#paris 1810

Napoleon's correspondance on Napoleonica.org. In full, and searchable.

Something interesting I just realized: It seems Napoleon often wrote to Junot directly, even when he could have gone through the channel of Berthier or Clarke. In this, Junot clearly was treated as somebody special, almost like family, at least clearly as a friend who had the right to receive letters directly from the emperor. It seems nothing would change that, not the defeat of Vimeiro, not the defeat of Gefrees. The last letter Napoleon seems to have written to Junot directly dates from 11 October 1809. Shortly after that, both Napoleon and Junot must have returned to Paris, removing the need to write letters at all. In early 1810, Junot and Laure left once more for the Iberian peninsula.

Metternich to Mme Metternich, 14 February 1810 It is with true sorrow that I take up my quill today. Your letter of 26 January contains one of the scenes that show us the people of 1792 and 1793 exposed and naked. Place a being like J[unot] in a very high position, he will drink blood without letting any misgivings stop him.

That’s Metternich reacting to the news of the scandal Junot had caused after having discovered the correspondence between his wife Laure and Metternich, proving they had had an affair. Metternich himself was not in Paris at the time but had left some time after the war of 1809 between France and Austria had begun, and in the meantime had taken over the ministry of foreign affairs in Austria. However, Lorel Metternich with the kids had stayed in Paris, and Junot had dragged her right in the middle of a scene of severe domestic violence that she immediately informed her husband of, with the help of a secret agent Metternich had in Paris, Benoit des Androuins.

Interestingly, Lorel Metternich at first does not mention any involvement of Caroline Murat in this event, she only lists her as one of the people gossipping about it.

Other than that, Lorel apparently behaved as prudently as she could once she had entered Junot’s house. According to the letter by Androuins, Junot had forced Laure to write a message to Lorel, urgently inviting her over. On entering, Lorel found Laure Junot crying on the sofa, hiding her face in both hands. - According to Laure’s own journal intime, the last hours had been a nightmare for her, including attempted rape and attempted murder. - Once Lorel Metternich was in the room, Junot locked the door behind both women and started to rage against Metternich, demanding Lorel take revenge upon him etc. The only thing Lorel answered was: "But you are mistaken, Monsieur le Duc. This is not my husband’s handwriting." - Despite the fact she had obviously recognized it. Again, according to Laure’s journal intime, she at some point managed to silently ask Laure if she could do something for her.

Despite Lorel’s calm reaction, the scene must have scared her a lot. At least she seems rather relieved to learn that the Junots were to leave the capital, when she writes to her husband:

Bluebeard has finally left with his amazon and, as I am assured, probably never to return.

"Bluebeard" obviously referring to Junot.

Edit: Forgot to add the source for the two letters: Conti, "Metternich und die Frauen", Vol. 1 - The description of what may (or not) have happened during the night when Laure was alone with Junot are a brief summary of the excerpts from Laure's "journal intime" quoted in Toussaint du Wast, "Laure Junot". It is to be noted that this "journal intime" may have been written years after the event for Balzac, and that it is per se unverifiable.

However, Lorel Metternich calling Junot "Bluebeard" at least strongly hints at her, too, being convinced that Junot had physically abused and possibly tried to murder Laure.

In late 1809/early 1810 Eugène's father-in-law Max Joseph, king of Bavaria, and queen Karoline visited Paris and so had ample opportunity to witness the preparations for Napoleon's re-marriage first-hand. Though, as Ménéval relates in Volume 2 of the "Mémoires pour servire à l'histoire de Napoleon Premier", sometimes their curiosity got the better of them:

I recall that the King and Queen of Bavaria, having come during the day to visit the Emperor, wished to see the appartment intended for the new Empress. Napoleon, treating them with a familiarity that suited the king perfectly, wanted to spare them the trouble of leaving the salon where he had received them, in order to reach by the grand staircase the ground floor where the Empress's appartment was situated. He led the Bavarian sovereigns through his cabinet and took them down the small winding staircase which communicated with this appartment. The light in this staircase had been turned off, because the appartment was not inhabited. At the same time it was so narrow that the stout build of the King of Bavaria was ill at ease there, and forced him to turn sideways. The darkness prevailing there excited some surprise; but, when we reached the bottom of the staircase, it happened, to make matters worse, that the door was locked... The embarrassment was great. I preceded Their Majesties, the Emperor followed me, then the Queen and finally the King. The Emperor seemed to have lured them into an ambush, and if we had been in the Middle Ages, what sinister ideas would no doubt have occurred to the King and Queen! The King of Bavaria exclaimed that if one knew in what situation the Emperor Napoleon was with his guests, one would be very surprised. At last we had to go back in reverse order, and the visit to the Empress's rooms had to be postponed to another day. This little event had left its mark on the king's mind, for he did me the honour of telling me about it long afterwards, saying that he felt like laughing every time he thought of it.

Andreas Hofer, by A. Defregger, mid 19th-century. The leader of the Tyrolian rebellion of 1809 had been taken captive by French troops of the Kingdom of Italy on January 28, 1810, and, despite the fact that as a Bavarian subject he was not under French jurisdiction, was well-respected by French generals and officials and an Austrian request for clemency was to be expected in view of the upcoming marriage to Marie Louise, was trialed and shot on February 20, 1810.

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With regards to Hofer, there are some interesting statements by Napoleon:

Napoleon to Metternich, during an audience end of March/early April 1810, about the shooting of Andreas Hofer:

This is an ugly thing [...] and has been done against my wishes and interests. Hofer was a brave man whom I counted on to let him pacify Tyrol. Offer my apologies to your master, but you see that I, too, am as badly served as others.

(Letter by Metternich to emperor Franz of Austria, April 4, 1810; quoted in: Corti, “Metternich und die Frauen”, Vol. I)

Also Napoleon, a couple of weeks earlier, on February 11, 1810, in a letter to Eugène de Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy:

My son, I had asked you to bring Hofer to Paris. But since he is in Mantua, send an order to form a military commission at once to try him, and to have him shot at the place where your order arrives, so that all this may be a matter of twenty-four hours.

Eugène’s final order to have Hofer shot was sent via optical telegraph, so must have reached Mantua within a couple of hours. I do not know what caused the week-long delay between Napoleon’s order and Hofer’s trial, but given Eugène’s character it’s not unlikely that he tried to intervene on Hofer’s behalf one more time or simply let the order sit on his desk and hoped Napoleon would forget about it or change his mind.

The original of this letter, in the French Archives, carries a handwritten note from a member of the historical commission tasked with publishing the “Correspondance de Napoléon Premier” under Napoleon III:

Höffer or Hoeffer is the heroic Tyrolean who made war on us. Napoleon was freeing himself from this hero. This is all very well, if you like. But a little clemency might have been more effective. In any case, this is impossible to publish.

On the evening of March 1, 1810, Countess Eleonore »Lorel« von Metternich, wife of the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Schwarzenberg are invited to a very intimate cercle in the Tuileries. Berthier is still on his way to Vienna to officially ask for Marie Louise’s hand. Lorel later writes to her husband about this occasion:

"[…] the Emperor almost did not leave my side, and spoke unceasingly of his happiness; upon my honour, I believe him to be head over heels in love. I would like the little Archduchess to already be as far as I am. I am no longer afraid of him at all and feel completely comfortable around him. I laugh and chat with him. He said the nicest things to me, by the way: 'You are lovely, Madame de Metternich. It is you who wished this marriage, who brought it about. Consequently, you form my greatest happiness and after you, your spouse. I see that without him, without the knowledge he has of my character, this union would never have taken place. Write this to him. You may say that I am satisfied with him, with the Emperor, with the Empress, simply with all the world. I have no more desire on earth than to please the Archduchess and to shower her with happiness. I love her, I adore her. All the world already loves her here and must love her.' Thus he spoke to me for two hours."

The only thing Napoleon asked for was for somebody to make sure that »her teeth are brushed«. Obviously, one spouse with rotten teeth (Josephine’s were horrible by all accounts) was enough.