The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-08 00:00:00

„
as he is, without, the . conventional c'Ovelings worn in
society. It were to.stei• 1.6 write the lives of an hun-
dted ffieli such as Napoleon, than to sketch the cha-
racter of Charles Maurice .de Talleyraita; T here is
this peculiarity abodt the
).
Profession distin!:4.
from all othett stamps an indelible impression
upon the individual character, 't,•ti that the roan is for
ever lost in the rieSt. 'the individual may renounce
all conneetion with the Church—he may even enter
another profession, in which a conduct the very reverse
of clerical may be requisite to distinction ; nevertheless
the priest, and not the man, will remain visible.
The only quotation which we shall make from this
work, is not the most creditable to the character of
the ex-Bishop of Autun that we might select ; but
it will serve to show the spirit by which the pa-
triots of the Consulate were actuated :
” Public credit rose once more by the severe probity of
the Government, though its progress was slackened by the
terror with which the very name of Buonaparte inspired
jobbers, brokers, and speculators,—a set of men who, with
few exceptions, should be denounced as robbers of. the
public money. Napoleon waged implacable war against
them ; the only instance perhaps in which we may be al-
lowed to prefer arbitrary power to justice, for justice was
venal, and Bilenaparte's arbitrary power, in making these
blood-sutkers of the State disgorge their ill-gotten wealth,
wad always justly exercised. We do not mean to apply
this opinion to an absolute despotic power ; we speak only
of the splendid epoch of the Consulship, when everything
which was done, independently of the law, was more favour-
able to the national interest, than the strict application of
the law itself. ' At this period M. de Talleyrand had
amassed considerable wealth. The profits of his specula-
tions in the French and Foreign Funds during Lord Malmes-.
bury's negotiation at Lille, was supposed to have amounted
to 150,000 francs. It is reported that be had received
1,200,000 from Portugal ; a million from Austria for the
secret articles of the convention of Compo-Formio in
1797 ; a million from Prussia for giving her notice of these
articles and preventing their being carried into execution ;
500,000 francs from the Elector of Bavaria, and as many
from the King of Naples for the recognition of his neutra-
lity ; 50,000 crowns from the Pope, most probably as an
expiation for the sentence of excommunication his Holi-
ness had formerly pronounced against the Minister, who
received, moreover, 300,000 francs from the King of Sar-
dinia ,and 500,000 francs from the Grand Duke of Tus-
cany, for a guarantee of protection of his territories against
the depredations of the French troops. Report added to
these sums a million from the Cisalpine Republic, for the
grant of a new constitution, which was really a very mode-
rate price for a constitution ; also 1,200,000 francs from
the Batavian Republic for the same object, so that their
constitution must have been worth 200,000 francs more

than the Cisalpine ; 1,800,000 francs during the first six
months of the Congress of Rastadt ; two millions, for his
share of the prizes made by the French pirates of vessels
belonging to the neutral powers ; a million from the Prince
of Peace ; 500,000 francs from the Grand Vizier ; as much
from the Hanseatic towns ; besides a pretty long list of
millions and half-millions, which would have made M. de
Talleyrand's fortune amount to upwards of thirty millions
from the 18th Brumaire."
$ s a a •

However this may have been, the First Consul, who,
as we have shown, was not to be trifled with on the score of
fortunes rapidly acquired, one day sent for M. de Talley-
rand, and said to him in an affectedly mild tone of voice—
' By the bye, Citizen Minister, they say you are very rich :
how does that happen ? '
" The simplest thing in the world, General : I bought
stock the day before the 18th Brumaire, and sold it again
the next day.'
" This flattery was so ingenious, that Buonaparte could
not take offence ; indeed, he was seldom offended with those
whom he thought necessary to him, and the most implac-
able enemy of M. de Talleyrand cannot deny the impor-
tant services he rendered Buonaparte during the Consul-
ship. Besides, there were circumstances under which Na-
poleon, whose impatience almost outstripped time, did not
stickle for a few millions more or less, provided matters fol-
lowed the current of his will."