V
IVE LE
R
OI!
D
OERS OF
N
OTHING

“Let us embrace and let everything be forgotten” comes from Metternich,
NP,
I, 329. News of Murat’s attack on the Papal States, and its effects on Austria, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, April 3, 1815,
TLC,
437–438. Murat’s attack as a “declaration of war,” Metternich told Clancarty, Clancarty to Castlereagh, April 8, 1815,
BD,
CXC, 322. Caroline Murat’s opposition to Murat’s attack is in Albert Espitalier’s
Napoleon and King Murat
(1912), 478–480. Murat acted like he had justification, even approval, from Napoleon, but this was not the case, A. Hilliard Atteridge’s
Joachim Murat: Marshal of France and King of Naples
(1911), 279–280. Britain subsidized the French embassy, Talleyrand repeated to King Louis XIV, March 29, 1815,
TLC,
433–434, and Dalberg to Stewart, March 29, 1815, no. 2058. The limits of the funding, Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, May 5, 1815,
TLC,
498. For more on the challenges the French embassy faced, see notes to chapter 27. “Diplomatic phalanx” comes from one of Jaucourt’s undated letters to Talleyrand,
TLC,
485. The words “Criers of
Vive le Roi!
” and “if we are to undertake the job” come from Castlereagh’s letter to Wellington, March 26, 1815, in
CC,
X, 285–286. The other powers wanting British subsidies, Wellington to Castlereagh, March 18, 1815,
WD,
VIII (1844–1847), 4–6, and more on their demands, Wellington to Castlereagh, March 25, 1815, 9. Hardenberg described the officers near the king as “praetorian bands,” Castlereagh reported in a letter to Liverpool, August 24, 1815,
BD,
370. German princes and their demands for a confederation, Rosenkrantz, March 23, 1815,
Journal,
197. Fear of Saxon troops, Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, April 30/May 12, 1815, Comte Charles Pozzo di Borgo (1890),
Correspondance Diplomatique du comte Pozzo di Borgo, ambassadeur de Russie en France et du comte du Nesselrode depuis la restauration des Bourbons jusqu’au Congrès d’ Aix-la-Chapelle, 1814–1818,
115. The dispute between Austria and Bavaria is in Enno E. Kraehe,
Metternich’s German Policy
(1963–1983), II, 308–314 and 336–342.

Napoleon’s appeals to the Great Powers, Fisher (1912), 221–223, and appeals to “peace and liberty,” Fournier,
Napoleon the First,
trans. Margaret Bacon Corwin and Arthur Dart Bissell (1903), 694. Napoleon’s attempts to send emissaries to the Vienna Congress (Flahaut, Stassart, and Montrond), Méneval,
Memoirs,
III, 380–382, and Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII, April 13, 1815,
TLC,
446–448, among many others. Dalberg reported the orders not to receive any negotiator from Napoleon, March 31, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2080. Napoleon’s protest against the obstruction of his courier, intercepted, April 4, 1815, no. 2183. Montrond’s arrival comes from Talleyrand to the Duchess of Courland, April 5, 1815,
TLI,
160. His stay at French embassy, report to Hager, April 7, 1815, no. 2135, and Hager to Emperor, same day, no. 2117. See also Nesselrode to Pozzo di Borgo, April 22, 1815,
Correspondance Diplomatique du comte Pozzo di Borgo
(1890), 105, among other references at this time. Talleyrand’s conversation with Montrond, including words “Read the Declaration,”
TLC,
447, and May 9, 1815, n. 2, 450. For Metternich’s negotiations with Fouché at this time, see Ray Ellisworth Cubberly’s
The Role of Fouché During the Hundred Days
(1969), 54–70.

Alexander’s “open war” on Metternich, Münster, April 12, 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), 242. King Louis XVIII’s claim of support and appeal for Allied help, King Louis XVIII to Talleyrand, April 9, 1815,
TLC,
442–443. Talleyrand made many requests for information that spring, and the words “extreme impatience” come from his letter to King Louis XIV, March 30, 1815,
TLC,
437. “I am most anxious to have you with me,” King Louis XVIII to Talleyrand, April 22, 1815,
TLC,
465. Jaucourt’s appeal, Jaucourt to Talleyrand, April 28, 1815. Belief that King Louis XVIII would make Talleyrand his first minister, Grote to Münster, May 8, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2416. Talleyrand viewed as leading figure of the king’s future cabinet, Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, May 11/23, 1815,
Correspondance Diplomatique
(1890), 140, and his presence as vital, Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, April 28, 1815, 111, and again a few days later, May 6, 1815, 114. Talleyrand’s stalling is seen, for example, in Talleyrand to Jaucourt, May 13, 1815, as well as a letter the following day to the king, May 14, 1815,
TLC,
499–500, and
Memoirs,
III, 124, and again later, May 23, 1815, 504, dated May 25 in his memoirs.

C
HAPTER
29. F
AREWELLS

May 3 letter, and Metternich at meeting, Kraehe,
Metternich’s German Policy
(1963–1983), II, 354–355, and Humboldt’s letter to his wife, May 5, 1815,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen
(1910), IV, 541–546, along with June 1, 1815, 562–564. Varnhagen von Ense also notes the quarrel in his memoir,
Denkwürdigkeiten des eignen Lebens
(1987), II, 652–653. See also Angeberg,
Le Congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815
(1864), IV, 1902–1905. Boyen had only recently arrived in Vienna, report to Hager, April 6, 1815,
DCV
II, no. 2113, and Hardenberg,
Tagebüch
er
und autobiographische Aufzeichnungen,
February 26, 1815 (2000), 817. Reference to the Swedish minister and combat preference, Löwenhielm to his brother, intercepted, October 18, 1814,
DCV,
I, no. 453. “Homeric heroes” and “pretty meadow” come from Humboldt’s letter to his wife, Caroline, May 5, 1815, 544–545, and “pure foolishness,” June 1, 1815, 564. Fear of Metternich’s leniency toward Napoleon, note to Hager, May 25, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2440, and Metternich opening Napoleon’s letters, Clancarty to Castlereagh, May 6, 1815,
BD,
CXCV, 331. “Plunders,” “castles,” and “to rob the state” are in Hilde Spiel’s
The Congress of Vienna: An Eyewitness Account,
trans. Richard H. Webes (1968), 307, 309. Grasel is in Friedrich Anton von Schönholz’s memoirs,
Traditionen zur Charakteristik Österreichs, seines Staats-und Volkslebens unter Franz I
(1914), II, 156–158, as well as Caroline Pichler, who heard some details at a souper with an indiscreet official from the police administration,
Denkwürdigkeiten aus meinem Leben
(1914), III, 100–101. “Utterly annihilated,” Clancarty to Castlereagh, May 13, 1815,
BD,
CXCVI, 333.

Napoleon sending the treaty to the tsar can be read in many sources, for example, Castlereagh’s letter to Wellington, April 8, 1815,
CC,
X, 300–301. Alexander’s reaction is in Baron vom Stein’s diary entry the same day,
Briefe und amtliche Schriften,
eds. Erich Botzenhart and Walter Hubatsch (1957–1974), V, 380–381. “While we live” and “better things” are in Maurice Paléologue’s
The Enigmatic Tsar: The Life of Alexander I of Russia,
trans. Edwin and Willa Muir (1938), 234. The scene is also in Alan Palmer’s
Metternich
(1972), 145, and his
Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace
(1974), 322. The tsar throwing the document into the fire is in Allen McConnell’s
Tsar Alexander I: Paternalistic Reformer
(1970), 132; Leonid I. Strakhovsky’s
Alexander I of Russia: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon
(1949), 162; and Henri Troyat’s
Alexander of Russia: Napoleon’s Conqueror
(1980), 221. The Prussians already knew of the secret treaty, as can be seen in, among other places, an intercepted letter,
DCV,
II, no. 2232.

Wellington’s concerns for the number and quality of troops in the Netherlands were voiced before he left Vienna, Wellington to Castlereagh, March 26, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 12, and confirmed upon arrival, Wellington to Bathurst, April 6, 1815, VIII, 18. Many other complaints followed that month, and for more, see Rory Muir’s
Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815
(1996), 351, and Elizabeth Longford,
Wellington: Years of the Sword
(1969), 401–403. “Ill-equipped,” “very inexperienced Staff,” and the frustrations that “they are doing nothing in England” come from Wellington to Lord Stewart, May 8, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 66. King of Holland as the Frog, for instance, Hon. H. G. Bennet to Mr. Creevey, June 13, 1815,
The Creevey Papers
(1904), I, 217. Wellington blamed the difficulty of raising troops in Belgium on the French and Bonapartist sympathies of many soldiers, Wellington to Torrens, May 22, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 102.

Blücher as “Vorwärts” is in many sources, such as Karl von Nostitz, January 27, 1815, in
Leben und Briefwechsel
(1848), 161. “The stoutest old fellow” comes from Lady Shelley,
The Diary of Frances Lady Shelley 1787–1817,
ed. Richard Edgcumbe (1914), 60. Wellington called Blücher “a fine fellow,” but added that he was “a very rough diamond with the manner of a common soldier,” R. H. Gronow,
The Reminiscences and Recollections of Captain Gronow, Being Anecdotes of the Camp, Court, Clubs, and Society 1810–1860
(1900), 129. Blücher’s belief that he was pregnant, Longford (1969), 406, and Andrew Roberts’s
Waterloo: June 18, 1815: The Battle for Modern Europe
(2005), 24. Fear of Saxon troops can be seen in many sources, such as Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, 30 April/12 May 1815,
Correspondance Diplomatique
(1890), 115, and the mutiny, Wellington to Clancarty, May 3, 1815,
WD,
VIII, 57, and a letter he wrote two days later, on page 60. See also letters intercepted in Vienna, such as
DCV,
II, no. 2395 and no. 2436, as well as Agent **, who reports the broken windows, May 13, 1815, no. 2381. “Slip out” is from Wilhelm von Humboldt’s letter to his wife, Caroline, May 12, 1815,
Wilhelm und Caroline von Humboldt in ihren Briefen,
Anna von Sydow, ed. (1910), IV, 548. Wellington tireless in his organization of the coalition forces, Pozzo di Borgo observed from Brussels, Pozzo di Borgo to Nesselrode, April 28, 1815,
Correspondance Diplomatique
(1890), 111. The cricket match is from Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Lord Saltoun’s letter to his wife, in Antony Brett-James, ed.,
The Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Last Campaign from Eyewitness Accounts
(1964), 26.

The weather is in Gentz, May 1, 1815,
Tagebüch
er, 375, and San Marzan same day,
Diario,
lxxix. Chestnut trees blooming is in Bertuch, May 7–11, 1815,
Tagebuch vom Wiener Kongress,
184–185, as well as McGuigan,
Metternich and the Duchess
(1975), 471. “The most beautiful spring,” Gentz, May 16, 1815,
Tagebüch
er, 379. Tsar Alexander leaving Vienna, Stein,
Briefe und amtliche Schriften,
eds. (1957–1974), V, 386, eds. Erich Botzenhart and Walter Hubatsch, and report to Hager, May 26, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2493. This agent also informs of the departures of the king of Prussia and Emperor Francis, and Münster, June 3, 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), 268. Alexander’s words on being, if not a tsar, then a general in Austrian army, reported to Hager, April 15, 1815, II, no. 2206. Gifts of Tsar Alexander and king of Prussia, note to Hager, May 26, 1815, II, no. 2461. King of Prussia, too, Agent ** to Hager, May 29, 1815, no. 2472. “Lost his English accent” is in McGuigan (1975), 475, and Metternich’s birthday party, Gentz, May 15, 1815,
Tagebücher,
378. English carriage from London, Gentz, noted April 16, 1815, 372. Gentz as “most bribed man in history,” Helen du Coudray,
Metternich
(1936), 25. Gentz’s house hunting, his carriage, and discussion of late May, Golo Mann’s
Secretary of Europe; The Life of Friedrich Gentz, Enemy of Napoleon,
trans. William H. Woglem (1946), 237–240, and McGuigan (1975), 467–471. Gentz signed for his new place, April 20, 1815,
Tagebücher,
373, and more on May 16, 1815, 379. Nesselrode on Gentz, noting the accusations against his helpful colleague, “not without foundation,” though his defense of Gentz, who “only took money from those who thought like him,”
Autobiographie
in A. de Nesselrode, ed.,
Lettres et papiers du chancelier comte de Nesselrode, 1760–1850,
II, 35.

Bagration’s financial distress is chronicled in many police reports: Nota to Hager, June 8, 1815, no. 2536; Agent ** to Hager, June 11, 1815, no. 2570. Agent Nota trying to find out about Princess Bagration’s debts, and planning to go through intermediary, Nota to Hager, June 13, 1815, no. 2574, and Nota to Hager, June 14, 1815, no. 2584. The creditors besieging her salon is also in Gentz to Metternich, June 20, 1815,
Briefe von und ab Friedrich von Gentz,
III, 308–309, and the resolution of Bagration’s financial crisis, Agent Nota to Hager, June 22, 1815, no. 2614, and Agent**, June 25, 1815, no. 2624. Prison risk for Bagration is also discussed in Hastier’s
“Les Bagration”: Vieilles histoire, étranges enigmes
(1962), 174, and Susan Mary Alsop,
The Congress Dances: Vienna, 1814–1815
(1984), 204. Princess Bagration’s tender good-byes to Crown Prince of Württemberg, Agent ** to Hager, April 11, 1815,
DCV,
II, no. 2173, as well as in McGuigan (1975), n. 51, 553. Stewart and Duchess of Sagan affair discovered by police, note to Hager, May 19, 1815, no. 2411, and Stewart still spending every night with her, report to Hager, May 28, 1815, no. 2470. Stewart and Duchess of Sagan were still having their affair, as seen by a series of reports to Hager intermittently in the first week of June, no. 2500–2524. Life at their inn, and the embassy, intercepted letter from Jean de Carro, June 7, 1815, no. 2528, along with reports to Hager, June 7, 1815, no. 2531, and June 11, no. 2563.