he schemes of Blucher, and the proximity of our troops to the place
where the Emperor was detained, gave the committee the most serious
alarms.

They had at once to fear:

That Napoleon, roused by the sound of arms, and the acclamations of
his faithful soldiers, would be unable to repress the desire of coming
to fight at their head:

That the army, still idolizing its ancient general, would come to tear
him from his state of repose, and oblige him to lead it against the
enemy:

Or, lastly, that the enemy would contrive to seize his person by
surprise, or by force.

The removal of the Emperor to a distance would quiet at once this
state of anxiety: but the despatch of the plenipotentiaries stood in
the way; and the committee, restrained by the fear of offending the
allies, dared not either oblige, or even authorize Napoleon to remove.
Meantime the Duke of Wellington informed M. Bignon, "that he had no
authority from his government, to give any answer whatever to the
demand of a passport and safeconduct for Napoleon Bonaparte." Having
no longer any plausible pretence for detaining him, and unwilling to
take on itself the disgrace and responsibility of events, the
committee no longer hesitated on the path it had to pursue: it
directed the Duke Decres and Count Boulay, to go immediately to the
Emperor (it was half after three in the morning); to inform him, that
Lord Wellington had refused the safeconducts; and to notify to him
the injunction, to depart immediately.

The Emperor received this communication without any emotion, and
promised to be gone in the course of the day.

Orders were immediately given to General Beker, not to allow him to
return:

To the prefect of the Lower Charente, to prevent his stay at
Rochefort, as far as possible:

To the commandant of the marine, not to suffer him to set foot on
shore, from the moment he should embark, &c. &c. &c.

Never was criminal surrounded with precautions more numerous, and at
the same time more useless.

If Napoleon, instead of yielding to the fear of compromising the
independence and existence of the nation, had wished to revive a
second 20th of March, neither the instructions of General Beker, nor
the threats of Marshal Davoust, nor the intrigues of M. Fouche, could
have prevented him: it would have been sufficient for him to make his
appearance. The people, the army, would have received him with
enthusiasm and not one of his enemies, the Prince of Eckm