The Emperor was highly entertained by these anecdotes, which, he said, were quite new to him, and the person who related them observed that, although he could not vouch for their authenticity, yet he had no doubt of it in his own mind, having heard them from one of the persons who succeeded M. de Chateaubriand at the court of Rome.
In politics M. de Chateaubriand has been alternately seen amongst the adherents and opponents of Napoleon; and the Emperor charges him, when in his service, with malevolence and want of integrity, particularly at the time of his embassy to the old King of Sardinia at Rome.
During the disastrous event of 1814, he made himself conspicuous by writing pamphlets so outrageously violent and virulent, and disgraced by such barefaced calumnies, that they excited feelings of disgust. He no doubt must regret having been the author of them, and would not now degrade his talents by such writings.
Some years before our disasters, the Emperor, reading one day some fragments of this author’s works, expressed his surprise that he was not a member of the Institute. These words acted as a powerful recommendation in favour of M. de Chateaubriand, who hastened to put himself in the list as a candidate, and was almost unanimously chosen.