ation of any peace in
which she should not be included; and it is natural to suppose, that the
proud spirit of the Austrian cabinet revolted from setting the seal to
an act of humiliation, not yet, as the English government insisted,
absolutely necessary. News, meantime, were received, of the surrender of
Malta to an English expedition under Lord Keith and Sir Ralph
Abercrombie;[37] and this timely piece of good fortune breathed fresh
spirit into the Antigallican league. In fine, insincerity and suspicion
protracted, from day to day, a negotiation not destined to be concluded
until more blood had been shed.

During this armistice, which lasted from the 15th of June to the 10th of
November, the exiled princes of the House of Bourbon made some more
ineffectual endeavours to induce the Chief Consul to be the Monk of
France. The Abbe de Montesquiou, secret agent for the Count de Lille
(afterwards Louis XVIII.), prevailed on the Third Consul, Le Brun, to
lay before Buonaparte a letter addressed to him by that prince--in these
terms: "You are very tardy about restoring my throne to me: it is to be
feared that you may let the favourable moment slip. You cannot establish
the happiness of France without me; and I, on the other hand, can do
nothing for France without you. Make haste, then, and point out,
yourself, the posts and dignities which will satisfy you and your
friends." The First Consul answered thus: "I have received your Royal
Highness's letter. I have always taken a lively interest in your
misfortunes and those of your family. You must not think of appearing in
France--you could not do so without marching over five hundred thousand
corpses. For the rest, I shall always be zealous to do whatever lies
within my power towards softening your Royal Highness's destinies, and
making you forget, if possible, your misfortunes." The Comte D'Artois
(Charles X. of France) took a more delicate method of negotiating. He
sent a very beautiful and charming lady, the Duchesse de Guiche, to
Paris; she without difficulty gained access to Josephine, and shone, for
a time, the most brilliant ornament of the consular court. But the
moment Napoleon discovered the fair lady's errand, she was ordered to
quit the capital within a few hours. These intrigues, however, could not
fail to transpire; and there is no doubt that, at this epoch, the hopes
of the royalists were in a high state of excitement.

Meantime, among the meaner orders of both t