1826.] 



Domestic and Foreign. 



413 



have cast a shadow on his own cliaracter — 

 even gratitude, misplaced, miglit have ttiat 

 effect. It is said, that Napoleon secretly 

 warned him of a great conspiracy against his 

 life and the constitution of his kingdom, 

 the conspirators of which treason have only 

 been very lately made known. Our au- 

 thor's account of this curious profession of 

 attachment is well worthy of perusal : 



Perhaps there is no instance in history of such 

 a sudilen change, not only in the councils, but ap- 

 parently in the personal sentiments of a great sove- 

 reign, as was inanifesteil in those of Alexander, at 

 the ronclusiou of the treaty of Tilsit, and in his 

 subsequent conduct. From being the most deter- 

 mined enemy of Napoleon, he became at ouce his 

 greatest admirer, and his warmest friend ; ready, as 

 it afterwards appeared, to second the plans of the 

 French Emperor against his own allies. By the 

 treaty which compelled Prussia to give up Poland, 

 the province of Bialystock, with ia-),iji)0 inhabitants, 

 was ceded to Russia; which, on the other hand, 

 gave up Jever to tlolland. In a secret article, 

 Russia promised to join France against England, to 

 maintain the independence of the neutral Hags, and 

 to induce Sweden, Deiunark, and Portugal to 

 adopt the same system; it likewise engaged to with- 

 draw its troops from Moldavia and Wallachia ; and 

 to make peace with Turkey, through the mediation 

 of Napoleon. 



At Tilsit, Alexander appeared desirous of pub- 

 licly appearing as the friend of Napoleon, of which 

 some remarkable instances have lieen recorded ; 

 though, as they chiefly rest upon French authority, 

 implicit credit ought perhaps not to be given to 

 them. On one occasion he is reporteil to liave 

 addressed Napoleon with the following verse : 



" L'arailie d'un grand homme est un present dcs 

 Dieux." 

 The two sovereigns conversed with the greatest 

 familiarity on the organization of the administration 

 of their dominons. Alexander explained to Napo- 

 leon the nature of the Russian government. He 

 spoke of his senate, and of the resistance which he 

 experienced in his attempts to do good. Napoleon, 

 grasping liis hand, immediately replied, " However 

 large an empire may be, it is always too little for 

 .two masters." The head and the heart of Napoleon 

 are seen at once in these words, which are impressed 

 with the stamp of despotism ; — Machiavel himself 

 could not have said better. We relate this fact 

 because we have very good reason to believe that 

 it is authentic. 



At the interview of the two monarchs, before the 

 final conclusion of the peace at Tilsit, Napoleon, 

 wishing to say somethmg mortifying to the Em- 

 peror Alexander, saidtohun, " Your majesty is the 

 handsomest man I have ever seen." Alexander an- 

 swered, " I am sorry that I cannot say, que votre 

 majesty soit le plus grand homme que j'ai vu." 

 Another time, when Napoleon repeated the same 

 thing, for he was accustomed to repetition, the 

 Emperor said to him, " Sire, Suwarroff was the 

 handsomest man of my army at Zurich. " 



Nap')leon was known to be jealous of 

 Alexander, and to have cherished against 

 him a deep dislike, which he vented in 

 sneers and acts of pettiness, and sometimes 

 in attempts at sarcasm ; at which latter 

 Alexander was more than a match for him. 

 The subjoined is characteristic and curious. 



The following circumstance shews that, there 

 was a secret grudge in the breast of Napoleon to- 



ward Alexander, before the public siupected any 

 misunderstanding. Towards the end of the year 

 1811, the Emperor Napoleon made a journey to Hol- 

 land, and Maria Louisa accompanied him thither. 

 It was during his visit to Amsterdam that he first 

 betrayed a mark of animosity to the Emperor Alex- 

 ander, a sentiment which the public by no meant 

 supposed him to entertain, for nothing had yet 

 transpired that could disturb the good understanding 

 between the two sovereigns. In a cabinet of the 

 apartments of the Empress, there stood, on a piano, 

 a small bust of the Emperor Alexander, which wai 

 a remarkable likeness. Wherever Na]iolcon reside<l, 

 it was his custom to examine all the rooms allotted 

 to himself and the Empress. On this occasion, per- 

 ceiving the bust in question, he took it up, placed it 

 under his arm, and continued to converse with the 

 ladies present. Meantime he forgot the bust, and 

 raising his arm, let it fall. One of the ladies caught 

 it before it reached the ground, and asked Napoleon 

 what she should do with it. " What you please," 

 said he ; " but never let me see it again." 



Among the numerous repartees of Alex- 

 ander to the s!u-castic attacks of Napoleon, 

 we select the following as being particu- 

 larly hai)py, and very s-evere : — 



When Napoleon was at Erfurth, he affected, 

 one evening at a ball, to converse with the literati, 

 particularly with Goethe; and, to make a contrast 

 with the Emperor Alexander, who was dancing, he 

 said to Goethe, loud enough for Alexander to hear, 

 " how well the Emjieror Alexander dances." Alex- 

 ander took his revenge by turning to Najioleon, who 

 had a habit of beating time with his foot, and saying, 

 " how ill your Majesty beats time." Napoleon 

 retired with Goethe into a corner of the room. 



Alexander, when a conqueror and the 

 master of Napoleon's capital, behaved with 

 heroic moderation, and set an example 

 which can never be forgotten. In this he 

 was not singular ; but as lie and his people 

 were deemed semi- barbarians, it deserves ' 

 attention. During the first time he was at 

 Paris, his affability gained the adnnration 

 and wonder of the people— during his se- 

 cond sojouni there, his manner was more 

 reserved and severe. The remark he made 

 on the statue of Napoleon is very good : 



As he passed the famous column in the place 

 Vendome on which a statue of Buonaparte stood, he 

 said, smilmg, " It is no wonder a man's head should 

 become giddy, when he stands at such a height." ; 



The following has the air of romance^ 

 though we have every reason to believe that 

 it is true : — 



Another circumstance which gratified the Pari- 

 sians, was the attention that jUexander paid to the 

 Empress Josephine. He had a great esteem for her, 

 and did her the honour of dining with her more than 

 once at the palace of Malmaisoii. 



■When he learned that she was on the point of 

 sinking under the rapid and cruel disease of which 

 he saw the sjtnptoms some days before, he repaired 

 immediately to Malmaison, and asked to see her. 

 She seemed to recover a little when she saw him. 

 Deeply affected by the scene before her, she looked 

 at him with an air of gratitude ; Prince Eugene, on 

 his knees, was receiving the benediction of his 

 mother, as well as Queen Hortensia, who was in a 

 situation which it is impossible to describe. " At 

 least," said Josephine, with a voice almost expiring, 

 " I shall die regretted. I have always desired the 



