Part 2 (1/2)
On the evening of the 24th of Dece to the Opera, to hear Haydn's Oratorio of the Creation, which was to be performed for the first tio; but to gratify Josephine, yielded to her urgent request It was necessary for his carriage to pass through a narrow street A cart, apparently by accident overturned, obstructed the passage A barrel suspended beneath the cart, contained as deadly a un-powder and all thehis way by the cart He had barely passed when an explosion took place, which was all over Paris, and which seeht persons were instantly killed, and more than sixty ounded, of who distance, on each side of the street, were fearfully shattered, and e rocked as upon the billows of the sea, and the ere shattered to fragments Napoleon had been in too many scenes of terror to be alarunpowder could produce ”Ha!” said he, with perfect composure; ”we are blown up” One of his coreatly terrified, thrust his head through the demolished , and called loudly to the driver to stop ”No, no!” said Napoleon; ”drive on” When the First Consul entered the Opera House, he appeared perfectly calreatest consternation, however, prevailed in all parts of the house, for the explosion had been heard, and the most fearful apprehensions were felt for the safety of the idolized Napoleon As soon as he appeared, thunders of applause, which shook the very walls of the theatre, gave affecting testimony of the attachment of the people to his person In a few e, entered the box
Napoleon turned to her with perfect tranquillity, and said, ”The rascals tried to blow me up Where is the book of the Oratorio?”
Napoleon soon left the Opera and returned to the Tuileries He found a vast crowd assembled there, attracted by affection for his person, and anxiety for his safety The atrocity of this attempt excited universal horror, and only increased the already almost boundless popularity of the First Consul Deputations and addresses were immediately poured in upon hiratulating hiht that this conspiracy was the work of the Jacobins
There were in Paris more than a hundred of the leaders of the execrable party, who had obtained a sanguinary notoriety during the reign of terror They were activecontinually plotting the overthrow of the government, and the assassination of the First Consul They were thoroughly detested by the people, and the colad to avail itself of any plausible pretext for banishi+ng them from France Without sufficient evidence that they were actually guilty of this particular outrage, in the strong excitenation of the islative bodies, sending one hundred and sixty of these bloodstained culprits into exile
The as earnestly expressed that Napoleon would promptly punish them by his own dictatorial power Napoleon had, in fact, acquired such unbounded popularity, and the nation was so thoroughly impressed with a sense of his justice, and his wisdom, the whatever he said was done He, however, insisted that the business should be conducted by the constituted tribunals and under the regular forms of law
”The responsibility of this islative body The consuls are irresponsible But the n an arbitrary decree, le individual must be compromised The consuls themselves know not what may happen As for me, while I live, I am not afraid that any one will be killed, and then I can not answer for the safety of overn,” said, he, s to Cambaceres;” and you are not as yet very firm in the stirrupsIt will be better to have a law for the present, as well as for the future” It was finally, after much deliberation, decided that the Council of State should draw up a declaration of the reasons, for the act The First Consul was to sign the decree, and the Senate was to declare whether it was or was not constitutional
Thus cautiously Napoleon proceed under circu
The laever, was unjust and tyrannical Guilty as these men were of other crimes, by which they had forfeited all syuilty of this crime
Napoleon was evidently euilty, and was not willing that they should be denounced as contrivers of the infernal uilty But we do not know it They must be transported for the crimes which they have comainst the in popularity, becanificance of these Jacobins, that the decree was never enforced against them They remained in France But they were conscious that the eye of the police was upon them ”It is not e My fortune which has preserved me so often on the field of battle, will continue to preserve me
I think not of myself I think of social order which it is my mission to re-establish, and of the national honor, which it is e froratulation and attachment which this occurrence elicited Napoleon replied ”I have been touched by the proofs of affection which the people of Paris have shown me on this occasion I deserve thehts, and of lory of France While those banditti confined themselves to direct attacks upontheered the population of the capital by a crime, unexampled in history, the punishment must be equally speedy and terrible”
It was soon proved, much to the surprise of Napoleon, that the atrocious act was perpetrated by the partisans of the Bourbons
Many of the most prominent of the Loyalists were implicated in this horrible conspiracy Napoleon felt that he deserved their gratitude
He had interposed to save theainst the remonstrances of his friends, he had passed a decree which restored one hundred and fifty thousand of these wandering e in his power to enable theain their confiscated estates He had been in all respects their friend and benefactor, and he would not believe, until the proof was indisputable, that they could thus requite hiht The pro letter, written on this occasion by Josephine, to the Minister of Police, strikingly illustrates the benevolence of her heart, and exhibits in a very honorable light the character of Napoleon
”While I yet trehtful event which has just occurred, I ah fear of the punish, it is said, to families hom I once lived in habits of intercourse I shall be solicited by mothers, sisters, and disconsolate wives, and h my inability to obtain all the mercy for which I would plead I know that the ele, it is said, to families hom I once lived in habits of intercourse I shall be solicited by mothers,sisters, and disconsolate wives, and h my inability to obtain all the mercy for which I would plead I know that the elereat--his attachovernment has not been alone exposed; and it is that which will render him severe, inflexible I conjure you, therefore, to do all in your power to prevent inquiries being pushed too far Do not detect all those persons who have been accomplices in this odious transaction
Let not France, so long overwhelroan anew, beneath such inflictions When the ringleaders of this nefarious atteive place to pity for inferior agents, seduced, as they erated opinions As a wos of those will apply to me Act, citizen minister, in such a way that the number of these may be lessened”
It seems almost miraculous that Napoleon should have escaped the innuainst hih that if Napoleon could be reain their throne It was his resistless genius alone, which enabled France to triumph over combined Europe
His death would leave France without a leader The armies of the allies could then, with bloody strides, march to Paris, and place the hated Bourbons on the throne France knew this, and adored its preserver Monarchical Europe knew this, and hence all the engergies of its cos were centred upon Napoleon More than thirty of these consipracies were detected by the police London was the hot-house where they were engendered Air-guns were aied hi about fifteen pounds, which was to be thrown in at his carriage-, and which exploding by its own concussion, would hurl death on every side The conspirators were perfectly reckless of the lives of others, if they could only destroy the life of Napoleon The agents of the infernal-irl fifteen years of age to hold the horse who drew the machine This was to disar the feet, could afterwards be found At last Napoleon became aroused, and declared that he would ”teach those Bourbons that he was not a ”
One day at St Helena, as he was putting on his flannel waistcoat, he observed Las Casas looking at him very steadfastly
”Well! what is your Excellency thinking of?” said Napoleon, with a smile
”Sire,” Las Casas replied, ”in a pamphlet which I lately read, I found it stated that your majesty was shi+elded by a coat-of- that I could bear positive evidence that at St Helena at least, all precautions for personal safety have been laid aside”
”This,” said Napoleon, ”is one of the thousand absurdities which have just mentioned is the more ridiculous, since every individual about ard to self-preservation
Accustohteen to be exposed to the connon-ball, and knowing the inutility of precautions, I abandoned ht still have fancied ers of the field of battle; and I ainst me as so many bomb-shells But I followed my old course I trusted to my lucky star, and left all precautions to the police I was perhaps the only sovereign in Europe who dispensed with a body-guard
Every one could freely approach h military barracks Maria Lousia was uarded, and she often remarked that her father was surrounded by bayonets For my part, I had no better defense at the Tuileries than I have here I do not even knohere to findaround the rooreat dangers Upward of thirty plots were found against me These have been proved by authentic testiht Soainst themselves; for my part, I made it a rule carefully to conceal the the interval froe Cadoudal and the affair of the Duke D'Enghien”
Napoleon noith his accustoor, took hold of the robbers an and ent ar more than one hundred thousand men, and filled with adventurers and desperadoes of every kind, were disbanded when their chiefs yielded hoe to Napoleon Many of these hways The roads were so infested by thely perilous, and it was necessary that every stage-coach which left Paris should be accouard of armed soldiers To remedy a state of society thus convulsed to its very centre, special tribunals were organized, consisting of eight judges They were to take cognizance of all such crimes as conspiracies, robberies, and acts of violence of any kind
The armed bands of Napoleon swept over France like a ind
The robbers were seized, tried, and shot without delay Order was at once restored The people thought not of the dangerous power they were placing in the hands of the First Consul They asked only for a co to quell the tumult of the times Such a co to confer upon him all the power he could desire ”You knohat is best for us;”” said the people of Napoleon ”Direct us what to do, and ill do it” It was thus that absolute power came voluntarily into his hands Under the circumstances it was so natural that it can excite no suspicion He was called First Consul But he already swayed a scepter hty than that of the Caesars But sixteen months had now elapsed since Napoleon landed at Frejus In that time he had attained the throne of France He had caused order and prosperity to enanimity he had disarmed Russia, by his armies had humbled Austria, and had compelled continental Europe to accept an honorable peace He ratitude of his countryh all these incidents, so eventful and so full of difficulty, it is not easy to point to a single act of Napoleon, which indicates a ,” said Napoleon at St Helena, ”for my renown
Posterity will do ood which I have done with faults which I have committed If I had succeeded I should have died with the reputation of being the greatestI became, by my own exertions, theany crireat, but it rested on the opinion of the nty resides in the people The ereat republic
Called to the throne by the voice of the people, my maxim has always been a career open to talent without distinction of birthIt is for this systearchy detests reat services raise a land should have understood eneral ed classes The nobles were exempt from the burdens of the state, and yet exclusively occupied all the posts of honor and ees, and established equality of rights All the avenues of wealth and greatness were equally open to every citizen, according to his talents The French nation established the imperial throne, and placed h Capet, by a few bishops and nobles The iiven to me, by the desire of the people”