#count mier

[josefavomjaaga]

Mier's letters from Naples, mid-March 1815

Things are starting to fall apart.

Mier to the Duke di Gallo (Copy) Naples 12 March 1815 (morning).

The departure of His Majesty the King, announced as very near, for Ancona, the movement almost general of Neapolitan troops from the interior towards the frontiers of the Kingdom, the order given to the Royal Guard to be ready to march, and many other circumstances and measures taken, prove only too well that His Neapolitan Majesty has projects in view which it is important for Austria, friendly power of the King, to clear up, principally in the present circumstances.

The undersigned Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria to the Court of Naples therefore has the honour of addressing His Excellency the Duke of Gallo, Minister of Foreign Relations, in order to obtain from His Excellency prompt and categorial clarifications and answers in this respect, so that they can be brought to the attention of his Court as soon as possible.

In requesting His Excellency to send him His reply today to be sent by a courier which he is sending tonight to Rome, he has the honour to renew to Him on this occasion etc.

(Signed) Mier. To His Excellency the Duke of Gallo etc.

That sounds a lot like a diplomatic ultimatum. And I can't help but be reminded of the letter Eugène wrote to Murat the year before ("So ... you with us or against us, buddy?")

Mier to Metternich. Postscript

Naples, March 12, 1815, evening.

My Prince!

1) The greater part of the garrison of Naples set out this morning. The few troops which still remained will start tomorrow. Veterans and invalids have occupied all the posts. The officer carrying my present expedition will be able to verify in his journey the number of those who have taken the road to Rome, and will report to Marl Bellegarde; all the rest of the garrison and the troops of the surroundings will have marched towards Ancona. The field crews, the King's treasury, and many people, both civil and military, attached to his person, are leaving tomorrow. Everything proves that the King has made up his mind and that He is only waiting for the first news of Napoleon's enterprise to act. I do not believe that He has the project to march into France. He will try to raise Italy and take possession of it; it will be necessary therefore that He fights with us. Although one wants to make believe that these steps are concerted with Austria, consternation is general here, people distrust the King's head and foresee misfortunes.

2) This morning there was a Circle at Court; several Englishmen attended to take leave of the King. He gave them a long speech on the recent event that occupies all minds. He said that he had news of the Emperor from Grasse; that everywhere he was received with enthusiasm and that there was no doubt that he would succeed in his enterprise; that he could not but ardently desire it, the Bourbons having declared themselves openly his enemies in spite of all the steps and advances he had made to render himself sympathetic; any change of dynasty in France could only be advantageous to his interests; that it would be quite indifferent to Him whether it were Napoleon or some other French general who occupied the throne of France, provided it were not the Bourbons: "I am their enemy, as they are mine". He said that he marched his troops towards the frontiers to be more in touch with events; that moreover his policy remained invariably attached to that of Austria; ... and much other drivel which relates to his military career and his elevation to the throne of Naples.

3) The Princess of Wales left this morning for Rome, from where she intends to go to Civitavecchia and embark for Genoa on the English frigate which had come to Naples to fetch her. She wanted to follow the King to Ancona, but yesterday morning he had his Grand Equerry tell her that the political situation prevented him from receiving her in Ancona. It is said that she was furious and decided to go to Genoa.

4) As the Duke of Gallo has not yet sent me an answer to my note of this morning, and seeing the urgent need for Your Highness, and Mar Bellegarde to whom I am writing at the same time, to be informed of what is being prepared here, I have decided to send my mail to Rome without waiting for this answer, which I will send to Your Highness as soon as I have received it.

5) My position here is becoming very embarrassing and I beg Your Highness not to forget me and to give me His orders as soon as possible.

6) I have the honour of sending herewith to Your Highness the two proclamations of Napoleon to his army in France. I have the honour etc.

Mier.

The proclamations are not cited but according to the author, vary only in details from those in Napoleon's correspondence. Mier actually even received Gallo's reply before sending off this letter to Metternich.

Gallo to Mier

Naples, this 14th of March 1815.

My Lord Count! Having had the honor to submit to the King the note dated the day before yesterday which you did me the honor to address to me: S. M. could not read without surprise that you show concern about the march of His troops towards the frontier when it is known that France gathers considerable forces in Grenoble and Dijon with hostile aims against the King, as the Cabinet of Vienna itself is convinced.

In addition, the extraordinary and unexpected events which are taking place at this moment and which can set the continent ablaze again, are of such a nature as to require that the King be in a position to act for his own preservation, and as a result of the answers which His Majesty impatiently awaits to the overtures which His ministers have been ordered to make to the Cabinet of Vienna.

I have already had the honour of speaking to you about these overtures, as well as about the journey of His Majesty into the provinces and countries occupied by His troops, a journey which was decided upon and announced, as you know, My Lord Count, at the beginning of the winter.

I have no doubt, My Lord Count, that you will find in these clarifications very natural motives for justifying the movements in question.

Please accept the repeated expression of my highest consideration

The Duke of Gallo.

I'm not sure if di Gallo actually expected Mier to believe this.

Mier to Metternich, Postscript

Naples, March 16, 1815.

My Prince!

1) Today at three o'clock in the afternoon I received an invitation from Her Majesty the Queen to come and see her. I hastened to go and found Her Majesty very distressed. The King had just received a letter from Florence from General Pignatelli announcing the arrest of Madame Mère and Princess Pauline by the Commander of our troops at Villa Reggio [correct: Viareggio]; that they were being treated there as state criminals; that one of our officers was always keeping watch over them. The Queen told me that this news had enraged the King, and that she was very saddened by it. I tried to reassure her that there was surely some exaggeration in this report; that I supposed that these ladies having landed at Villa Reggio, the Governor of the Principality of Lucca would have thought it necessary, in the present circumstances, to oblige them to remain there until he received orders concerning them from the Marshal, the Count of Bellegarde; that everyone in his place would have done the same; that moreover I could assure her that these ladies would not be mistreated. The Queen informed me that the King had sent General Filangieri to Marshal Bellegarde to urge him not to oppose the continuation of the journey of these two Princesses to Naples, and that he had charged her to ask me in his name to support this request. I replied that I would do so willingly and that I would take advantage of General Filangieri's departure to write to General Bellegarde, as I did indeed as soon as I got home, and I had my letter delivered to the Queen's Cabinet. This evening Mr. de Gallo gave me the attached note, which I have the honour of bringing to the attention of Your Highness. I confined myself to acknowledging its receipt and to informing him that I had already written on this subject to Marshal Bellegarde at the invitation of Her Majesty the Queen. She must also have addressed His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany to ask him to take an interest in this matter and to try to arrange it in accordance with their request.

The note Mier refers to is not cited, but seems to have repeated Caroline's protest against the way Letizia and Pauline had been treated.

2) I found the Queen very distressed and dismayed at all the King's actions. She repeated to me what she had already told me in this respect, and assured me that she was doing everything in the world to prevent the King's departure, because she foresaw the consequences; that twice in succession he was about to get into a carriage to leave Naples and that she had succeeded in diverting him from it; that in order to persuade Him to give up this journey She had declared to Him that She did not wish to take charge of the regency, or to interfere in any way whatsoever with the affairs of the government in His absence; that if He left She would retire to Portici to live there in the greatest seclusion, and that She did not wish to receive any minister there, and much less to talk to him about business. This statement greatly embarrassed the King; for He knew that in His absence no one was in a position to conduct business but the Queen.

3) She told me how the notes which Your Highness had addressed on February 26th to Campochiaro and on the 25th to Talleyrand had had a bad effect on the King's mind; that in them there was no question of defending the King, but rather the Princes of the House of Austria; that the King believed himself to be on the eve of being sacrificed by our Court. He claims that we have been sparing Him and lulling Him into hope until the moment of a definitive arrangement with the other powers, and that we are now gathering troops in Italy to dictate to Him the rules. The Queen told me that She was far from admitting his ideas, having too high an opinion of the loyalty of the Emperor Francis, but that with the distrustful character of the King it could not be put out of His mind; that these ideas and the appearance of the Emperor Napoleon on the scene at the moment when He believes Himself sacrificed, have turned His head. "He believes that Napoleon's possible successes may help to keep Him on the throne of Naples. You know," she continued, "my opinion in this respect; I do more; I advise the King that if Austria replies that she is determined to oppose the possible successes of the Emperor Napoleon, He should join her, and follow in everything her system and policy. You see that my particular affections and the torment of seeing my family persecuted and covered with disgrace give way to the duties of a mother and those of a Queen of Naples. The King must hold on to a great power which protects Him; if He ventures to fly on His own wings He is lost. I once held to the system of France to the last extremity, because I was convinced that our interests required it. Events have had to change our policy; I have convinced myself that our salvation depends on our intimate union with Austria, and I hold to it with my heart and soul. The Emperor Francis has supported us until now as a loyal ally, and I am sure that He will not abandon us, if we deserve it. It is His duty, His own interests command it." I replied that this was an excellent response. I observed to Her that Austria could not be satisfied with the conduct of the King, mainly in what relates to our Italian provinces and to the affair of the Marches. She tried to defend Him and contradicted several statements I had made in support of my thesis. "But the King's last steps," I said to her, "can only increase our distrust and discontent?" "I fear," she replied, "that they will produce this effect; you know how much I have fought against them; but do not look for much malice in them; it is a spur-of-the-moment move, a foolishness which is repeated and which I hope will not be supported. The King is calmer, more reasonable, and I flatter myself that this state of affairs will continue." She could hardly speak, so weak was she. "You see", she said to me, "in what state my sorrows and the continual debates I have to support have reduced me, I often lose courage. I observed to Her that She would make a well-deserved reproach to herself all her life if at such a decisive moment She allowed herself to become depressed and discouraged, and did not use all her power to prevent false steps. May Your Highness please accept etc.

Mier.

Sort of typical: So the boys made a mess of things, and the one woman around is supposed to reproach herself for not having prevented it.

[josefavomjaaga]

Helfert, Joachim Murat, Chapter 3, Part 3

A brief passage, wrapping up chapter 3 with some more sad personal stuff between Murat and Caroline.

On March 16, all was prepared for the King's departure to the army. He sent Caroline a very cordial and affectionate letter, informing her of this and asking her to take up the reins of government in his absence. She replied in the negative: "her health did not permit her to engage in business; she would retire to Portici and keep away from everything". Mosbourg, the present secretary of state, was supposed to deliver the letter to the king, but he did not have the courage to do so and handed it to the Duke of Gallo, who was to bring it to Joachim. Thus the King departed on the 17th at one o'clock in the afternoon, and no provision was made for the highest administration of the affairs of state. Indeed, when the Minister of Police, the Prefect of Police of Naples, and General Manhės came to the Queen the same evening on the King's orders to report to her on the day's events and receipts, she told them she would not interfere in anything and sent them home without listening [Footnote]. As time went by, however, she must have reconsidered the matter, because too much was at stake to leave things to their own devices out of fundamental defiance, and so within a short time we find her in the position of a wise and prudent regent, as she usually was when her husband was away.

In the capital, news of the king's departure for the army caused nameless consternation. All those who were attached to his reign and depended on it saw him doomed, and his kingdom with him. The organs of government and the "Monitore delle due Sicilie" omitted nothing to maintain in the minds of the public the belief it was all done in agreement with Austria, which somewhat calmed the minds of the credulous at first. They presented the matter as if the Viennese Cabinet were on the best of terms with Napoleon, reported on the latter's victorious advance on Paris, on the supporters gathering around him and increasing in number and prestige every day; four French marshals were already in his entourage, etc. This pretended friendship between Napoleon and Napoleon was not only a sign of friendship, it was also a sign of the new order. Of course, this pretended friendship between Napoleon and Emperor Francis was not quite in keeping with the fact that Madame Mère and Princess Pauline, when they disembarked from Elba a few days after Napoleon's departure, were treated like prisoners at Viareggio in Lucchese on the orders of the Austrian military commander and placed under surveillance, until they were finally released and allowed to travel to Naples, where Cardinal Fesch soon joined them. Still other terrible omens occurred. The English, hitherto so numerous in the city and its environs, prepared themselves for an accelerated departure. All business came to a standstill; oil, grain and other products of the soil found no buyers; there was almost no more trade. Money became scarcer from one day to the next; everyone sought to hide his savings somewhere, which understandably had a highly detrimental effect on public credit. The Treasury notes, the redemption of which the Minister of Finance had to postpone until later months, sank ever lower in price. The suppliers to the government no longer gave anything in return for promises and fine words, and demanded payment in cash if anything was wanted from them. This extended to the daily needs of the court, where the payment of bills had been three months behind. The Office of the Court Marshal, which had 14 carlins in its coffers, was thus in the greatest embarrassment and knew no remedy. The public talked of new taxes, while the civil servants were told that their salaries would have to be withheld for the time being. The discontent spread so rapidly, the lower classes of the population became so familiar with the idea of Ferdinand's return that there might have been an outbreak of popular rage as early as March, had not the name of the dreadful Manhès struck terror into the limbs of all ...

Count Mier still remained in Naples during these days. It was not until the morning of April 3 that he received a hand-bill from the queen, informing him that the hostilities had begun and that she had orders to have his passports handed to him. He then officially requested them from the Duke of Carignano and resigned from his post, which he had held for more than four and a half years as Austria's representative, but at the same time as a friend, indeed in many cases as a confidant of the Murat royal couple. Mier's letter of dismissal from the Viennese State Chancellery did not arrive until two days later, on April 5, and therefore found him already on his way home; on the same day, in Vienna, Prince Cariati received his passports.

[Footnote]: Mier No. 27, PS. 1 at 27 of March 16, No. 28 of March 17, 1814. If anyone wishes to believe that the queen said: "Is not this peasant of Cahors content to sit on the most beautiful throne in Italy? No, he wants the whole peninsula!"... I can no more prevent him from doing so than I can prevent anyone who, with Colletta VII 39, wants to believe that the difference of opinion between Joachim and Caroline was a set-up between them. According to our envoy's account, Joachim left for the army without saying goodbye to his wife in person, for which a motive could only be found in the fact that he wanted to avoid her renewed representations and warnings. That would go beyond a mere game!

End of Chapter 3.

I keep making fun of our Bavarian king Max Joseph who never dared to confront the females in his family either and always resorted to sending them letters whenever he had to tell them something unpleasant. But this is not funny. And the fact Murat avoided Caroline seems to indicate that at some level, he may have known he was making a mistake.