Beauharnais, who had inherited on Josephine's death. There was some
consolation in being with his extended family. Marie Walewska, who had
been with him throughout the Hundred Days except on the four-day
Belgian campaign was there along with an early and a late Bonaparte
mistress, respectively Madame Duchatel and Madame Pellapra; also there
were his two natural sons, Alexandre Walewski and Comte Leon. Once at
Malmaison, a depressed Emperor, convinced that his star had deserted
him and that his public life was over, considered his options. Where
should he go and with what aim? Surrender to the Allies was not feasible,
given that they had outlawed him. The Prussians reiterated that they
would execute him if they caught him, and even though the Austrians
and Russians were unlikely to mete out such a fate, there were special
reasons why he could not consider surrendering to them. To bow the
head to Alexander, the man he patronized at Tilsit, was too much for
pride to bear, while Napoleon could never forgive Emperor Francis for
his treachery in respect of Marie-Louise and his son.
He therefore decided to make his home in the U.S.A. He asked for two
frigates to be put at his disposal and for passports and safe conduct to
Rochefort, where he intended to embark for America, routing his request
through General Beker, commander of the Guard at Malmaison, to
Fouche (now head of the new 'Executive Commission') via Davout.
Fouche authorized the frigates but ordered them not to leave until the
safe-conducts had arrived; this was an obvious trick to remove the
Emperor from the Paris area and keep him immobilized at Rochefort
while he negotiated to hand him over to the highest Allied bidder. Even
in his torpid and debilitated state, Napoleon was able to guess Fouche's
intentions and checkmated them by refusing to leave for Rochefort until
he possessed signed orders to the captains of the two frigates there,
requiring them to sail for America immediately.
At Malmaison Napoleon put his financial affairs in order. Distributing
largesse to his family, he gave Joseph 700,000 francs, Lucien 250,000 and
Jerome 1oo,ooo. He gave Hortense one million francs in timber shares
and entrusted to the banker Jacques Laffitte his personal fortune of
8oo,ooo fr ancs in cash and three million in gold. Then he burnt his
papers, still steadfastly continuing to refuse the option of armed
insurrection. Benjamin Constant, who three months earlier had compared
him to Attila and Genghiz Khan, notably changed his tune and wrote:
'The man who, although still strong in possession of the remains of an
army that had been invincible for twenty years and a name which
electrified the multitude, set aside power rather than dispute it by means
marcin
(Marcin)
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