In order to bring the 7th corps gradually nearer to Electoral Hesse, Prussia's close ally, Napoleon gave orders that it should move to Heidelberg. We arrived there towards the end of December, and began the year 1806 there, but after a short stay the division moved on to Darmstadt, the capital of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; a prince who, both by blood and in policy, was allied to the King of Prussia. Although that monarch had accepted Hanover and concluded an alliance with Napoleon, he had done it with reluctance, and dreaded the approach of the French army.

Marshal Augereau, before entering the territory of Darmstadt, thought it his duty to give notice to the Landgrave, and sent me with the letter. I had not more than fifteen leagues to go, which I covered in a night, but on reaching Darmstadt I found that the Landgrave, influenced by hints that the French wished to get possession of his person had left the residence for another part of his state, whence he could easily take refuge in Prussia. I was annoyed at finding him gone, but learning that the Landgravine was still in the palace, I begged to be presented to her. This princess, who in person a good deal resembled the portraits of the Empress Catherine of Russia, had like her a masculine character, great capacity, and all the qualities needed to govern a vast empire. She governed the prince, her husband, as well as his state--indeed, she was in all respects what one may call a masterful woman. When she saw in my hand the letter addressed to the Landgrave by Marshal Augereau, she took it without more ado, as though it had been for herself. As she told me presently, with the utmost frankness, it was by her advice that the Landgrave had gone away at the approach of the French, but she undertook to fetch him back if the marshal would give his word that he had no orders to interfere with his liberty. I saw that the arrest and death of the Duke of Enghien had terrified all the German princes, who thought that Napoleon might have some complaint against themselves or their alliances. I testified to the best of my power to the purity of the French Government's intentions, and offered to return to Heidelberg and obtain from Marshal Augereau the assurance which the princess desired. I was back on the following day with a letter from the marshal, couched in such friendly terms that the Landgravine, saying, 'I rely on the honour of a French marshal,' went off at once to Giessen, where the Landgrave was, brought him back to Darmstadt, and both received Augereau with perfect friendliness when he established his head-quarters in the town.

The marshal was so thankful for their confidence in him that when, some months later, the Emperor rearranged all the small states, reducing their number to thirty-two, of which he formed the Confederation of the Rhine, Augereau not only succeeded in getting the Landgrave of Darmstadt retained, but obtained for him the title of Grand Duke, and so great an increase of territory that the population was raised from barely 500,000 to more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. The new Grand Duke some months later sent a contingent of his troops to join ours against Russia, requesting that they should serve in Augereau's division. Thus the prince owed his safety and his rise in rank to the courage of his wife.

Young as I was at that time, I formed the opinion that, in reducing the number of the petty German principalities Napoleon made a great mistake. As a matter of fact, in the old wars with France the eight hundred princes of the German body could not act together. Some furnished only a company, some a section, several half a soldier, so that the union of the various contingents formed an army entirely incapable of concerted action and liable to disband at the first reverse. But when Napoleon had reduced the number of states to thirty-two, there was a beginning of centralisation for the forces of Germany. The sovereigns who had been retained with augmented power formed well-organised little armies. This was the end at which the Emperor aimed, in the hope of thus employing to his own profit all the military resources of the country; and, indeed, so long as we were prosperous, he obtained his end. But with our first check the thirty-two sovereigns came to an understanding, and combined against France. In coalition with Russia they overthrew the Emperor Napoleon, who was thus punished for deserting the ancient policy of the French kings.

We passed part of the winter at Darmstadt in gaieties of all kinds. The grand ducal troops were commanded by a general of much merit, Von Stoch. He had a son of my own age, a lieutenant in the guards--a delightful young man, with whom I became very intimate, and of whom I shall have more to say. We were only ten leagues from Frankfort, still a free town, and very wealthy; from of old the nest of all the intrigues against France, and the source of all the false news circulated in Germany to our injury. Accordingly, on the day after the battle of Austerlitz, when a report had got about that a battle had been fought of which the result was not yet known, the Frankforters were certain that the Russians had won; several newspapers went so far in their hatred as to say that our army had suffered to the extent that not a Frenchman had escaped. The Emperor, who got reports of everything, took no notice, until, foreseeing the possibility of a breach with Prussia, he began gradually to move his armies near to the frontier of that kingdom. Then, with the view of punishing the Frankforters for their impertinence, he ordered Marshal Augereau to leave Darmstadt at short notice, and quarter himself with his whole army corps on Frankfort and the neighbourhood. The Emperor's order required, further, that on the day of the entry of our troops the town was, in token of welcome, to give one louis-d'or to every private, two to the corporals, three to the sergeants, ten to the sub-lieutenants, and so forth. Moreover, the inhabitants were to lodge the troops and board them at the following rates—six hundred francs a day for the marshal, four hundred for lieutenant-generals, two hundred for major-generals, one hundred for colonels; and every month the state was to send a million francs to the Imperial Treasury at Paris.

The authorities of Frankfort, terrified at so exorbitant a demand, hastened to the French envoy; but he, primed beforehand by Napoleon, replied: 'You asserted that not a single Frenchman had escaped the sword of the Russians; the Emperor Napoleon wished therefore to put you in a position to count the number composing a single corps of the Grand Army; there are six more of the same strength and the Guard is coming presently.' This answer, when repeated to the inhabitants, filled them with consternation. Vast as their wealth was, they must be ruined if this state of things lasted for long. But Marshal Augereau appealed in their favour to the Emperor's clemency, and received permission to act as he pleased. In this way he took upon himself to retain only his staff and one battalion in the city; the other troops were distributed among the neighbouring states. From that time joy returned, and the inhabitants, to show their gratitude to the marshal, entertained him frequently. I lodged with a rich banker, named Chamot, who during the eight months I stayed with him, was most kind to me, as were all his household.

While we were at Frankfort a sad mishap which befell an officer of the 7th division was the cause of my being sent on a twofold errand, the first part of which was unpleasant enough, while the second was agreeable and even splendid. As the result of a brain fever, Lieutenant N-----, of the 7th chasseurs, fell into a complete state of childishness. Marshal Augereau assigned to me the duty of taking the poor young man, first, to Paris, to see Murat, who had always taken an interest in him; then, if Murat wished it, to the Quercy. As I had not seen my mother since I set out for the campaign of Austerlitz, and as I knew that she was not far from Saint-Céré, at the château of Bras, which my father had bought some time before his death, I accepted with pleasure a mission which, while enabling me to be of service to Marshal Murat, would allow me to pass some days with my mother. The marshal sent me a good carriage, and I took the road to Paris. But the heat and want of sleep excited my poor companion to such a degree that, passing from idiocy to raving madness, he went near to kill me with a blow from a coach-wrench. Never did I have a more unpleasant journey. At last I reached Paris, and brought Lieutenant N----- to Murat, who resided during the summer at the château of Neuilly. The marshal begged me to complete my task, and to bring N----- to the Quercy. I agreed, in the hope of seeing my mother; but observed that I could not start for twenty-four hours, since Marshal Augereau had entrusted me with despatches for the Emperor, and I was going to Rambouillet to find him. I went thither, in pursuance of my orders, that very day.

I do not know what were the contents of the despatches which I bore, but they made the Emperor very thoughtful. He sent for M. de Talleyrand, and went off with him to Paris, ordering me to follow, and to present myself that evening to Marshal Duroc. I obeyed, and waited for a long time in one of the rooms of the Tuileries, till Duroc, coming out of the Emperor's study and leaving the door ajar, gave directions in a loud voice for an orderly officer to get ready to start by the post on a distant mission. But Napoleon called out: 'Duroc, that is unnecessary, for we have got Marbot here going back to Augereau; he can go on to Berlin; Frankfort is half-way there.' Accordingly, Duroc instructed me to get ready to go to Berlin with the Emperor's despatches. I was annoyed, because I must give up going to see my mother; but I had to resign myself. I hastened to Neuilly, to let Murat know; and as for my own affairs, thinking that my new mission was very urgent, I returned to the Tuileries, but Duroc allowed me till the next morning. I turned up at dawn, and was put off till the evening; in the evening again till next morning, and so on for eight days. Still, I bore it with patience, because each time that I appeared Duroc only kept me a moment, which allowed me to go about in Paris. He had handed me a pretty large sum of money in order to set myself up in entirely new uniforms, so that I might make a good appearance before the King of Prussia, into whose hands I was myself to give the Emperor's letter. You see that Napoleon overlooked no detail when it was a question of raising the French army in the eyes of foreigners.

I got off at last, after receiving the despatches and instructions from the Emperor bidding me take special note of the Prussian troops, their bearing, their arms, horses, and so on. M. de Talleyrand gave me a packet for M. Laforest, our ambassador at Berlin, with whom I was to stay. On reaching Mainz, which was then in French territory, I learnt that Marshal Augereau was at Wiesbaden. I went there, and surprised him much by telling him that I was going to Berlin by the Emperor's order. Travelling night and day in splendid July weather, I reached Berlin somewhat tired. In those days the roads in Prussia were not metalled, and one rolled along, nearly always at a walk, on shifting sand, into which the wheels sank deep and raised intolerable clouds of dust.

M. Laforest received me most kindly. I put up at the Embassy, and was presented to the King and Queen, and the princes and princesses. The King displayed much emotion on receiving the Emperor's letter. He was a tall and fine man, with a face expressing much kindness, but lacking in the animation which indicates a strong character. The Queen was in truth very handsome, but disfigured by the thick wrapping which she always wore round her neck--it was said, to conceal a decided goitre, which, through medical maltreatment, had become an open sore. Her figure was full of grace, and her countenance, at once bright and dignifed, expressed strength of will. I was most graciously received; and as it was a month before the answer which I had to take back to the Emperor was ready--so difficult, it seems, was it to settle--the Queen was kind enough to invite me to all the balls and parties which she gave during my stay.

Of all the members of the royal family, the one who treated me, to all appearances at least, with most kindness was the King's nephew, Prince Lewis. I had been warned that he detested the French, and especially their Emperor; but as he was deeply interested in military matters, he never ceased questioning me about the siege of Genoa, the battles of Marengo and Austerlitz, and upon the organisation of our army. This prince was a splendid man, and, in respect to mental gifts and character, was the only member of the royal family who bore any resemblance to the great Frederick. I made acquaintance with various persons about the Court, and especially with some officers whom I accompanied every day to parades and manœuvres. Thus I passed my time at Berlin very pleasantly, and our ambassador paid me every attention; but in course of time I perceived that he wished to make me play in a delicate affair a part which would have been improper for me, and I had to adopt an attitude of reserve.

But let us consider a little Prussia's position with regard to Napoleon, with which, as I learnt later on, the despatches which I brought had much to do. By accepting from Napoleon the gift of the Electorate of Hanover, an hereditary possession of the family now reigning in England, the Cabinet of Berlin had alienated not only the anti-French party, but almost the whole Prussian nation. German self-esteem was offended by the successes gained by the French over the Austrians, and Prussia feared, besides, to see her commerce ruined in consequence of the war which the Cabinet of London had just declared upon her. The Queen and Prince Lewis sought to profit by this excitement in bringing the King to join Russia, which, though deserted by Austria, still had hopes of taking revenge for Austerlitz, and to go to war with France. The Emperor Alexander was still supported in his plans against France by his favourite aide-de-camp, the Polish Prince Czartoryski. Still, the anti-French party, though increasing every day, had not yet succeeded in deciding the King of Prussia to break with Napoleon, but, finding itself supported by Russia, it redoubled its efforts. It was clever enough to profit by Napoleon's mistakes in placing his brother Lewis on the throne of Holland, and nominating himself Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine--an act which was represented to the King of Prussia as a step towards re-establishing Charlemagne's Empire. Napoleon, they said, would end by making all the sovereigns of Germany come down to the rank of his vassals. Exaggerated as these assertions were, they yet produced a great revolution in the King's mind, and from that time his conduct towards France became so equivocal that Napoleon decided to write to him with his own hand, regardless of ordinary diplomatic efforts, to ask, Are you for or against me? Such was the drift of the letter which I had handed to the King. His council, wishing to gain time to arm, delayed the answer, which was what kept me so long at Berlin.

At length, in the month of August, a general explosion against France broke out, and the Queen, Prince Lewis, the nobility, the army, and the whole population cried out loudly for war. The King let himself be carried away, but since, although he had decided to break the peace, he still cherished a giant hope that hostilities might be avoided, it appears that in his answer he undertook to disarm if the Emperor would recall to France all the troops that he had in Germany. This Napoleon would not do until Prussia had disarmed, so that they were revolving in a vicious circle, from which war was the only escape.

Before my departure from Berlin I had evidence of the frenzy to which their hatred of Napoleon carried the Prussian nation, usually so calm. The officers whom I knew ventured no longer to speak to me or salute me; many Frenchmen were insulted by the populace; the men-at-arms of the Noble Guard pushed their swagger to the point of whetting their sword-blades on the stone steps of the French ambassador's house. In all haste I betook myself back to Paris, taking with me copious information on the state of affairs in Prussia. As I passed through Frankfort I found Marshal Augereau in much grief, having just heard of the death of his wife, a good and excellent person, whom he deeply regretted and whose loss was felt by the whole staff, for she had been most kind to us.

When I got to Paris I gave the Emperor a reply in the King of Prussia's own hand. He read it, and questioned me on what I had seen and heard at Berlin. When I told him how the guardsmen had whetted their sabres on the steps of the French Embassy, he brought his hand to his sword-hilt, and indignantly exclaimed, 'The insolent braggarts shall soon learn that our weapons need no sharpening!'