The Emperor, continues my authority, afterwards referred to the treaty of the 2d of August. I then ventured to inquire if, after the title of Emperor had been conceded to him by the English, at the period of the negotiations at Paris and Chatillon, he had not omitted to mention that which they ought to have done at the treaty of Fontainebleau, and which appears forgotten. "It was intentionally done," replied Napoleon, with energy: "I did not ratify that treaty -I altogether deny it; I am very far from applauding it; on the contrary, the recollection rather makes me blush. It was discussed for me-Ney, who brought it, betrayed me. That period belongs to my history, yes, to my history in its grandeur. If I had then been desirous of treating as a wise man, I should have obtained either the kingdom of Italy, Tuscany, or Corsica, &c. &c. any thing I had chosen to

Some of the old Republicans, among whom, I think, he named Cambaceres, remonstrated with him concerning his marriage, lest the niece of Marie Antoinette should indulge a spirit of revenge against those who had been instrumental to her aunt's death, when he thus replied: "Do not be under any apprehension, my friends, I will marry her; but I promise you she shall never govern me. My wife, who possesses good sense, entered completely into my views, on that head, in uniformly receiving such individuals most graciously."

Napoleon made inquiries about my intended stay in Italy, the places I proposed visiting, &c. &c. On my mentioning Naples, he said, "You will, no doubt, see the King of Naples-he is a famous military character; one of the most brilliant soldiers I ever saw on a field of battle. He is not gifted with superior talent, nor has he much moral courage, and rather timid than otherwise, as regards a plan of operationsbut no sooner did he perceive the enemy, than every thing vanished when the coup d'œil was rapid beyond description, displaying a valour truly chivalric: added to that, he is a handsome man, tall, dresses well, and with much care, sometimes rather fantastically; in short, a magnificent Lazsaroni!"-I inquired if he did not make a fine charge with the cavalry at the battle of Leipsic, on the first day? Napoleon replied, By Heaven, he always led them on too well, and caused more to be killed than was necessary—with him, the uniform cry was, Forwards. It was really a grand spectacle to see him in battle, at the head of the cavalry.'

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The Emperor displayed more animation in speaking on that head than on any other topic in the whole course of our conversation, and seemed to dwell on it with enthusiasm. He then remarked-" You will also see the Queen, she is a fine woman, and extremely clever.”

He then inquired how long I proposed remaining at Elba; offered me a horse from his stables to ride about the island; and, a little after eleven o'clock, dismissed me.

had a little affaire d'amour in that quarter, which was known to Fouché, notwithstanding Napoleon's precautions to the contrary, the latter, on receiving that home reproof, was very glad to hold his tongue, to the complete satisfac tion of the wily Duke of Otranto.

stipulate for. My decision, on that occasion, was a fault attributable to my character; a whim; an excess of temperament. I felt a distaste, a disgust for every thing that surrounded me; I held Fortune in contempt, and felt pleased in braving her. I, therefore, directed my regard to a spot of territory where I should be ill at ease, and might take advantage of the faults that were committed. It was on that account I selected Elba. It was the act of a soul of flint. -My dear friend, I am no doubt gifted with a singularity of character, but we should not be extraordinary, were not such the case: I am a rocky mass hurled into vacuum!! It is, perhaps, with difficulty you believe me; but I do not regret my splendour: you behold me weakly sensitive as to what I have lost!!"

CHAP. VI.

Government of the Bourbons after Napoleon's first Abdication— Biographical Sketch of Louis the Eighteenth-Leading Members of the King's Cabinet: General Dupont, War Minister; Abbé de Montesquieu, Prime Minister; Dambray, Chancellor-The Emigrant Faction, the pure Royalists and the Bonapartists-Royal Government attacked by the Editors of the Censeur-Memoir of Carnot and Writings of Benjamin Constant-Insults offered to the Old Imperial Guard-Troops of the Line neglected-The Maison du Roi and Gardes du Corps-Assassination recompensed in the Family of Georges Cadoudal-Debasement of the Legion of Honour and Restoration of the Order of St. Louis-Disgrace of General Milhaud-Deception practised towards the French People by the Minions of Government-Intolerance of the Priesthood, and Interment of Mademoiselle de Raucour, the Actress-General Discontent manifested-The Memory of Napoleon cherished— Baron Fleury's Narrative of the Causes that led to Napoleon's quitting Elba-Infatuation of the Royalists, and Quotation from Chateaubriand-Conspiracy of the Chouans, and intended Massacre of the Bonapartists-Proceedings against General Excelmans and his Acquittal-Napoleon contemplates his Return to France-Discovery made by Cipriani, the Emperor's Majordomo-Allusion to M. Z. the Officer who, in disguise, sought Napoleon at Elba, and made him determine on attempting the Recovery of his Throne.

THE French people felt jaded by civil dissensions and misfortune, and were even weary of victories, and longed for the felicity of repose. Memorable, indeed, were the words of the King's brother, (now Charles X.) "Let us forget the past, let us look only towards the future, let us all unite in the good work of labouring to heal the wounds of our common country;" which honoured precepts became implanted in every mind.*

As long as the machinery of the new government did not begin to work, that loyal harmony subsisted, and no

The Editor begs leave to remark that he visited the continent, immediately after the restoration of Louis XVIII. and continued there for upwards of eight years; being, therefore, an eye-witness of every transaction, he is fully enabled to state facts to the public. If any further proof were necessary to substantiate the above assertion, a volume, entitled, " France, for the last Seven Years; or, The Bourbons," which emanated from the writer's pen, contains the most minute detail of events that were regularly noted down as they occurred in succession.

longer. No sooner, therefore, did it become necessary to settle the organization of the army, the ministry, and the magistracy, than self-love gained an easy victory over patriotism, when those baleful passions, pride, ambition, and party-hatred, were soon aroused from slumber.

During a quarter of a century, the emigrants had sojourned in strange countries. Useless, expensive, and troublesome guests to the stranger by whom they had been fed, their lives were droned away in shameless and cowardly sloth. They could not, however, cheat themselves into a belief that they had the talents and experience possessed by the sons of the Revolution. They, notwithstanding, imagined that nobility, as in the old time, might pass for worth; and that their patents and pedigrees still gave them a right to monopolize all power and every honour.

The citizens, the soldiers, and the nation, equally relied on the lawfulness of their rights as on the promises of the King. The members of the old privileged caste, instead of exciting suspicion, were only objects of harmless mirth. The people laughed at the grotesque appearance of some and the decrepit stupidity of others. They never dreamed that those pretended warriors, whose bloodless swords had rusted in their scabbards, would attempt to snatch the staff of command from the veteran generals of France; and that nobles, who had grown old in sloth and ignorance, would aspire to the direction of public affairs.

Yet, though merit and valour were denied to them, they stood upon a vantage ground, which gave the emigrant noblesse a direful and incalculable preponderance in the state. They surrounded the throne. Their insolence soon announced that they had craftily availed themselves of the advantages they possessed; and the French foresaw, with affliction, that inveterate prejudice, malignant prepossessions, and old habits of familiarity, would, sooner or later, crush those principles of justice and equity, however solemnly they had been proclaimed.

The emigrants, rendered arrogant by the prospects which opened upon them, proceeded to treat their rivals with contemptuous disdain. They dared not insult the defenders of France face to face, because the scars of the warriors affrighted them. But they were spitefully active in disparaging their birth, their services, and their glory; and those noble retainers of royalty took care to impress the soldiers of Napoleon with a due sense of the wide

gulf which was thenceforth to separate a gentleman of good family from an upstart soldier of the Revolution.

The women of the ancien regime, however, did not share in the timidity which, to a certain degree, still restrained their husbands. They discarded decency and reserve, and indulged in all the fury of their spite and pride. Without attempting to disguise such sentiments, they openly insulted the titled females belonging to the new nobility, and such of the latter as were compelled to go to court, on account of the situations held by their husbands, never entered the saloon without dread, or quitted it but bathed in tears.

Uneasy, harassed, and discontented, the people implored the fulfilment of the King's promises. They prayed with confidence; but the government heard them not, and they were repulsed with harshness. The Doge of Genoa, speaking of Louis XIV. said, "His Majesty steals our hearts by his amiability, but his ministers restore them to us." This apophthegm of the Doge might have been pertinently applied to Louis XVIII. by his people.*

* We have now attained that memorable epoch when the Bourbon dynasty was restored to the throne of France, after having been repulsed for a quarter of a century, and, therefore, annex the following biographical sketch of Louis XVIII. We have been prompted to subjoin this note, as it will be found to contain many particulars of a political nature, respecting that prince, which are not generally known in this country, and show him in his true colours to posterity. The conduct of the ruler of thirty millions of souls, and of a people towards whom the eyes of the world had been constantly directed with the most feverish anxiety, for years prior to his restoration, demands particular attention and scrutiny from the historian.

The misfortunes of the family of Louis XVIII. as well as his own, his elevation to power at a time when the world began almost to forget his existence-his subsequent expulsion from France, doomed, in all appearance, to pass the remainder of his life in an obscure exile, the prostration of his renowned adversary, and the humiliation of his country, his return to his capital at the head of the foreign bayonets which freed Europe from the control of an unprincipled soldiery, and subjected it to the rule of a band of perfidious despots-gave an importance to Louis XVIII. independent of all other considerations. He was, at the same time, the most accomplished monarch of the continent (excepting King John of Sweden-for Alexander was alone indebted for his distinction to the magnitude of his empire and his vast pretensions); and yet, with an intellect acknowledged to be at least respectable, with the best schooling, that of adversity, Louis passed through those eventful times, without leaving any impress of himself on his age, which seems to have chiefly arisen from absence of any thing great or generous in his character. Reigning, with him, appears to have been merely a means of extending his pleasures and