——[MadamedeStaelbrieflymentionthisinterviewinher’ConsiderationssurlaRevolutionFrancaise’"M.Necker，"shesays，"hadaninterviewwithBonaparte，whenhewasonhiswaytoItalybythepassageofMont.St.Bernard，afewdaysbeforethebattleofMarengo，Duringthisconversation，whichlastedtwohours，theFirstConsulmadeaveryfavourableimpressiononmyfatherbytheconfidentwayhespokeofhisfutureprojects."——Bourrienne.]——
Iknownothowithappened，butatthetimehedidnotspeaktomeofthisinterview.However，IwascurioustoknowwhatbethoughtofamanwhohadacquiredmuchcelebrityinFrance.Oneevening，whenweweretalkingofonethingandanother，Imanagedtoturntheconversationonthatsubject.M.Necker，"saidhe，"appearstomeveryfarbelowhisreputation.HedidnotequaltheideaIhadformedofhim.ItriedallIcouldtogethimtotalk;buthesaidnothingremarkable.Heisanideologist——
——[ThiswasaconstanttermofreproachwithBonaparte.HesetallthemetaphysiciansoftheContinentagainsthimbyexclaiming，"Jeneveuxpointd’ideologues."]——
abanker.Itisimpossiblethatsuchamancanhaveanybutnarrowviews;and，besides，mostcelebratedpeopleloseonacloseview."——
"Notalways，General，"observedI——"Ah！"saidhe，smiling，"thatisnotbad，Bourrienne.Youareimproving.IseeIshallmakesomethingofyouintime！"
Thedaywasapproachingwhenallwastobelostorwon.TheFirstConsulmadeallhisarrangements，andsentoffthedifferentcorpstooccupythepointsbehadmarkedout.IhavealreadymentionedthatMurat’staskwastheoccupationofPiacenza.AssoonashewasinpossessionofthattownheinterceptedacourierofGeneralMelas.Thedespatch，whichwasaddressedtotheAulicCouncilofVienna，wasdeliveredtousonthenightofthe8thofJune.ItannouncedthecapitulationofGenoa，whichtookplaceonthe4th，afterthelongandmemorabledefencewhichreflectedsomuchhonouronMassena.Melasinhisdespatchspokeofwhathecalledourpretendedarmyofreservewithinconceivablecontempt，andalludedtothepresenceofBonaparteinItalyasamerefabrication.HedeclaredhewasstillinParis.ItwaspastthreeinthemorningwhenMurat’scourierarrived.Iimmediatelytranslatedthedespatch，whichwasinGerman.Aboutfouro’clockIenteredthechamberoftheFirstConsul，whomIwasobligedtoshakebythearminordertowakehim.Hehaddesiredme;asIhavealreadymentioned，nevertorespecthisreposeanthearrivalofbadnews;butonthereceiptofgoodnewstolethimsleep.Ireadtohimthedespatch，andsomuchwasheconfoundedbythisunexpectedeventthathisfirstexclamationwas，"Bah！youdonotunderstandGerman."Buthardlyhadbeutteredthesewordswhenhearose，andbyeighto’clockinthemorningordersweredespatchedforrepairingthepossibleconsequencesofthisdisaster，andcountermandingthemarchofthetroopsontheScrivia.HehimselfproceededthesamedaytoStradella.
IhaveseenitmentionedinsomeaccountsthattheFirstConsulinpersongainedthebattleofMontebello.Thisisamistake.HedidnotleaveMilanuntilthe9thofJune，andthatverydayLanneswasengagedwiththeenemy.TheconflictwassoterriblethatLannes，afewdaysafter，describingitinmypresencetoM.Collot，usedtheseremarkablewords，whichIwellremember："Boneswerecrackinginmydivisionlikeashowerofhailfallingonaskylight."
ByasingularchanceDesaix，whowastocontributetothevictoryandstoptheroutofMarengo，arrivedfromEgyptatToulon，ontheverydayonwhichwedepartedfromParis.HewasenabledtoleaveEgyptinconsequenceofthecapitulationofEl—Arish，whichhappenedonthe4thofJanuary1800.Hewrotemealetter，dated16thFloreal，yearVIII.（6thofMay1800），announcinghisarrival.ThisletterIdidnotreceiveuntilwereachedMartigny.IshowedittotheFirstConsul."Ah！"
exclaimedhe，"DesaixinParis！"andheimmediatelydespatchedanorderforhimtorepairtotheheadquartersofthearmyofItalywherevertheymightbe.DesaixarrivedatStradellaonthemorningofthe11thofJune.TheFirstConsulreceivedhimwiththewarmestcordiality，asamanforwhomhehadahighesteem，andwhosetalentsandcharacteraffordedthefairestpromiseofwhatmightonedaybeexpectedofhim.
Bonapartewasjealousofsomegenerals，therivalryofwhoseambitionhefeared;butonthissubjectDesaixgavehimnouneasiness;equallyremarkableforhisunassumingdisposition，histalent，andinformation，heprovedbyhisconductthathelovedgloryforherownsake，andthateverywishforthepossessionofpoliticalpowerwasforeigntohismind.
Bonaparte’sfriendshipforhimwasenthusiastic.AtthisinterviewatStradella，DesaixwasclosetedwiththeFirstConsulforupwardsofthreehours.OnthedayafterhisarrivalanorderofthedaycommunicatedtothearmythatDesaixwasappointedtothecommandofBoudet’sdivision.
——[BoudetwasontermsofgreatintimacywithBonaparte，who，nodoubt，wasmuchaffectedathisdeath.However，theonlyremarkhemadeonreceivingtheintelligence，was"WhothedevilshallIgettosupplyBoudet’splace？"——Bourrienne.
ThecommandgiventoDesaixwasacorpsespeciallyformedofthetwodivisionsofBoudetandMonnier（Savary，tomei.p.262）.BoudetwasnotkilledatMarengo，stilllessbefore（seeErreurs，tomei.
p.14）.]——
IexpressedtoBonapartemysurpriseathislonginterviewwithDesaix.
"Yes，"repliedhe，"hehasbeenalongtimewithme;butyouknowwhatafavouriteheis.AssoonasIreturntoParisIwillmakehimWarMinister.IwouldmakehimaprinceifIcould.Heisquiteanantiquecharacter."Desaixdiedtwodaysafterhehadcompletedhisthirty—thirdyear，andinlessthanaweekaftertheaboveobservations.
AboutthistimeM.CollotcametoItalyandsawBonaparteatMilan.Thelatterreceivedhimcoldly，thoughhehadnotyetgainedthebattleofMarengo.M.CollothedbeenonthemostintimatefootingwithBonaparte，andhadrenderedhimmanyvaluableservices.ThesecircumstancessufficientlyaccountedforBonaparte’scoolness，forhewouldneveracknowledgehimselfunderobligationstoanyone，andhedidnotlikethosewhowereinitiatedintocertainfamilysecretswhichhehadresolvedtoconceal.
——[ThedayaftertheinterviewIhadalongconversationwithM.
CollotwhileBonapartewasgonetoreviewsomecorpsstationedatMilan.M.Collotperfectlyunderstoodthecauseoftheunkindtreatmenthehadexperienced，andofwhichhegavemethefollowingexplanation：
SomedaysbeforetheConsulate——thatistosay，twoorthreedaysafterourreturnfromEgypt，——Bonaparte，duringhisjealousfit，spoketoM.Collotabouthiswife，herlevities，andtheirpublicity."Henceforth，"saidBonaparte，"Iwillhavenothingtodowithher."——"What，wouldyoupartfromher？"——"Doesnotherconductjustifymeinsodoing？"——"Idonotknow;butisthisthetimetothinkofsuchathing，whentheeyesofallFrancearefixeduponyou？Thesedomesticsquabbleswilldegradeyouintheeyesofthepeople，whoexpectyoutobewhollydevotedtotheirinterests;andyouwillbelaughedat，likeoneofMoliere’shusbands，ifyouaredispleasedwithyourwife’sconductyoucancallhertoaccountwhenyouhavenothingbettertodo.Beginbyraisingupthestate.
Afterthatyoumayfindathousandreasonsforyourresentmentwhennowyouwouldnotfindone.YouknowtheFrenchpeoplewellenoughtoseehowimportantitisthatyoushouldnotcommencewiththisabsurdity."
BytheseandothersimilarremarksM.Collotthoughthehadproducedsomeimpression，whenBonapartesuddenlyexclaimed："No，mydeterminationisfixed;sheshallneveragainentermyhouse.I
carenotwhatpeoplesay.Theywillgossipabouttheaffairfortwodays，andonthethirditwillbeforgotten.SheshallgotoMalmaison，andIwilllivehere.Thepublicknowenough，nottobemistakenastothereasonsofherremoval."
M.Collotvainlyendeavouredtocalmhisirritation.BonaparteventedatorrentofreproachesuponJosephine."Allthisviolence，"
observedM.Collot，"provesthatyoustillloveher.Dobutseeher，shewillexplainthebusinesstoyoursatisfactionandyouwillforgiveher.——"Iforgiveher！Never！Collot，youknowme.IfI
werenotsureofmyownresolution，Iwouldtearoutthisheart，andcastitintothefire."Hereangeralmostchokedhisutterance，andhemadeamotionwithhishandasiftearinghisbreast.
WhenthisviolentparoxysmhadsomewhatsubsidedM.Collotwithdrew;
butbeforehewentawayBonaparteinvitedhimtobreakfastonthefollowingmorning.
Atteno’clockM.Collotwasthere，andashewaspassingthroughthecourtyardhewasinformedthatMadameBonaparte，who，asIhavealreadymentioned，hadgonetoLyonswithoutmeetingtheGeneral，hadreturnedduringthenight.OnM.Collot’sentranceBonaparteappearedconsiderablyembarrassed.Heledhimintoasideroom，notwishingtobringhimintotheroomwhereIwaswriting."Well，"
saidBonapartetoM.Collot，"sheishere."——"Irejoicetohearit.
Youhavedonewellforyourselfaswellasforus."——"ButdonotimagineIhaveforgivenher.AslongasIliveIshallsuspect.
Thefactis，thatonherarrivalIdesiredhertobegone;butthatfoolJosephwasthere.WhatcouldIdo，Collot？IsawherdescendthestaircasefollowedbyEugineandHortense.Theywereallweeping;andIhavenotahearttoresisttearsEugenewaswithmeinEgypt.Ihavebeenaccustomedtolookuponhimasmyadoptedson.Heisafinebravelad.Hortenseisjustabouttobeintroducedintosociety，andsheisadmiredbyallwhoknowher.
Iconfess，Collot，Iwasdeeplymoved;Icouldnotendurethedistressofthetwopoorchildren.’Shouldthey，’thoughtI，’sufferfortheirmother’sfaults？’IcalledbackEugeneandHortense，andtheirmotherfollowedthem.WhatcouldIsay，whatcouldIdo？Ishouldnotbeamanwithoutsomeweakness.’——
"Beassuredtheywillrewardyouforthis."——"Theyought，Collottheyought;forithascostmeahardstruggle."AfterthisdialogueBonaparteandM.Collotenteredthebreakfast—parlour，whereIwasthensitting.Eugenebreakfastedwithus，butneitherJosephinenorHortense.IhavealreadyrelatedhowIactedthepartofmediatorinthisaffair.NextdaynothingwaswantingtocompletethereconciliationbetweentheConquerorofEgyptandthecharmingwomanwhoconqueredBonaparte.——Bourrienne.]——
Onthe13ththeFirstConsulsleptatTorrediGalifolo.Duringtheeveningheorderedastaff—officertoascertainwhethertheAustrianshadabridgeacrosstheBormida.Areportarrivedverylatethattherewasnone.ThisinformationsetBonaparte’smindatrest，andhewenttobedverywellsatisfied;butearlynextmorning，whenafiringwasheard，andhelearnedthattheAustrianshaddebouchedontheplain，wherethetroopswereengaged，heflewintoafuriouspassion，calledthestaff—
officeracoward，andsaidhehadnotadvancedfarenough.Heevenspokeofbringingthemattertoaninvestigation.
FrommotivesofdelicacyIrefrainfrommentioningthedameoftheofficerherealludedto.
Bonapartemountedhishorseandproceededimmediatelytothesceneofaction.Ididnotseehimagainuntilsixintineevening.Inobediencetohisinstructions;IrepairedtoSanGiuliano，whichisnotabovetwoleaguesfromtheplacewheretheengagementcommenced.InthecourseoftheafternoonIsawagreatmanywoundedpassingthroughthevillage，andshortlyafterwardsamultitudeoffugitives.AtSanGiulianonothingwastalkedofbutaretreat，which，itwassaid，Bonapartealonefirmlyopposed.IwasthenadvisedtoleaveSanGiuliano，whereIhadjustreceivedacourierfortheGeneral—in—Chief.Onthemorningofthe14thGeneralDesaixwassenttowardsNovitoobservetheroadtoGenoa，whichcityhadfallenseveraldaysbefore，inspiteoftheeffortsofitsillustriousdefender，Massena.IreturnedwiththisdivisiontoSanGiuliano.Iwasstruckwiththenumericalweaknessofthecorpswhichwasmarchingtoaidanarmyalreadymuchreducedanddispersed.Thebattlewaslookeduponaslost，andsoindeeditwas.TheFirstConsulhavingaskedDesaixwhathethoughtofit，thatbraveGeneralbluntlyreplied，"Thebattleiscompletelylost;butitisonlytwoo’clock，wehavetimetogainanotherto—day."IheardthisfromBonapartehimselfthesameevening.WhocouldhaveimaginedthatDesaix’slittlecorps，togetherwiththefewheavycavalrycommandedbyGeneralKellerman，would，aboutfiveo’clock，havechangedthefortuneoftheday？ItcannotbedeniedthatitwastheinstantaneousinspirationofKellermanthatconvertedadefeatintoavictory，anddecidedthebattleofMarengo.
Thatmemorablebattle，ofwhichtheresultswereincalculable，hasbeendescribedinvariousways.Bonapartehadanaccountofitcommencednolessthanthreetimes;andImustconfessthatnoneofthenarrativesaremorecorrectthanthatcontainedinthe’MemoirsoftheDukeofRovigo’.
TheEmperorNapoleonbecamedissatisfiedwithwhathadbeensaidbytheFirstConsulBonaparte.Formypart，nothavinghadthehonourtobearasword，IcannotsaythatIsawanyparticularmovementexecutedthisorthatway;butImaymentionherewhatIheardontheeveningofthebattleofMarengorespectingtheprobablechancesofthatevent.AstothepartwhichtheFirstConsultookinit，thereader，perhaps，issufficientlyacquaintedwithhischaractertoaccountforit.Hedidnotchoosethataresultsodecisiveshouldbeattributedtoanyothercausethanthecombinationsofhisgenius，andifIhadnotknownhisinsatiablethirstforgloryIshouldhavebeensurprisedatthesortofhalfsatisfactionevincedatthecauseofthesuccessamidstthejoymanifestedforthesuccessitself.ItmustbeconfessedthatinthishewasveryunlikeJourdan，Hoche，Kleber，andMoreau，whowereeverreadytoacknowledgetheservicesofthosewhohadfoughtundertheirorders.
WithintwohoursofthetimewhenthedivisionscommandedbyDesaixleftSanGiulianoIwasjoyfullysurprisedbythetriumphantreturnofthearmy，whosefate，sincethemorning，hadcausedmesomuchanxiety.
Neverdidfortunewithinsoshortatimeshowherselfundertwosuchvariousfaces.Attwoo’clockalldenotedthedesolationofadefeat，withallitsfatalconsequences;atfivevictorywasagainfaithfultotheflagofArcola.Italywasreconqueredbyasingleblow，andthecrownofFranceappearedintheperspective.
Atsevenintheevening，whenIreturnedwiththeFirstConsultoheadquarters，heexpressedtomehissincereregretforthelossofDesaix，andthenheadded，"LittleKellermanmadealuckycharge.Hediditatjusttherightmoment.Wearemuchindebtedtohim.Youseewhattriflingcircumstancesdecidetheseaffairs."
ThesefewwordsshowthatBonapartesufficientlyappreciatedtheservicesofKellerman.However，whenthatofficerapproachedthetableatwhichwereseatedtheFirstConsulandanumberofhisgenerals，Bonapartemerelysaid，"Youmadeaprettygoodcharge."Bywayofcounter—
balancingthiscoolcomplimentheturnedtowardsBessieres，whocommandedthehorsegrenadiersoftheGuard，andsaid，"Bessieres，theGuardhascovereditselfwithglory."Yetthefactis，thattheGuardtooknopartinthechargeofKellerman，whocouldassembleonly500heavycavalry;
andwiththishandfulofbravemenhecutintwotheAustriancolumn，whichhadoverwhelmedDesaix’sdivision，andhadmade6000prisoners.
TheGuarddidnotchargeatMarengountilnightfall.
NextdayitwasreportedthatKellerman，inhisfirstfeelingofdissatisfactionatthedrycongratulationhehadreceived，saidtotheFirstConsul，"Ihavejustplacedthecrownonyourhead！"Ididnothearthis，andIcannotvouchforthetruthofitshavingbeensaid.I
couldonlyhaveascertainedthatfartthroughBonaparte，andofcourseIcouldnot，withpropriety，remindhimofathingwhichmusthavebeenveryoffensivetohim.However，whethertrueornot，theobservationwascirculatedabout，verballyandinwriting，andBonaparteknewit.HencethesmalldegreeoffavourshowntoKellerman，whowasnotmadeageneralofdivisiononthefieldofbattleasarewardforhischargeatMarengo.
——[IfSavary’sstorybecorrect，andhewasthenaidedecamptoDesaix，andBourrienneacknowledgeshisaccounttobethebest，theinspirationofthechargedidnotcomefromtheyoungKellerman.
SavarysaysthatDesaixsenthimtotellNapoleonthathecouldnotdelayhisattack，andthathemustbesupportedbysomecavalry.
SavarywasthensentbyNapoleontoaspotwherehewastoldhewouldfindKellerman，toorderhimtochargeinsupportofDesaix.
DesaixandKellermanweresoplacedastobeoutofsightofeachother（Savary，tomei.pp.279—279）.Thiers（tomei，p.445）
followsSavary.
ItmayherebementionedthatSavary，inhisaccountofthebattle，expresslystatesthathecarriedtheorderfromBonapartetoKellermantomakethischarge.Healsomakesthefollowingobservationsonthesubject：——
AfterthefalloftheImperialGovernmentsomepretendedfriendsofGeneralKellermanhavepresumedtoclaimforhimthemeritoforiginatingthechargeofcavalry.Thatgeneral，whoseshareofgloryissufficientlybrillianttogratifyhismostsanguinewishes，canhavenoknowledgeofsopresumptuousapretension.Ithemorereadilyacquithimfromthecircumstancethat，aswewereconversingonedayrespectingthatbattle，Icalledtohismindmyhavingbrought，tohimtheFirstConsul’sorders，andheappearednottohaveforgottenthatfact.IamfarfromsuspectinghisfriendsofthedesignoflesseningthegloryofeitherGeneralBonaparteorGeneralDesaix;theyknowaswellasmyselfthattheirsarenamessorespectedthattheycanneverbeaffectedbysuchdetractions，andthatitwouldbeasvaintodisputethepraiseduetotheChiefwhoplannedthebattlewastoattempttodepreciatethebrilliantsharewhichGeneralKellermanhadinitssuccessfulresult.Iwilladdtotheaboveafewobservations.
"FromthepositionwhichheoccupiedGeneralDesaixcouldnotseeGeneralKellerman;hehadevendesiredmetorequesttheFirstConsultoaffordhimthesupportofsomecavalry.NeithercouldGeneralKellerman，fromthepointwherehewasstationed，perceiveGeneralDesaix’sdivision;itisevenprobablethathewasnotawareofthearrivalofthatGeneral，whohadonlyjoinedthearmytwodaysbefore.Bothwereignorantofeachother’sposition，whichtheFirstConsulwasaloneacquaintedwith;healonecouldintroduceharmonyintotheirmovements;healonecouldmaketheireffortsrespectivelyconducetothesameobject.
"ThefateofthebattlewasdecidedbyKellerman’sboldcharge;hadit，however，beenmadepreviouslytoGeneralDesaix’sattack，inallprobabilityitwouldhavehadaquitedifferentresult.Kellermanappearstohavebeenconvincedofit，sinceheallowedtheAustriancolumntocrossourfieldofbattleandextenditsfrontbeyondthatofthetroopswehadstillinlinewithoutmakingtheleastattempttoimpedeitsprogress.ThereasonofKellerman’snotchargingitsoonerwasthatitwastooseriousamovement，andtheconsequencesoffailurewouldhavebeenirretrievable：thatcharge，therefore，couldonlyenterintoageneralcombinationofplans，towhichhewasnecessarilyastranger"（MemoirsoftheDukeofRovigo，tomei.
pp.218—280）.]——
M.Delaforet，thePostmaster—general，sometimestransactedbusinesswiththeFirstConsul.Thenatureofthissecretbusinessmayeasilybeguessedat.
——[When.M.DelaforetwasreplacedsoonafterthisbyLavalette，Napoleonorderedthediscontinuanceofthepracticefolloweduntilthenofallowingletterstobeopenedbysubordinateofficials.
Thisrightwasrestricted，asinEngland，totheMinister.Howeverbadthispractice，itwaslimited，notextended，inhisreign.SeeMineval，tomeiii.pp.60—62，andLavalette，tomeii.p.10.]——
OntheoccasionofoneoftheirinterviewstheFirstConsulsawaletterfromKellermantoLasalle，whichcontainedthefollowingpassage："Wouldyoubelieve，myfriend，thatBonapartehasnotmademeageneralofdivisionthoughIhavejustplacedthecrownonhishead？"Theletterwassealedagainandsenttoitsaddress;butBonaparteneverforgotitscontents.
WhetherKellermandidordidnotgivethecrownofFrancetotheFirstConsul，itisverycertainthatontheeveningofthebattleofMarengohegavehimasupper，ofwhichhisfamishingstaffandtherestofuspartook.Thiswasnoinconsiderableserviceinthedestituteconditioninwhichwewere.WethoughtourselvesexceedingfortunateinprofitingbytheprecautionofKellerman，whohadprocuredprovisionsfromoneofthosepiousretreatswhicharealwayswellsupplied，andwhichsoldiersareverygladtofallinwithwhencampaigning.ItwastheconventdelBoscowhichonthisoccasionwaslaidundercontribution;andinreturnfortheabundanceofgoodprovisionsandwinewithwhichtheysuppliedthecommanderoftheheavycavalrytheholyfatherswereallowedaguardtoprotectthemagainstpillageandtheotherdisastrousconcomitantsofwar.
AftersupperwasovertheFirstConsuldictatedtomethebulletinofthebattle.WhenwewerealoneIsaidtohim，"General，hereisafinevictory！YourecollectwhatyousaidtheotherdayaboutthepleasurewithwhichyouwouldreturntoFranceafterstrikingagrandblowinItaly;surelyyoumustbesatisfie...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：