his seizure
and the propositions which had been made to him. These offers made by
the allies, of which I was not informed, and consequently can say
nothing, seemed to strike the Emperor as worthy of consideration; and
there was soon a general rumor in the palace that a new Congress was to
be assembled at Manheim; that the Duke of Vicenza had been appointed by
his Majesty as minister plenipotentiary; and that in order to give more
dignity to his mission, the portfolio of foreign affairs had been at the
same time committed to him. I remember that this news revived the hopes
of all, and was most favorably received; for although it was doubtless
the effect of prejudice, no one could be ignorant that the general public
did not see with pleasure the Duke of Bassano in the place to which the
Duke of Vicenza was called to succeed him. The Duke of Bassano was said
to have acted in accordance with what he believed to be the secret wishes
of the Emperor, and to be averse to peace. It will be seen later, by an
answer which his Majesty made to me at Fontainebleau, how groundless and
without foundation were these rumors. It seemed then exceedingly
probable that the enemy really intended to treat for peace; since in
procuring openly by force a French negotiator, they had forestalled any
credit which might accrue to the Emperor from making overtures for peace.

What above all gave great weight to the general belief in the disposition
of Europe towards peace was that not simply a Continental peace was in
question as at Tilsit and Schoenbrunn, but also a general peace, in which
England was to enter as a contracting party; so that in consequence it
was hoped that the gain in the permanence of such peace would offset the
severity of its terms. But unfortunately this hope, which was indulged
with the joy of anticipation, lasted only a short time; and it was soon
learned that the propositions made to M. de Saint-Aignan were only a
bait, and an old diplomatic ruse which the foreigners had made use of
simply in order to gain time by deluding the Emperor with vain hopes.
In fact, a month had not passed away, there had not even been time to
complete the preliminary correspondence usual in such cases, when the
Emperor learned of the famous declaration of Frankfort, in which, far
from entering into negotiations with his Majesty, it was attempted to
separate his cause from that of France. What a mass of intrigues! Let
one bless with a thankful hear