New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-05-09
BARON FAIN.
The Memoirs Of One of Napoleon's
Secretaries.

Some years have elapsed since the publication
of MenevaPs Memoirs of Napoleon produced a
famous sensation. MeneyaI was one OF Napo-
Icons secretaries and the description which he
gave Of him the most intimate thing OF its
kind which had hitherto been known to his
torians. Baron Fain, however, who was first
secretary of the Emperor's cabinet" or sane
/ tum a function which he subsequently, filed
with respect to Louis Philippe, came into much
closer personal relations with bis ilustrious
master than any other parsonage of the impe
rial court. His memoirs, which his great grand
son. NJ. Paul Fain, a major Of artillery, now
publishes for the first time replete with in
teresting details Of Napoleon's private charac-
ter. and give a living picture Of him, which.
while confirmed IN many of its leading features
by Meneval and other biographers, is neyerthe-
less new in some striking particulars
To the whole world Napoleon was in the grand
sense-at least until the collapse of the Russian
campaign-a military and political dictator.
To his secretaries he dictator OF another
kind, which not whit less terrifying. This
is how he would dictate to them. Says the
baron:
The Emperor paid pension from the prtvy purse
to his ola writing master, and never was a pension
more gratuitousIv accorded Napoleon wrote Yer!
badly; the vivacity of his mind could not sdbnlt
10 follow the progress o. his HANG ae race ths
word or the line, rising, moreover, urscruPuIousIy
the disorder was such that he himself had the
greatest difficulty in rereadIng what he had VIII
ten. He preferred dictate He had got the ha DIT
OF this and used this n3ethQd OF WqTh Tlth cone 6e
versation aloud. in which addressed nts cor
RESPONDENT as il the latter had been there 10 near
what he said. Listeners ar doors might Indeeu
have imagined that they were in presence OF one
tary TO write under dictatIon It was seldom ms
business 70 compose TO prepare or 70 draw Up
that the task was difficult and the pens that could
There was no means Of getting him to repeat
anything To have interrupted him would nay
tete in which his imagination was lsolating itself
The whole 9perau3n 81 ms thougn9 ~9qia al ris5
to follow If only to avoid being overwhelmed by
of the other The art consisted in leaving convenient
blanks SO as TO Keep constantly a IN me fteTWaTd
when the first rush and the connection of
NECESSARY to be acquainted with the subject in
hand. This was indispensable to prevent ms
understandings, 10 avoid ambiguity ana , 20 rrans
late with precision the vagueness or me tane uas
tary vas o2LdseR 10 h1oT h,r 1Its u
Ha1oeon starting to work began gently enough.
but little by little he grew animated His hps
warmed to the work Of dictatlon men ne gui ~
Clock so the frequency Of his comngs and goings
marked the more o. less rapid pace OF his IDEAS
and almost the shape Of his phrases Finally, when
he had reached the dominant idea ana Irere ~
one for each day. he became volube. Ihls ldea
would then repeat itself in all his letters ana la, all
his conversations Exactly the same WORDS men
reClrra5 So lively and strong was its first impress
i ~. -eT,ea+afv re-echoed the same with
extraordinary fidelity These made phrases were
r the Emperor left his study the secretary seized
this moment for putting back into order the papers
which the floor was strewn- Picking it up bit by
bit he glanced It over. and this was the surest
possible check upon what he had Just written In
case Of doubt the circumstances and terms OF the
demand explained the real Of the answer
y vas eev forrrnata 70 have this means recti
flying data, always difficult to seize in a hurry;
those names Of men and places which Napoleon
sometimes mspronounced 10 the point or MAKING
them incCmprehensible At one moment IL wouid
be the Ebre for the Flbe, another time 1t you'd
he Smo1ensk for Salamanca and vice versa Some
Polish names which I forget would he COMPOUNDED
in his voca bulary with Badajos; but rernenbeT
that when he spoke Of Hysope II was the fortress
Of OsOpo which was in question
Baron Fafn represents Napoleon a simple.
economically minded. good natured man, whose
bark. except when at the head Of an army. was
considerably worse than his bite. He was sure
friend and the best Of masters. He paid good
pension TO his old nurse. Once when he was
thrown from his horse, owing to the negligence
OF a groom, he struck the defaulting domestic
with riding whip. but Immediately his first
outburst Of wrath was over he consoled him
with present Of 100 louis (S4OO). He disliked
change, and never forgot old friends. In his
habits he was extremely simple All his mag
nifcence was reserved for the ceremonial and
spIendor Of the throne Apart from the expenses
Of court shows. Napoleon spent only 500 on his
clothes NJ de Remusat was disgraced because.
when keeper of the robes he exceeded this
amount 4 well remember" says Baron Fan !
that one day when he debating these little |
accounts TO me he asked the price OF my |
coat, and on my hesitating with my answer he |
severely reprimanded me for not knowing my |
own affairs better" One feature Of his costume |
never changed. This was the hat, which was /
small and three-cornered. and. in its broken |
shape looked as II il were worn out. It was the /
only part Of Napoleons dress which had a touch !
Of oddly about it.
The Emperor was fn the habit OF rising in the !
middle Of the night after his first sleep. This |
was generally about o'clock in the morning. |
He would then pun a simple dressing gown
% white "bszin" cloth in the summer and OF |
white swan skin cotton in the winter, and pass
into his study where he devoted these early /
hours of absolute quetness to affairs of the |
utmost Importance, TO which in the hustle OF the
day he had not been able 10 pay sufficient at
-ention. It then, also. that he made up his
accounts If the day dawned before he had /
finished he took bath. went TO bed again at
IN the morning and slept till = when he would
definitely rise and dress. 1t was in his study"
SAYS Baron Fain. that the Emperor really spent
his life It could be said of him that all the
other circumstances of his life were merely di-
yressons.' There was a great difference. how
7ver. between the inner and the outer study.
The inner study was in NapoeOn's eyes merely
dependence OF the bedroom. He would sit in
I in his dressing gown, but he was always
dressed when he entered the other which
he state study. Here no one was admitted
,ept the two private secretaries, Of whom Baron
Fain was the first; not even the Secretaries OF
State. In the middle of it stood table which
Napoleon had designed himself in the shape Of
/ violin 1t faced the door Al the side of it
vas a sofa where Napoleon would sit and read
n the intervals Of his work. Al the back of tn.