ot seem impressive; and the one course which would have
impressed Napoleon was not followed by the American President. Jefferson
refused to countenance any proposal to take prompt possession of
Louisiana by force or to assemble an army which could act with immediate
vigor in time of need; and as he was the idol of the Southwesterners,
who were bitterly anti-federalist in sympathy, he was able to prevent
any violent action on their part until events rendered this violence
unnecessary. At the same time, Jefferson himself never for a moment
ceased to feel the strong pressure of Southern and Western public
sentiment; and so he continued resolute in his purpose to obtain
Louisiana.

Napoleon Forced to Change his Purpose.
Louisiana Ceded to the United States.

It was no argument of Jefferson's or of the American diplomats, but the
inevitable trend of events that finally brought about a change in
Napoleon's mind. The army he sent to Hayti wasted away by disease and in
combat with the blacks, and thereby not only diminished the forces he
intended to throw into Louisiana, but also gave him a terrible object
lesson as to what the fate of these forces was certain ultimately to be.
The attitude of England and Austria grew steadily more hostile, and his
most trustworthy advisers impressed on Napoleon's mind the steady growth
of the Western-American communities, and the implacable hostility with
which they were certain to regard any power that seized or attempted to
hold New Orleans. Napoleon could not afford to hamper himself with the
difficult defence of a distant province, and to incur the hostility of a
new foe, at the very moment when he was entering on another struggle
with his old European enemies. Moreover, he needed money in order to
carry on the struggle. To be sure he had promised Spain not to turn over
Louisiana to another power; but he was quite as incapable as any Spanish
statesman, or as Talleyrand himself, of so much as considering the
question of breach of faith or loss of honor, if he could gain any
advantage by sacrificing either. Livingston was astonished to find that
Napoleon had suddenly changed front, and that there was every prospect
of gaining what for months had seemed impossible. For some time there
was haggling over the terms. Napoleon at first demanded an exorbitant
sum; but having once made up his mind to part with Louisiana his impatient
disposition made him anxious to conclude the bargain. He