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THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
In the Château at Fontainebleau lies the only known remaining piece of Napoleon's coronation crown made by Biennais. This relic, a single gold leaf from the gold wreath, once belonged to the Napoleonic painter par excellence, Isabey.
Want to know more about the coronation, the Fondation Napoléon team has published a book (in French) on the subject, published by Nouveau Monde Editions. Dust off your dictionaires and find out all about it here!
150 YEARS AGO
On 21 November, 1853, whilst in exile on the island of Jersey, Victor Hugo had published in Brussels a collection of (particularly virulently) satirical poems denouncing Napoleon III called, les Châtiments (The Punishments). The following three stanzas (bitterly mocking the coup d'état of 2 December, 1851) are an extract from the first poem, Nox:
NOX
I
This is the date you chose in your heart of hearts,
Prince! you must go through with it, - this night is icy,
Come on, get up! Scenting miscreants in the shadows,
Liberty, the dog, growls and bares its fangs.
Carlier (1) may have him on a chain, but he barks nevertheless.
Wait no longer! the time has come to seize your prey.
See, December is thick with its blackest fog;
Like a robber baron who leaves his manor.
Be a sharp assassin, take the enemy you see by surprise.
On your feet! The regiments are there in their barracks,
Packs on their backs, maddened with wine and fury,
Just waiting for a bandit they can make into an emperor.
Put your hand on the lamp and creep in from the side,
Take your knife, now's the time: the République,
Confident - it has not seen your dark eyes glitter -,
Sleeps, with your oath, Prince, as its pillow.
Cavalrymen, infantrymen, come out! Come out, you hordes!
Have at the politicians! Soldiers, tie them tight
And throw your generals into the prison cave!
Stick your guns in their backs and drive the Assemblée to Mazas (2)!
Drive out the high court with the flat of your sabre!
Knights of France, change yourselves into Calabrian brigands!
Look, you bourgeois, see, weak flock, vile dregs,
It's like a black demon shaking a bloody dagger,
This Coup d'Etat which comes blazing from the forge!
The Tribuns are fighting for justice; let their throats be cut.
Hauliers, condottieri, bought men, prostitutes,
Strike! kill Baudin (3)! kill Dussoubs (4)! kill!
What are the people doing out of their houses? Make them go!
Soldiers, shoot all this rabble for me!
Fire! Fire! You shall vote later, you sovreign people!
Sabre justice, sabre honour, sabre the law!
Let blood run in rivers on the boulevards!
Barrel bellies full of wine! stretchers full of corpses!
Anyone want a grog? In this rainy weather
You've got to have a drink. Soldiers, shoot this old man for me.
Kill this child for me. What is it with this woman?
She's the mother? Kill. May this entire infamous people
Tremble, and may the paving stones dye their heels red!
This odious Paris is rising and resisting. Let them have it!
May they feel the sober and vengeful contempt,
Which we - Force - have for them - Intelligence!
The foreigner respected Paris: let's innovate!
Lets drag him in the mud tied to our horses' manes!
May he die! May he be cut up, may he be crushed, may he be erased!
Black cannons, spit your bullets in his face!
Trans. P.H.
Notes
(1) Pierre Carlier (1799-1858), appointed Préfet de police in 1849, was replaced by Maupas a few days before the Coup d'Etat of 2 December, 1851.
(2) A Paris prison in the faubourg Saint-Antoine (today the 12th arrondissement) where several left wing députés were imprisoned during the Coup d'Etat.
(3) A young doctor 23 years old, Victor Baudin was killed on the barricades in the faubourg Saint-Antoine, 3 December. He is famous for his remark "You will now see how you can die for twenty-five francs!" (this sum was the payment given to the députés, a particularly unpopular measure)
(4) Whilst climbing on the barricades of the faubourg Saint-Antoine during the night 4/5 December, Denis Dussoubs, who had borrowed from his brother Gaston (député for Haute-Vienne) the symbolic stole worn by representatives of the people, was killed.
Victor Hugo: Oeuvres poétiques, vol. II: Les Châtiments, Les Contemplations. Editions Gallimard, coll. La Pléiade, 1967.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
O'Brien film coming out in December 2003
What's on
- Auction: Sotheby's France - Empire sale
- Re-enactment: Austerlitz 2003
- Conference: Joint Annual Conference - Napoleonic Society of America / Napoleonic Alliance
- Exhibition: Art booty in the Napoleonic period. The "French gift" to Mainz, 1803
Web sites
The Victor Hugo Pages
Go to the Napoleonic Directory, then select 'Databases' in the web site scrollbar menu
The monthly titles
- This month's book: Napoleonic Europe, by Cliver Emsley
- This month's painting: The Colossus, by Goya
- This month's article: The History of Lord Seaton's Regiment, (The 52nd Light Infantry) at the Battle of Waterloo, Chapter Three, by William Leake
- In the Collectors Corner, a leaf from Napoleon's coronation crown
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