Added to that, an unidentified infection she had contracted while in San Domingo had recurred. It caused sores to break out on her hands and arms and, so far, no doctor had been able to produce a cure. In vain she had taken courses of the waters at Pisa and Florence, but without their doing her any good, and she complained bitterly at the frustration she felt at being the wife of a millionaire, yet unable to enjoy life owing to ill health and being denied the excitement of continuing to have lovers.
Roger felt deeply sorry for her, but it now amused him to speculate upon what glorified appointment he would have received had they married. Murat, although he knew nothing whatever about war at sea, had been made High Admiral, so Roger, as another of Napoleon's brothers-in-law, could have counted on becoming Grand Something or Other of the Empire, with a huge income to support the dignity. Even so, now he was no longer subject to Pauline's extraordinary sexual attraction be felt that he had had a lucky escape; for no honours, however great, could have compensated him for enduring an empty-minded, nymphomaniac wife.
Meanwhile, towards the end of April he had been able to get up for an hour or two each day and by mid-May to come downstairs for gentle exercise and fresh air in the garden. At the end of that month, although the kindly Boutherons pressed him to stay on, he insisted that he no longer had any excuse for accepting their generous hospitality. To show his gratitude for their care of him he spent a considerable sum in buying mother, father and daughter extravagant presents that amazed and delighted them; then he returned to his old quarters at La Belle Etoile.
As he continued to suffer now and then from splitting headaches he still felt unequal to resuming his duties, so he whiled away the best part of June, whenever he felt up to it, by dining with many of his numerous friends and attending the most famous salons to hear the news and rumours of the day.
The chief topic was Moreau who, with the other conspirators, had been put on trial on May 28th. A special law had been passed depriving all persons of trial by jury who had plotted against the First Consul's life; so the accused were subjected to a form of court martial which meant that pressure could be exerted on the judges to secure convictions.
As the victor of Hohenlinden, Moreau still enjoyed a considerable degree of popularity with the masses; so his trial had to be conducted with ostensible fairness. In consequence, Napoleon could not prevent it from emerging that, although Moreau had met Pichegru in secret, he had persistently refused to lend himself to the plot and could be convicted of no more than desiring Napoleon's overthrow.
The result was that, on June 20th, the judges sentenced him only to two years' imprisonment. Napoleon was furious at this, as he had wished Moreau to be condemned to death, so that he could receive credit for the gracious act of pardoning him. As things were, all he could do was to grant Moreau his release on condition that he emigrated to the United States.
Of the real conspirators who had been tried with him, twenty were sentenced to death. Owing to the intercession of Josephine and Madame Mere, Napoleon commuted the sentence of the Polignacs and de Rivere to a term of imprisonment; but Georges Cadoudal, his brave Bretons and the other commoners suffered the extreme penalty.
A few days after the conclusion of the trial Roger reported for duty to his master. Napoleon was the last man ever to admit having made a mistake but, with a sharp glance at Roger, he said, 'In Fouché's opinion, my having ordered the execution of d'Enghien was not a crime but worse, a blunder. No doubt you think that too, but I have no regrets that your accident prevented you from interfering with my plans. I always know what 1 am doing and the Duke's death served its purpose'
Nothing now was to be gained by arguing the matter, so Roger said suavely, 'The fact that I may now address you as "Sire" is proof of it; and now that I am well again I hope once more to be of service to Your Majesty. May 1 take it that you are still contemplating the invasion of England?'
'Certainly,' Napoleon replied abruptly. 'But I have suffered certain most annoying setbacks. My building programme for big ships is a long way behind schedule and the smaller ones are far from satisfactory. In April some forty of them were caught in a storm while on an exercise off Boulogne and driven on to the coast at Etaples mostly as wrecks.'
After a moment he went on, 'However, I have good hopes for this summer. In the Spring Latouche-Trevillc succeeded Gantheaume as Commander of our Mediterranean Fleet. I have ordered him to put to sea from Toulon and elude Admiral Nelson's squadron by heading for Egypt, then to turn back in the night and pass the Straits of Gibraltar. He is next to drive off in turn the English squadrons blockading Cadiz and Rochefort. thus freeing our ships lying in those ports. With these reinforcements he will sail far out into the Atlantic, as though making for the West Indies, turn back again, elude Cornwallis by a dash up the Channel and join our fleet in Cherbourg. Should he succeed in this we'll have a fleet massed here large enough to take on the English at any time the weather becomes favourable for transporting an army to the coast of Kent.'
Apart from the fact that the plan under-rated British alertness, it was sound strategy and Roger showed no hesitation in congratulating his master upon it.
Recently he had learned that, in the middle of the previous month, Mr. Pitt had again become Prime Minister. How that had come about, and of the composition of the new Cabinet he as yet knew nothing; but he. recalled Mr. Pitt's saying when they were last together at Walmer that he thought Britain had little to fear as long as the French fleet could be prevented from dominating the Channel. Roger wished now that he had some way of conveying Napoleon's intentions to Downing Street; but for a long time past he had had no channels by which he could send secret information back to England and, having again only just reported for duty, he saw no prospect of getting across himself for some time to come.
Napoleon then added, 'I am setting out on another inspection of the Army of the Coast early in July. You will come with me.'
Realizing that the interview was over. Roger made a deeper than usual bow to the newly-created Emperor, said "As ever, it will be a privilege to accompany Your Majesty,' and withdrew.
Three days later there was a magnificent ceremony at Les Invalides. The Comtc de Segur. a returned emigre who had once been a Chamberlain at the Court of Versailles, was put in charge of the arrangements and produced a splendid spectacle. It was over four years since Bonaparte had announced his intention of creating a Legion of Honour, but so great had been the opposition to it by the old Republicans that he had shelved the idea. Now, as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, no one could dispute his right to do so.
Members of the Imperial family, the newly-made Marshals, the members of the Council of State and the Senate, scores of Generals, Brigadiers and Colonels, all in brilliant uniforms or rich robes, were assembled there, together with Josephine and the ladies of her Court dressed in bright silks, satins, velvets and brocades and decked with dazzling jewels. The assembly also included scientists, men of letters, doctors and lawyers; the best brains in France, for distinguished civilians were also eligible for the Order.
Everyone among the soldiers who had received a Sword of Honour, which included Roger, was automatically to become a member of the Legion. But, under Napoleon himself, as Grand Master, it was to consist of four grades, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Legionary. To Roger's surprise and delight, when his turn came to be decorated he was given the cross of a Commander; a great honour, as only three other Colonels in the whole army were given that rank and even some of the Generals were not. As le brave Breuc none of his companions grudged it to him but, when Napoleon pinned the cross on his chest he said:
'For your devotion to duty at Toulon, Venice, in Egypt and at Marengo.' Then he bent forward to whisper, and Roger thought he was going to say something about the conspiracy; but, with sly humour, he added 'and as a Lieutenant at Bruges.'
The following day a great cavalcade of coaches and horsemen set off with the Emperor, accompanied by Josephine, for the coast.
But there a horrible disaster was to take place. On arriving at Boulogne Napoleon ordered Admiral Bruix to send his flotilla to sea next morning to perform an exercise that could be witnessed from the shore. When morning came the vessels were still in harbour. Bruix was sent for and said that the exercises could not take place as a storm was expected to blow up.
Napoleon was furious and curtly told the Admiral to have the flotilla put to sea at once. Bruix retired, but an hour later the vessels were still in port; so he was sent for again. In vain he protested that the weather was worsening and that to carry out the exercise would endanger the lives of his men. On receiving a further imperative order to proceed, he flatly refused to obey.
The Emperor roared with rage, threw his hat on the floor and raised his riding whip. His staff stood by petrified by this awful scene, for the Admiral took a quick step back and laid his hand on his sword. Napoleon did not strike him but, with a torrent of foul language, dismissed him from his post and exiled him to Holland. Then, with blazing eyes, in a voice of thunder he turned to Bruix's second in command, Rear Admiral Magon, and charged him instantly to carry out the order.
The flotilla put to sea. The sky grew dark and an hour later a violent storm was sending great waves crashing on the shore. The low-built, heavily laden invasion craft proved incapable of weathering it. One after the other they were swamped and overturned. The Emperor and his staff, watching from the beach, were horrified.
Appalled by the result of having enforced his order, Napoleon set an example by running to a small boat with the intention of attempting to rescue some of the men who were being tossed towards the shore by the huge breakers. Fearing he would be drowned, some of his officers dashed after him and endeavoured to hold him back. But yelling, 'Let me go! Let me go! They must be saved!' he broke away from them and jumped into the boat. A minute later a wave broke over it, filling it with foaming water. As it sank under him he was dragged back, soaked and blaspheming, to the shore. Nothing could be done. They could only stand there, drenched with spray, while the seamen and soldiers drowned before their eyes. Next morning over two hundred bodies were washed up.
Undeterred by this terrible event, Napoleon held the great review that had been planned. In the huge natural amphitheatre, not far from Caesar's Tower, the eighty thousand men who formed Soult's army were drawn up. Seated in an ancient iron chair that was said to have been the throne of King Dagobcrt, Napoleon received the acclamations of his troops, then administered to them en masse the same oath of allegiance as had been taken by the brilliant company at Les Invalides. There followed another distribution of crosses of the Legion. Finally, with a dramatic gesture, he pointed across the sea to the white cliffs of Dover and cried »o those about him, 'We need only to be masters of the Channel for six hours to be masters of the world.'
Roger cheered as loudly as the others; while thinking to himself how extraordinary it was that a man who could grasp the essentials of not only military problems, but also social, legal and administrative ones, with such swiftness, should continue to be so blind to those that concerned the sea.
Now I hat he was taking a special interest in all matters to do with the French Navy, he had recently gone to some pains to get a sight of a confidential report from the Admiralty. So as not to give umbrage to the Emperor one fact had been sugared over with 'ifs’ and 'buts'. Yet when denuded of those it was a statement that, owing to the vast number of invasion craft that had been built, it would take six days to get them out of their ports. And after the tragedy that had befallen the local flotilla Roger was of the opinion that, even if the British fleet was decoyed away from the Channel for a week, Napoleon would still not succeed in landing any considerable body of troops on the English beaches.
As it transpired Latouchc-Trevillc, who was due to sail from Toulon on the 13th of that month, in the attempt to fox Nelson and Cornwallis, never reached the Channel. On August 20th he died suddenly and this led to the operation being postponed.
Meanwhile the Imperial cortege moved up the coast for a further series of inspections, in due course arriving at Aix-la-Chapelle where Charlemagne's remains were entombed. A solemn Mass was held in the Cathedral and afterwards Josephine was offered the arm-bone of the mighty King. Proudly she declared that she would not deprive the city of this precious relic as she had the support of an arm as great as that of Charlemagne. But Napoleon made off with the insignia and sword of the Frankish Emperor so that he could use them at his own coming Coronation.
The sight of the white cliffs of Dover and the progress of the cortege up the Channel coast had caused Roger to think more frequently than ever of Georgina, until he became obsessed with the idea that he must find out for certain if she was alive or dead. By now it was certain that she would either have returned to England or her fate would be known; but the only way to find out was to go there.
Having made his plan he pretended loss of appetite and for ten days half-starved himself until he had lost a stone in weight, become pale and looked obviously ill. Josephine drew Napoleon's attention to his state, which gave him the opportunity he was seeking. With apparent reluctance he admitted that something was radically wrong with him and said that he feared he must ask for sick leave.
The Emperor granted it at once but, before dismissing him, said kindly, 'Get well quickly, mon brave Breuc. Unless your state does not permit it I insist that you rejoin me before the beginning of December. I wish all my old friends to be present at my Coronation. I have sent for the Pope to crown me and it will be a magnificent affair.'
In consequence, while Napoleon and his entourage made their way up the Rhine on a long tour of the defences there, Roger rode back to Paris then down to Bordeaux. After two days of discreet enquiries he found a Captain who was about to run a cargo of claret over to the Devon coast, and on September 10th he landed in a secluded cove near Sidmouth. Two days later he was in London.
As usual, he went straight to Amesbury House and, the moment he came face to face with Droopy Ned, enquired about Georgina. His old friend sadly shook his head and said:
'Alas, dear Roger, I fear we will see her no more. As you know, she sailed last autumn to the Indies, in part for the pleasure of getting away from our atrocious climate during the winter months, but also with a view to supervising per- sonally the disposal of John Beefy's plantations there. That, I am told, she carried out to good advantage, for she was far nimbler witted that most women, and 'twas in order to guard against being rooked by some unscrupulous land agent that she journeyed there herself. About mid-March she sailed for home in a well-found merchantman out of Bristol named "Enterprise." 'Tis known that the ship took the usual north-eastern course through the "Windward Passage" between Cuba and San Domingo, but after that she disappeared. No hurricane was reported at about that period but in those waters there are many uncharted rocks and shoals, so
the ship may have struck one in the night and gone down. On the other hand she may have been attacked'
'She was,' Roger cut him short, 'by a Sea Rover, a Frenchman or some other privateer. I know not which, but I am certain of it. On the evening of March 20lh, which fits well with what you say, I saw the ship burning and about to sink.' He then gave an account of the vision he had had.
Droopy did not question his having had this psychic experience, but said, Then we must account her dead. This happened nearly six months ago. Had she become the captive of some buccaneer he would have demanded a ransom for her, and by this time we'd know of it.'
Roger bowed his head, 'Somehow I cannot believe her dead. Yet the facts as known appear to prove it to be so. In time, perhaps, I'll get used to the thought. But she was the love of my life, and 'tis a blow from which I'll ne'er recover.'
That night, to take Roger's mind off his sorrow, Droopy brought him up-to-date with the political situation. Soon after he had last left England dissatisfaction with Addington's government had become almost universal. In February the King had been afflicted with another spell o
f madness and was extremely ill. Fox had seized the opportunity to initiate another intrigue with the object of getting his patron, the Prince of Wales, made Regent. The Tories had succeeded in thwarting it temporarily but when, in May, the King had recovered he could no longer ignore the popular outcry that Addington must go. So he had sent for Pitt.
During his long administration Pitt had fought the French with dogged determination; but he was a man of peace, detested war and had no gift for directing it. His real genius lay in the field of finance, and in his early years as Prime Minister he had performed a miracle by bringing Britain to a marvellous prosperity after the terrible depression into which the loss of her American colonics had dragged her. On becoming Prime Minister Addington had scrapped Pitt's taxation policy and introduced one that was proving disastrous to commerce. And it was in the hope of saving Britain from bankruptcy, more than on any other count, that Pitt had agreed to accept office again.
During the three years Addington had been Prime Minister the House had become divided into several parties, each bitterly opposed to the others. He had had the support of the die-hard Tories who were determined to keep the Whigs out, but many of the ablest ex-Ministers who had served under Pitt were determined to bring him back and criticized Addington at every opportunity. Fox, as the leader of the die-hard Whigs, had gained strength owing to this dissension; yet the Portland Whigs refused him their full support. Grenvillc, who hated and despised Addington had, meanwhile, quarrelled with Pitt and was leading a splinter group of Tories.
In consequence, that Spring Pitt had been faced with the awful problem of reconciling these factions and inducing their leaders to combine in an administration that would be truly national, so that it should have the confidence of the country.
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