Memoirs of Napoleon, vol 14 | Page 7

there was a breadth and grandeur of manner as be spoke, and a calm
serenity seated on a brow covered with immortal laurels."
Whilst believing the utter incompatibility of Napoleon and
constitutional government we cannot in fairness omit mentioning that
the causes which repelled him from the altar and sanctuary of freedom
were strong: the real lovers of a rational and feasible liberty--the
constitutional monarchy men were few--the mad ultra-Liberals, the
Jacobins, the refuse of one revolution and the provokers of another,
were numerous, active, loud, and in pursuing different ends these two
parties, the respectable and the disreputable, the good and the bad, got
mixed and confused with one another.
On the 14th of May, when the 'federes' were marshalled in processional
order and treated with what was called a solemn festival, as they moved
along the boulevards to the Court of the Tuileries, they coupled the
name of Napoleon with Jacobin curses and revolutionary songs. The
airs and the words that had made Paris tremble to her very centre
during the Reign of Terror--the "Marseillaise," the "Carmagnole," the
"Jour du depart," the execrable ditty, the burden of which is, "And with
the entrails of the last of the priests let us strangle the last of the kings,"
were all roared out in fearful chorus by a drunken, filthy, and furious
mob. Many a day had elapsed since they had dared to sing these
blasphemous and antisocial songs in public. Napoleon himself as soon
as he had power enough suppressed them, and he was as proud of this
feat and his triumph over the dregs of the Jacobins as he was of any of
his victories; and in this he was right, in this he proved himself the
friend of humanity. As the tumultuous mass approached the triumphal
arch and the grand entrance to the Palace he could not conceal his
abhorrence. His Guards were drawn up under arms, and numerous

pieces of artillery, already loaded were turned out on the Place du
Carrousel. He hastily dismissed these dangerous partisans with some
praise, some money, and some drink. On coming into close contact
with such a mob he did not feel his fibre respond to that of the populace!
Like Frankenstein, he loathed and was afraid of the mighty monster he
had put together.
But it was not merely the mob that checked the liberalism or
constitution of Napoleon, a delicate and doubtful plant in itself, that
required the most cautious treatment to make it really take root and
grow up in such a soil: Some of his councillors, who called themselves
"philosophical statesmen," advised him to lay aside the style of
Emperor, and assume that of High President or Lord General of the
Republic! Annoyed with such puerilities while the enemy was every
day drawing nearer the frontiers he withdrew from the Tuileries to the
comparatively small and retired palace of the Elysee, where he escaped
these talking-dreamers, and felt himself again a sovereign: Shut up with
Benjamin Constant and a few other reasonable politicians, he drew up
the sketch of a new constitution, which was neither much better nor
much worse than the royal charter of Louis XVIII. We give an epitome
of its main features.
The Emperor was to have executive power, and to exercise legislative
power in concurrence with the two Chambers. The Chamber of Peers
was to be hereditary, and nominated by the Emperor, and its number
was unlimited. The Second Chamber was to be elected by the people,
and to consist of 629 members; none to be under the age of twenty-five.
The President was to be appointed by the members, but approved of by
the Emperor. Members were to be paid at the rate settled by the
Constituent Assembly, which was to be renewed every five years. The
Emperor might prorogue, adjourn, or dissolve the House of
Representatives, whose sittings were to be public. The Electoral
Colleges were maintained. Land tax and direct taxes were to be voted
only for a year, indirect taxes might be imposed for several years. No
levy of men for the army nor any exchange of territory was to be made
but by a law. Taxes were to be proposed by the Chamber of
Representatives. Ministers to be responsible. Judges to be irremovable.

Juries to be established. Right of petition, freedom of worship,
inviolability of property, were recognised. Liberty of the press was
given under legal responsibility, and press offences were to be judged
with a jury. No place or part of the territory could be placed in a state of
siege except in case of foreign invasion or civil troubles. Finally, the
French people declared that in the delegation it thus made of its powers
it was not to be taken as giving the right to propose the