Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

VISIT OF NAPOLEON AND THE EMPRESS.

to be the carrier for the French and Sardinian troops, and that her men were to be allowed to go on rotting in the trenches while the honour and glory of a new campaign would be allotted to the French with the emperor in supreme command, affected him keenly, and he protested with much emphasis that he hoped nobody considered him capable of entertaining any such intention for a moment. To support the alliance and the honour of the English flag was his desire and his unvarying determination. However, the imperial expedition to the Crimea was postponed on the 16th of April, and he came on a visit to England, accompanied by the empress. They arrived at Dover in a dense fog, in which two steamers of the French squadron had run aground near the South Foreland; the fleet of English war steamers assembled off the port to add distinction to the imperial visit had become invisible, and the imperial yacht had considerable difficulty in making the admiralty pier. But the emperor was no stranger to the casual peculiarities of the English climate, and he and the empress received a compensating welcome not only at Dover, but on their arrival in London on the way to Windsor. Two significant circumstances of the visit were noted at the time. One was the scene presented by the clubs in Pall Mall which was particularly animated. Among those who watched the cortege there must have been many who had known the imperial guest in those days when he was an exile in London. He himself drew the attention of the empress to the house in which he had formerly lived in King Street. The other incident occurred at Windsor. The splendid suite of apartments prepared for the visitors, including the Rubens, the Zuccarelli and the Vandyke rooms, were the same as those formerly assigned to Louis Philippe and his family, and the emperor's bedroom was the same which had been occupied by the King of the French, and earlier still by the Emperor Nicholas. Only three days before the arrival of Napoleon III. the queen had received a visit from the deposed and widowed Queen Marie Amélie. In the royal diary the entry ran:— "It made us both so sad to see her drive away

101

in a plain coach with miserable post-horses, and to think that this was the Queen of the French, and that six years ago her husband was surrounded by the same pomp and grandeur which three days hence would surround his successor. The contrast was painful in the extreme."

66

But the welcome to the coming guests was none the less simple and cordial. Indeed they were quickly regarded with feelings of friendship which appeared to be warmly reciprocated. Of the Empress Eugenie especially both the queen and the prince consort spoke with admiration and regard. The emperor seemed entirely to have lost the ton de garnison, or he knew how to leave it behind at St. Omer. The queen records that he was SO very quiet" that his voice was low and soft, and that instead of dealing in mere phrases he spoke with an earnestness and even an intensity of meaning which made all his serious conversation important. The grace, beauty, and gentleness of the empress is also warmly mentioned in the royal diary. One of the most important days during the visit to Windsor Castle was that on which the emperor was invested by the queen with the Order of the Garter. After the ceremony, as they were going along to the emperor's apartments he said, "I heartily thank your majesty. It is one bond the more; I have given my oath of fidelity to your majesty, and I will keep it carefully." He added a little later, "It is a great event for me, and I hope I may be able to prove my gratitude to your majesty and to your country." At dinner, among other topics, that of the French refugees in London came up. "He said that when assassination was loudly and openly advocated they should not enjoy hospitality. . . . He had the same opinion as his uncle, which was, that when there was a conspiracy that was known, and you could take your precautions, there was no danger; but that when a fanatic chose to attack you and to sacrifice his own life, you could do little or nothing to prevent it."

After dinner the queen had some conversation with Maréchal Vaillant, French minister of war, whom her majesty describes in her

graphic, piquant manner as "tall and very large, quite in the style of Lablache, with small but fine features a charming, amusing, clever, and honest old man who is an universal favourite." He was very much against the emperor's going to the Crimea. He hoped, however, that the council of war which had been held at Windsor had had some effect on him. Of Prince Albert the marshal said, "Le Prince votre époux a été bien net," and had always brought people back to the point when they digressed. The emperor also told the queen that if it had not been for Prince Albert nothing would have been done.

An orchestral concert closed the evening. In concluding her record of the day the queen says of the emperor, "His manners are particularly good, easy, quiet, and dignified-as if he had been born a king's son and brought up for the place."

It is certain that the hospitalities of Windsor were given with infinite tact, grace, and simplicity. It was that most complimentary reception which at once introduces the guests into the confidence of family life, and this gave greater zest to the pomp and ceremony of those public occasions, when the imperial guests were, so to speak, received by the people of England. They were greeted with great enthusiasm not only at the Windsor review but at the Crystal Palace, where about twenty thousand persons had assembled in the grounds to see the royal and imperial party, who from the balcony beheld the spectacle of a vast and loyal multitude, whose evidently hearty welcome moved even the usually impassive emperor and greatly affected his wife. Of course there were not wanting certain apprehensions that the visit of Napoleon III. to this country might become an opportunity for an attempt by some assassin among the refugees known to be in London. The queen with all her courage felt a little nervous. On returning to the Palace after luncheon the royal visitors found it filled with people, who lined the avenue of the nave, and cheered them enthusiastically as they passed along towards the balcony, whence they were to see the fountains play, the upper series of which had just been completed and were now put in

motion for the first time. "Nothing," the queen writes, "could have succeeded better. Still I own I felt anxious, as we passed along through the multitude of people, who, after all, were very close to us. I felt, as I walked on the emperor's arm, that I was possibly a protection to him."

But the queen had herself introduced her guests to her people, and with a grace and confidence peculiarly her own. On the night before the visit to Sydenham a state visit was paid to Her Majesty's Theatre to hear the opera of Fidelio. Not only the house but the streets, which had been illuminated, were crammed with a multitude who cheered and who pressed to get near the carriage. The emperor, who seems to have had, or to have assumed, that kind of superstition which seeks for or easily discovers small omens, noticed that the letters formed by the gas jets and coloured lamps made the word "N. E. V. A.” As the party entered the royal box the enthusiastic crowd in the house broke into tumultuous applause; and the queen, taking the emperor by the hand, led him forward bowing to the people, and as it were presented him, while Prince Albert led forward the empress. There can be no doubt that Napoleon III. was greatly gratified and affected by the incidents of his visit. "I tender to your majesty the feelings which one entertains for a queen and a sister, respectful devotion and tender friendship," he wrote in the queen's album where he had inscribed his signature. After his return to France he repeated this sentiment with equal emphasis and in happy phraseology when he wrote:—

"Though I have been three days in Paris I am still with your majesty in thought; and I feel it to be my first duty again to assure you how deep is the impression left upon my mind by the reception, so full of grace and affectionate kindness, vouchsafed to me by your majesty. Political interest first brought us into contact; but to-day, permitted as have been to become personally known to your majesty, it is a living and respectful sympathy by which I am, and shall be henceforth, bound to your majesty. In truth, it is impossible to live for a few days as an inmate of your home

EFFECT ON THE CZAR OF THE NEWS OF ALMA.

without yielding to the charm inseparable from the spectacle of the grandeur and the happiness of the most united of families. Your majesty has also touched me to the heart by the delicacy of the consideration shown to the empress; for nothing pleases more than to see the person one loves become the object of such flattering attentions."

There are good reasons for dwelling at some length on these particulars, for they indicate one of the most important changes which ever took place in the history of the country. It has been seen that in these pages no favourable view is taken either of the character of Napoleon the Third, of the means by which he attained to the throne of France, or of his national policy in other respects; but even apart from the enormous advantage which it gave him, his desire to maintain a frank and complete alliance with England was sincere. He declared that he was carrying out the policy which would under similar circumstances have been adopted by his uncle, and that he had always looked forward, even when his fortunes were darkest, to the opportunity of forming an alliance between the two nations as one of his most

103

Napoleon III., his nephew, before the coffin of England's bitterest foe; I, the granddaughter of that king who hated him most, and who most vigorously opposed him, and this very nephew, who bears his name, being my nearest and dearest ally! The organ of the church was playing 'God save the Queen' at the time, and this solemn scene took place by torch-light and during a thunder-storm. Strange and wonderful indeed! It seems as if in this tribute of respect to a departed and dead foe, old enmities and rivalries were wiped out, and the seal of Heaven placed upon that bond of unity which is now happily established between two great and powerful nations. May Heaven bless and prosper it!"

There is no need to describe that return visit of the queen and the prince consort with their two elder children. Enough to say that it was throughout characterized by magnificent hospitality and a generous welcome not only on the part of the imperial hosts but on that of the French people. The concord of the two nations appeared to be complete, the alliance to be firmly established. Much had happened even during the few months that had elapsed since the first success of the armies in the

hopeful and encouraging ambitions. Be this Crimea.
as it may, there was genuine emotion on both
sides when the imperial guests departed from
Windsor. It had been a singularly agreeable
and yet a strangely suggestive visit. A grand
ball in the Waterloo Room at Windsor, where
the queen, of course, danced in a quadrille
with the emperor, is referred to thus in her
majesty's diary:-"How strange that I, the
grand-daughter of George III., should dance
with the Emperor Napoleon, nephew of Eng-
land's great enemy, now my nearest and most
intimate ally, in the Waterloo Room, and this
ally only six years ago living in this country
an exile, poor and unthought of!" A similar
reflection was made on the occasion of the visit
of her majesty to the tomb of the first Napo-
leon at the Hotel des Invalides during the
return visit which was made to the emperor
in August, the same year:—

"The coffin is not yet there, but in a small side chapel de St. Jérome. Into this the emperor led me, and there I stood, at the arm of

On the czar the news of the defeat of his troops on the Alma had a terrible effect. He had expected that the attempt to invade the Crimea would be disastrous to the assailants, and waited for the pleasing intelligence that they had been overwhelmed and driven back or that they would be taken prisoners. It was said that he had already given orders for the captives, and especially the English, to be treated with kindness. Prince Menschikoff could not or dared not send despatches to St. Petersburg announcing his failure. An aidede-camp carried the tidings. The emperor had been waiting impatiently for several days when it was announced to him that the messenger was in the ante-room, and he instantly ordered him to be brought into his presence. By brief word or eager gesture he was ordered to speak. He spoke, "Sire, your army has covered itself with glory, but—” Then instantly the czar knew that the tale to be

told was one of disaster. With violent imprecations he drove the aide-de-camp from his presence. The aide-de-camp, however, understood that he was liable to be again called in, and in a short time he was ordered once more to present himself. The czar was changed in look. He seemed to be more composed than he had been, but was pale. When the aide-de-camp approached, the czar thrust forward his hand as though to snatch at something, and imperatively cried, "The despatch!" The aide-de-camp answered, "Sire, I bring no despatch." "No despatch?" the czar asked, his fury beginning to rekindle as he spoke. "Sire, Prince Menschikoff was much hurried, and-- "Hurried!" interrupted the czar. "What--what do you mean? Do you mean to say he was running?" Again his fury became uncontrollable, and it seems that it was some time before he was able to bear the cruel sound of the truth. When at length the czar came to know what had befallen his army he gave way to sheer despair; for he deemed Sebastopol lost, and had no longer any belief that the Chersonese was still a field on which he might use his energies.1

[ocr errors]

But Sebastopol was not yet taken. Probably Nicholas had feared such a movement as Lord Raglan had contemplated, and supposed that the allied forces, aided by the fleet, would be able to advance and follow up the first success.

Marshal St. Arnaud, acting on sealed orders which he had taken out with him, had before his death transferred the command of the French army to General Canrobert, who had already done distinguished service in Africa with those Zouaves, who were among the most active and conspicuous of the troops in the Crimean campaign. Canrobert, a dashing soldier with plenty of personal courage and great promptitude, was very popular with our army. The queen, who met him while she was in Paris after he had relinquished the command to General Pelissier, describes him with her usual graphic touch:

"A large dinner party. General Canrobert, only just returned from the trenches-'I was

I Kinglake.

in the trenches,' he said, 'just fifteen days back' was the principal addition. He sat next to me. I was delighted with him, such an honest, good man, so sincere and friendly, and so fond of the English, very enthusiastic, talking with much gesticulation. He is short, and wears his hair, which is black, rather long behind, has a red face and rolling eyes, moustaches and no whiskers, and carries his head rather high. He praised our troops immensely, spoke of the great difficulty of the undertaking, the sufferings we had all undergone, the mistakes which had been made, and most kindly of our generals and troops. I said I looked upon him as an old acquaintance, from having heard so much of him. He said, 'I am almost a subject of your majesty,' from being a member of the Fishmongers' Company."

Canrobert was a brave and successful soldier and a good general, but not quite equal to the entire command of the army. His personal élan and the quickness with which his men responded to his orders were, however, of incalculable advantage. He was always on the look-out, cared nothing for Russian sharpshooters, and continued to wear his goldlaced hat and white feathers even when in action. From all accounts it would appear that the French troops, both officers and men, attended much more to the pomp and circumstance of war than the English did, and their camp was on the whole more gay and was provided with more amusements than ours. Canrobert had an opportunity of distinguishing himself at the battle of Inkerman, and he succeeded; though, as he afterwards said, and as both English and French officers agreed, it was truly the soldiers' battle, won by sheer hard fighting and without much exhibition of, or even occasion for, brilliant tactics or skilful generalship. Both tactics and generalship might better have been displayed before the engagement, and the result would then have been far more successful, the defeat inflicted on the enemy complete and irretrievable.

We have already seen that the news of the victory of the Alma was received in England, and especially in London, with enormous en

SEBASTOPOL-IGNORANCE OF OUR GOVERNMENT.

thusiasm. In the churches it was alluded to along with thanksgivings for the abundant harvest; it was mentioned with triumph at the theatres; and at those "monster promenade concerts" which had just then become popularized in London by M. Jullien. The word Alma in gigantic letters was seen above the great orchestra which he had erected at Covent Garden Theatre; and the Allied Armies' Quadrilles, the national and patriotic airs, and the spirited warlike music which occupied half the programme were nightly applauded by immense audiences. But the campaign in the Crimea was only beginning. The place which in 1780 had been nothing more than an insignificant Tartar village named Akhtiar was now the enormous stronghold of Sebastopol. Commenced by Catherine, continued by Alexander, and completed by Nicholas, it was an imposing fortified city, the chief naval arsenal of the Russian Empire, a mile long and three-quarters of a mile broad, occupying for its site the peninsula on the south side of the roadstead and rising in the form of an amphitheatre from the shore. Its quays, magazines,and storehouses were of vast strength and solidity. It possessed a complete system of docks constructed with great skill and at enormous expense, of solid masonry, and supplied with fresh water by an aqueduct twelve miles long, formed of immense blocks of stone. Six large batteries on the south and four on the north defended it the former mounting from 50 to 190, and the latter from 18 to 120 guns each. To these were added a number of smaller batteries. Even before the commencement of the war the port was guarded by 850 pieces of artillery, 350 of which could be brought to bear upon a single ship entering the bay; but during the siege which was now commenced enormous additions were made to the defences. Those on the land side of the stronghold, which had been less fortified, as an invasion had scarcely been dreamed of, were rapidly multiplied; and were protected by earthworks, renewed daily according to the changes of attack, and so armed that at the commencement of the siege 25,000 rounds were fired upon us before our batteries opened upon them.

105

"The position occupied by the enemy," wrote Lord Raglan in one of his despatches, "is not that of a fortress, but rather that of an army in an intrenched camp on very strong ground, where an apparently unlimited number of heavy guns amply provided with gunners and ammunition are mounted." Opposed to this were the allied armies exposed, unprotected by any reserve or covering force, their very existence staked on capturing a place which seemed to be impregnable, having within it an army almost as numerous as that of the assailants; while outside lay another army more numerous still, under the command of the Russian general Prince Menschikoff. But we had beaten that army, and Sebastopol was before us. Every day's delay gave the enemy more time to pile defences and to call countless troops to swell the ranks of the host to which we were opposed; every day would increase the impatience of the people of France and England that Sebastopol had not been taken by a coup de main. Cobden was not altogether wrong when in January, 1856, at the time that the "four points" for concluding a peace were being debated, he said that the expedition to the Crimea had been a leap in the dark; that ministers, generals, admirals, and ambassadors were all equally ignorant of the strength of the fortress and the numbers of the enemy they were going to encounter. Cobden argued that according to the evidence of the Sebastopol Committee (of which we shall presently have to speak) Lord Raglan could obtain no information; Sir John Burgoyne believed that none of the authorities with the British army when it landed had any knowledge of the subject; and that Admiral Dundas could get no intelligence from the Greeks, who were hostile, and the "Turks knew nothing." Our authorities guessed the number of the Russian forces in the Crimea variously at from 30,000 to 120,000 men. "In this state of ignorance," wrote Cobden, "Lord Raglan, under a mild protest which threw the responsibility on the government at home, set sail from Varna for the invasion of Russia. Yet whilst confessedly without one fact on which to found an opinion, the most confident expectations were

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »