Napoleon have always asserted that he did not wish for war, and he himself maintained that assertion at St. Helena.  It is said that he was always attacked, and hence a conclusion is drawn in favour of his love of peace.  I acknowledge Bonaparte would never have fired a single musket-shot if all the powers of Europe had submitted to be pillaged by him one after the other without opposition.  It was in fact declaring war against them to place them under the necessity of breaking a peace, during the continuance of which he was augmenting his power, and gratifying his ambition, as if in defiance of Europe.  In this way Napoleon commenced all the wars in which he was engaged, with the exception of that which followed the peace of Marengo, and which terminated in Moreau’s triumph at Hohenlinden.  As there was no liberty of the press in France he found it easy to deceive the nation.  He was in fact attacked, and thus he enjoyed the pleasure of undertaking his great military expeditions without being responsible in the event of failure.

During the Emperor’s stay in the capital of the new kingdom of Italy he received the first intelligence of the dissatisfaction of Austria and Russia.  That dissatisfaction was not of recent date.  When I entered on my functions at Hamburg I learned some curious details (which I will relate in their proper place) respecting the secret negotiations which had been carried on for a considerable time previously to the commencement of hostilities.  Even Prussia was no stranger to the dissatisfaction of Austria and Russia; I do not mean the King, but the Cabinet of Berlin, which was then under the control of Chancellor Hardenberg; for the King of Prussia had always personally declared himself in favour of the exact observance of treaties, even when their conditions were not honourable.  Be that as it may, the Cabinet of Berlin, although dissatisfied in 1806 with the rapid progress of Napoleon’s ambition, was nevertheless constrained to conceal its discontent, owing to the presence of the French troops in Hanover.

On returning from Milan the Emperor ordered the erection, of a monument on the Great St. Bernard in commemoration of the victory of Marengo.  M. Denon who accompanied Napoleon, told me that he made a use less search to discover the body of Desaix, which Bonaparte wished to be buried beneath the monument and that it was at length found by General Savary.  It is therefore certain that the ashes of the brave Desaix repose on the summit of the Alps.

The Emperor arrived in Paris about the end of June and instantly set off for the camp at Boulogne.  It was now once more believed that the project of invading England would be accomplished.  This idea obtained the greater credit because Bonaparte caused some experiments for embarkation to be made, in his presence.  These experiments, however, led to no result.  About this period a fatal event but too effectually contributed to strengthen