60* 



(I 

 that 



ii^iion well Ino* 



rf ports were every tii^jlit l<ri)ui>lit n)e 

 tttiiik lie sail*, by General Ityal,) ^ 

 ciifi-|)tri>cies wore il) agitation ; lh»t meet- 

 ir>j;'t were helrl in pnrticular houses in 

 PiJii'i, and nnines even were mentioned; 

 lit itie same time, no <>ati!>factorv (jroofs 

 ronfri be olitained, and the utninst vigi- 

 lance and ceaseie-s pursuit of the Police 

 «ih«t evaded. General MMieaii, indeed, 

 ti^cAnic suspected, and t was seriously 

 Tfrrportiined to issue an order for his 

 arrest; but his character tvas such, his 

 »:ifne stood su iii,^h, and the estimation of 

 iiiin so threat in the public mind, that, as 

 it 'appeared to me he had nothin); to 

 gain, and every thnig to lose, by becoming 

 a ronspiraror against me; I, therefore, 

 could not but exonerate him from such a 

 •ukpicion. — 1 accordingly refused an or- 

 4cr for the proposed arrest, by the fnl- 

 lowinp intiinntion to the Mniister of Fo- 

 Jic>: — Yoo have naniedPichegru, Georges, 

 aiid More-iu: convince me that i he for- 

 ni»-r is in Paris, and I will imniedintrly 

 csinsethe latter to be arrested. — Another 

 and a very singular circumstance led lo 

 the developeinent of the plot. One 

 irnihf, as I fay agitated and wakeful, I 

 ro>e from my bed, and examined the list 

 «>f su>pected traitors; and Chance, which 

 rules the world, occasioned my stumb- 

 h>i<i, at it were, on the name ol a surgeon, 

 whii had lately returned from an English 

 prison. This man's age, education, and 

 experience in life, induced me to believe, 

 ilmi his conduct must be attributed to 

 any other motive than that of youthful 

 »«iinticism in favour of a Bourbon : as 

 far as circumstances qualified me to 

 judge, money appeared to be his object. 

 —I accordingly gave orders for this man 

 lo be arrested ; when a summary mock 

 trial was instituted, by which he was 

 Soun(t guilty, sentenced to die, and in- 

 formed lie had but six hours to live. This 

 straiiigein had the desired effect: he wai 

 terrified into confession. It was now 

 known that Pichegru had a brother, a 

 inonasiio priest, then residing in Paris. 

 I bidered a party of gens d'armrs to visit 

 this man ; and, if he had quitted his house, 

 I conceived there would ')e good ground 

 for suspicion. The old monk was se- 

 cured, and, m the act of his arrest, his 

 fears betrayed what 1 most wanted to 

 kn'iw. — ' Is it,' he exclaimed, * because 

 I atforded shelter to a tirother that I am 

 thus treated.*— The object of the plot 

 was to destroy me ; aud the success of ic 

 would, of course, have been my destruc- 

 tiwn. It enianartd from the capital of 

 yout «OMH.(j, With th« Count d'Ariois at 

 S 



WerdeTi'a Letters on Napoleon, 



At the same time, (he head of it. To the West he sent t^^ 

 Doke de Berri, and to the East the Duke^^ 

 DTinghein. To France your vessetf j 

 conveyed underlings of the plot, an'& ■ 

 I^Ioreau became a convert to the cause.' ' 

 The moment was big witit evil: 1 felt' 

 myself on a tottering eminence, atul I', 

 resolved to hurl the thunder back upon* 

 the Bourbons even in the metropolis of! 

 the British empire. '*''■ ** ' '" 



My Minister vehe^ ' 

 mentty urged the seizure of the Duke,'"' 

 though in a neutral territory. But I sti(r 

 hesitated, and Prince Benevenio brought 

 the order twice, and urged the measurfl^ . 

 with all his powers of persuasion. !(• 

 was not, however, till I was fully con.-y 

 vincedof its necessity, that I snnctionetif* 

 it by my signature. The matter could b« 

 easily arranged between me and the 

 Duke of Baden. WUy, indeed, should 

 I suffer a man, residing on the very con- 

 fines of my kingdom, to commit a crime 

 which, within the distance of a mile, by 

 the ordinary course of law. Justice her- 

 self would condemn to the scatTold. And 

 now answer me; — Did I do more than 

 adopt the principle of your government, 

 when iturttered the captureuf the Danish 

 fleet, which was thought to threaten mis- 

 chief to your country ? It had been 

 urged to nie again and again, as a sound 

 |)olitical opinion, that tnc new dynasty 

 could not be secure, while 'he Bourbon* 

 remained. Talleyrand never deviated 

 from this principle: it was a fixed, uia» 

 changeable article in his poli ical creed. 

 —But I did not become a ready or a 

 willing convert. I examined i he opinion 

 with care and with caution i and the re- 

 sult was a perfect conviction of its neces- 

 sity. —The Doke D'Eiigheiii was acces- 

 sary to the Confederacy ; and, although 

 the resident of a neutral territory, the 

 urgency of the case, in which my safely 

 and the public tranquillity, to use no 

 •tronger expression, were involved, justi. 

 fied the proceeding. I accordingly or- 

 dered him to be seized and tried : he 

 was found guilty, 'and sentenced to be 

 shot. — The sentence was immediately 

 executed ; and the same fate would have 

 followed had it been lMui$ the Eigh- 

 teenth. For I again declare that 1 found 

 it necessary to roll the thunder back on 

 the metiopolis of England, at from 

 thence, with the Count d'Artois at their 

 head, did the assassins assail me. 



" Your country also accuses me of the • 

 death of Pichegru." — I replied, " It is 

 most certamly and universally believed 

 throughout the whole British empne, that < 

 he was strangled in prison by your or- ■ 

 ders." He rapidly answered, " What i 



klle. 



