cried the officer of the
guard. "It is the Emperor! Open!"--"Sire, my duty forbids me."--"Open--I
tell you; I have no time to lose."--"But, sire, even though I should
open to you, I could not. The keys are in the possession of General
Marchand."--"Go, then, and fetch them."--"I am certain that he will
refuse them to me."--"If the General refuse them, _tell him that I will
dismiss him_."

These words petrified the soldiers. During the previous two days,
hundreds of proclamations designated Bonaparte as a wild beast which it
was necessary to seize without scruple; they ordered everybody to run
away from him, and yet this man threatened the general with deprivation
of his command! The single word _dismissal_, effaced the faint line of
demarcation which separated for an instant the old soldiers from the
young recruits; one word established the whole garrison in the interest
of the emperor.

The circumstances of the capture of Grenoble were not yet known when
Fourier arrived at Lyons. He brought thither the news of the rapid
advance of Napoleon; that of the revolt of two companies of sappers, of
a regiment of infantry, and of the regiment commanded by Labedoyere.
Moreover, he was a witness of the lively sympathy which the country
people along the whole route displayed in favour of the proscribed exile
of Elba.

The Count d'Artois gave a very cold reception to the Prefect and his
communications. He declared that the arrival of Napoleon at Grenoble was
impossible; that no alarm need be apprehended respecting the disposition
of the country people. "As regards the facts," said he to Fourier,
"which would seem to have occurred in your presence at the very gates of
the city, with respect to the tricoloured cockades substituted for the
cockade of Henry IV., with respect to the eagles which you say have
replaced the white flag, I do not suspect your good faith, but the
uneasy state of your mind must have dazzled your eyes. Prefect, return
then without delay to Grenoble; you will answer for the city with your
head."

You see, Gentlemen, after having so long proclaimed the necessity of
telling the truth to princes, moralists will act wisely by inviting
princes to be good enough to listen to its language.

Fourier obeyed the order which had just been given him. The wheels of
his carriage had made only a few revolutions in the direction of
Grenoble, when he was arrested by hussars, and conducted to the
head-quarters at Bourgoin.