Although at war with France, Alexander had already conceived an admiration for Napoleon, owing to the way in which he had brought order out of the chaos of the Revolution. So when in July 1807 the two Emperors met at Tilsit, on an elaborate raft in the middle of the river Niemen, he had completely succumbed to the Corsican's forcefulness and charm. In a matter of days they had agreed to carve up a good part of the world between them.
By then, after reigning for ten years, the Czar toyed with his idealistic ideas about reforms only occasionally. Instead, he had become something of a mystic and much addicted to reading the Bible. Also, like his grandmother, he had ambitions to expand his Empire. The gentle Czartoryski was no longer his principal adviser, but Arakcheief, his Minister of War: a rough and brutal, although devoted man.
Russia was already at war with Turkey along the lower Danube, and the two Emperors happily made a plan to divide the Sultan's vast Empire between them. Alexander was to have Turkey in Europe, which then included Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece; while Napoleon was to have Egypt, Palestine and Turkey in Asia, which would open the road for him to Persia and India. Meanwhile, he made no objection to Alexander's depriving the Swedes of Finland.
But things had not turned out in accordance with their grandiose plans. Alexander had conquered Finland, but by committing his best troops there, he was unable to make any appreciable headway against the Turks, which was the one thing that Napoleon wanted of him. Then they could not see eye to eye about Constantinople. The Czar claimed it, when the city had been taken, as part of Turkey in Europe. Napoleon would not agree to that, because it would have enabled Russia, should she become hostile, to cut his main line of communication with India. There was also, to Napoleon's intense annoyance, the Czar's passive refusal to carry out his promise of adopting the Continental System. Napoleon intended only to make use of him, and had become an egomaniac whose lust for conquest would never be satiated. Both now were arming for a mighty conflict, in which one of them must destroy the other. Thus matters stood when, shortly after one o'clock, Roger was ushered into the Imperial presence.
Alexander Paulovitch was then thirty-five years old, a fine, upstanding, handsome man with a roundish face and fair, curly hair. Extending his hand for Roger to kiss, he greeted him pleasantly:
'Welcome again to our capital, Mr. Brook. Whence have you come?'
There being no necessity to beat about the bush, Roger replied, 'From. Sweden, may it please Your Impeded Majesty. I have spent some two months there, as the guest of the Prince Royal,'
'That must have been an interesting experience,' the monarch commented. 'We hear great things of our new neighbour. He proved himself an excellent administrator when acting as Napoleon's Viceroy in northern Germany, and his talents in that direction should greatly benefit his subjects. However, we are not so sanguine about his activities in his old capacity as a General. We are told that he is both reorganizing and increasing the Swedish Army.'
Alexander's statement favoured Roger's design, but he had long since learned not to rush his fences; so he raised his eyebrows and said, 'May I ask Your Imperial Majesty why you should be averse to his doing that?'
The Czar shrugged. 'To a man of your intelligence, Mr. Brook, surely the reason for our concern is obvious? It is no secret that the Emperor is preparing to repudiate our alliance and wage war on us. The Swedes still bitterly resent our having taken Finland from them. Given favourable conditions they might attempt to win it back. Engaged in a death struggle with the French, it would be most embarrassing for us to be attacked by a hostile army on our flank.'
Now that Alexander had openly acknowledged the dangers of his situation, Roger smiled, produced the lettre de marque from Bernadotte, and said, 'Then I hope that I am the bearer of welcome tidings to Your Imperial Majesty. The Prince Royal has never had any love for the Emperor. Moreover, he has now become at heart, as well as by naturalization, a patriotic Swede. He, too, is still allied to France, albeit unwillingly. Under certain circumstances he would be prepared to face the Emperor's wrath by breaking that alliance and, given certain conditions, enter into a pact with Your Imperial Majesty.'
Alexander nodded thoughtfully. 'This proposal is of obvious interest to us, Mr. Brook. But what are the Prince Royal's conditions? I fear he would require the return of Finland, and we should regard that as too high a price to pay.'
'The Swedish Diet would naturally clamour for that, but the Prince Royal has already displayed so much wisdom in governing Sweden that I feel certain they would not seek to thwart any arrangements he entered into. Regarding Finland, he is prepared to let matters remain as they are. But he has ambitions in another direction. If he breaks his alliance with France, his alliance with Denmark will also lapse; and he has no love for the Danes. Would Your Imperial Majesty agree not to oppose his annexing Norway?'
'This makes your proposals even more interesting, Mr. Brook. We will ask the views of our Ministers upon them. Meanwhile, you will become our guest. We will give orders for accommodation in the Palace to be allotted to you.'
Roger bowed. 'I thank you, Sire. There is, however, another matter upon which I crave your gracious consideration.' Producing his other lettre de marque, he went on, 'I arrived in Sweden from England, having been sent to the Prince Royal by my Government. The object of my mission was to endeavour to bring about a new Coalition consisting of Russia, England and Sweden. As I have had the honour to inform Your Imperial Majesty, subject to your agreeing Sweden's terms, she is willing to break with the French. She would then enjoy the protection of a British fleet which would be sent to the Baltic. That could also be of use to you, Sire, for it would ensure supplies, and probably consignments of arms, reaching your ports.'
The Czar had glanced at the lettre de marque and now remarked, 'This is signed by the Marquess Wellesley. He is no longer Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and has been superseded by Lord Castlereagh. We had this news only two days since. We are informed that seven years as a virtually autocratic monarch in India had rendered the Marquess so intolerably dictatorial that his colleagues in the Cabinet welcomed his resignation.'
This information was a blow to Roger, as it tended to undermine the authority vested in him by the lettre de marque; but he said quickly, ' Tis true, Sire, that the Marquess is a man of most haughty mien, but I have no doubt whatever that in this matter the Cabinet will endorse his policy, because it is in the interests of England to do so. Although for long periods Britain has sustained the war against France alone, she is as determined as ever to bring about the Emperor's downfall. Yet she needs peace as badly as does the rest of Europe, and the sooner it can be brought about the better for all concerned. It follows that, rather than allow further Continental nations to be defeated piecemeal, she is most anxious to give them her support; and so more swiftly bring about final victory.'
'Your premises are sound, Mr. Brook, so we will also give our consideration to entering on an alliance with England.'
The audience being over, Roger bowed himself away. An hour later his belongings had been fetched from the Laughing Tartar and he was installed in a pleasant room in the Palace. The Hermitage was a magnificent building, and he delighted in visiting again the vast, heated conservatory erected by Catherine the Great, in which semi-tropical flowers flourished even in mid-winter.