#general rapp

The Emperor entrusted me with the care of all his weapons. He even had a subordinate on hand who cleaned and set up the guns and sometimes even traveled with us. He and I would always put a couple of pistols in His Majesty's saddle pocket, so that on the way the Emperor could hunt birds if he wanted to. It happened, however, because of the shaking, the pistols failed, which became the cause of unpleasant conversations. Each time this happened, the emperor blamed me for this.

The palace armorer, Monsieur Le Page, adapted a small safety catch that had to be pressed before aiming. I explained to His Majesty how to use this device, and he found it very ingenious.

We were in Berlin at the time. One morning, after breakfast, Bonaparte mounted his horse to go for a walk, accompanied by senior officers. We passed a wide field full of crows. The emperor ran quickly forward, drew his pistol and fired. But as he did not press the safety catch, no shot was fired. He threw away his pistol in anger and, brandishing his whip, rushed at me. I was among the officer's entourage, but seeing him so angry, I hurried to run, and he chased me. However, realizing that he had no intention of stopping the chase, I stopped. He started to scold me. I wanted to explain to him why the gun was not fired, but he turned around, went up to the highest military commanders and began to make excuses:

— Because of this disgusting Roustam, I failed to shoot a single bird.

I picked up the gun from the ground and fired into the air to make sure he was wrong. The stable boy also checked the gun and said that the gun was indeed in order. As I was very upset, even General Rapp came up to me and said a few words of comfort:

— Don't be angry, Roustam, you know how temperamental the emperor is, but he loves you.

The next day, Bonaparte reminded me of yesterday:

— Well, my fat magician, will you continue to take care of the weapons or…?

— I always watch my weapons and never elude my duties, sir.

He didn't answer, but after that he always used the safety catch and never failed.

And even though the stablemaster was convinced that I wasn't to blame for anything, he tried to inflate this little incident into a big story and even suggested that the person responsible for the gun be fined. Naturally, I asked him what prompted him to be so strict. If he wants my assistant to become more circumspect, then there is no point, because he is already extremely conscientious. I said even more:

— And if, Duke, you decide anyway that someone must pay a fine, let it be me.

And after all this, Caulaincourt gave no rest to my poor assistant, who came to see me without understanding what they wanted from him. I comforted the poor man by explaining to him that even if there was a mistake, it was only my fault, for before I gave the weapon to the emperor, I finally examined it. I had to go once again to the Marquis de Visans and remind him that it would be extreme cruelty to demand a fine from my poor assistant, and that was the end of the issue.