n seemed
racked with anxiety, but, as one of my informants, who was scarcely away
from his side at the time, said afterwards, he was not pondering over
the consequences of war which he fancied he was able to prevent, he was
pondering the consequences of peace. Translated into plain language, it
meant that the republican minority, with its recent accession of
representatives in the chambers and its still more unscrupulous
adherents outside, were striving with might and main, not to goad the
Emperor into a war, but to make him keep a peace which, if they had had
the chance, they would have denounced as humiliating to France.

Unfortunately for France, they found an unexpected ally in the Empress.
The latter urged on the war with Prussia, in order to secure to her son
the imperial crown which was shaking on the head of her husband; the
former were playing the game known colloquially as "Heads, I win; tails,
you lose." Peace preserved by means of diplomatic negotiations would
give them the opportunity of holding up the Empire to scorn as being too
weak to safeguard the national honour; war would give them the
opportunity of airing their platitudes about the iniquity of standing
armies and the sacrifice of human life, etc. I go further still, and
unhesitatingly affirm that, if any party was aware of the corruption in
the army, it was the republican one. The plebiscite of May, with its
thousands of votes adverse to the Imperial regime--among which votes
there were those of a great many officers--had not only given them a
chance of counting their numbers, but of obtaining information, not
available to their adversaries in power. This is tantamount to an
indictment of having deliberately contributed to the temporary ruin of
their country for political purposes, and such I intend it to be. I am
not speaking without good grounds.

On the day I met Lord Lyons, two ministerial councils were held at
Saint-Cloud, both presided over by the Emperor. Between the first and
the second, the peaceful sentiments of the chief of the State underwent
no change. So little did the Emperor foresee or desire war, that on the
evening of that same day, while the second council of ministers was
being held, he sent one of his aides-de-camp to my house for the exact
address of Mr. Prescott-Hewett, the eminent English surgeon. I was not
at home, and on my return, an hour later, sent the address by telegraph
to Saint-Cloud. I have since learnt that, on t