1 8 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



account of what I have seen. You are of my opinion, 

 I know. At the same time, I shall declare that our 

 soldiers will not budge an inch. Your attitude and 

 your kindly disposition cannot fail to facilitate an 

 honourable arrangement. We are strong, we can 

 afford to wait." 



I came to a verbal understanding with General 

 Oudinot and the Eoman authorities as to a suspension 

 of hostilities. 



Having obtained this result, I endeavoured to form 

 a correct estimate of the situation and of the diffi- 

 culties by which I might expect to be confronted. I 

 was not long in discovering that in Eome I should 

 have to face the prejudices of a population still very 

 irritated by the events of April 30th; the impossi- 

 bility in which we found ourselves placed of officially 

 recognising the Eoman Eepublic or even of promising 

 the maintenance of a government which esteemed 

 itself to be as legitimate as our own; and the blind- 

 ness of certain influential persons who were relying 

 for the triumph of their cause upon a revolutionary 

 movement in Paris, just as many French politicians, 

 even in the ministerial party, believed in the 

 existence of a moderate Eoman party, which had 

 promised to open us the gates of Eome on the 30th 

 of April, and would be more fortunate if we attacked 

 the city again. 



Upon the other hand, I had remarked that the 

 impatience of several generals, the desire to make 



