the inhabitants of the
department of the Izere the following proclamation:

Citizens,

When in my exile I learned all the misfortunes, that oppressed the
nation; that all the rights of the people were disregarded, and that I
was reproached with the state of repose in which I lived: I lost not a
moment: I embarked on board a slight vessel, crossed the sea in the
midst of ships of war belonging to various nations, landed alone on
the shores of our country, and thought of nothing but of arriving with
the rapidity of an eagle in this good city of Grenoble, of the
patriotism of which, and its personal attachment to me, I was well
aware. Men of Dauphiny, you have answered my expectation.

I have endured, not without a wounded heart, but without being
dejected, the misfortunes to which for a twelvemonth I have been a
prey. The spectacle displayed to my eyes by the people on my journey
has inspired me with the most lively emotions. Though a few clouds
have altered the high opinion I entertained of the French people,
what I have seen has convinced me, that they are still worthy of the
name of the Great People, which I gave them twenty years ago.

Men of Dauphiny, about to quit your country, to repair to my good city
of Lyons, I could not refrain from expressing to you all the esteem,
with which your lofty sentiments have inspired me. My heart is filled
with the emotions, that you have excited in it, and I shall never
forget them.

The news of the Emperor's landing did not reach Paris till the 5th of
March, at night. It transpired on the 6th; and on the 7th a royal
proclamation appeared in the Moniteur, convoking the chambers
immediately; and a decree, that placed Napoleon, and all who should
join or assist him, out of the protection of the law[47]; without any
farther particulars.

[Footnote 47: This mode of proceeding, worthy of
the barbarous ages, was a new infraction of the law
of nations, and of the constitutional laws of
France, on the part of the ministry. No article of
the charter conferred on the monarch the right of
life and death over his subjects; and consequently
he had no authority to proscribe those who
accompanied and assisted Napoleon. If they were
considered as robbers, it was the office of the
tribunals to ju