Fouche. The infernal vision passed slowly in front of me, went into the
King's study and disappeared. Fouche was coming to swear faith and
homage to his lord. The trusty regicide, kneeling, put the hands which
had made Louis XVI's head roll in the hands of the martyr king's
brother; the apostate bishop stood surety for the oaths.'
In Rochefort the prefect, following Fouche's secret orders, stalled and
prevaricated, pleading the impossibility of running the British blockade.
In fact in these early days of July it was perfectly possible for the two
frigates, MMuse and Saale, to have evaded the blockade, for most of the
time only the Bellerophon was on station. But because of Fouche's
treachery five precious days were wasted while the Royal Navy tightened
its grip on the port. None the less, Napoleon himself must again be
censured for vacillation. He received a good offer from an experienced sea
captain for a mass breakout in small ships from the Gironde, using so
many vessels that the Royal Navy would not know which one to chase,
and then heading for America in the two corvettes Bayardere and
Indefotigable. Napoleon, foolishly, decided to 'wait and see'. Once again
his mental processes remain a mystery. Why did he wait for five days in
Rochefort, from 3-8 July, when he must have known that speed was
essential? Perhaps he thought a safe-conduct might still arrive or that a
mass demonstration in the Army would call on him to return. Joseph was
still urging him to link up with the Army of the Gironde under Clausel.
On 8 July Louis XVIII reentered Paris after an absence of exactly one
hundred days, having guaranteed the property of those who had benefited
from the Revolution. Napoleon meanwhile, learning that word had come
in from Paris that he must depart at once from Rochefort, set off in a
rowing boat fo r the lie d' Aix but decided to spend the night aboard the
frigate Saale. But a fresh set of orders arrived from the Commissioners in
Paris: Bonaparte must embark for the U.S.A. at once and would not be
allowed back on French soil; anyone abetting him to do so would be
guilty of treason. Napoleon was given twenty-four hours to comply with
this order, and the implicit threat was that if he did not do so, he would
simply be handed over to the mercies of the incoming Bourbon
government.
The Emperor returned to the lie d' Aix to ponder his choices. Apart
from sailing out to almost certain capture, there only seemed two options:
either return, put himself at the head of the Army and head a
revolutionary movement, or surrender to the British and take his chances.
Still indecisive, on ro July he sent his aides Savary and Las Cases to
negotiate with Captain Maitland of HMS Bellerophon and see what terms
were available. They bore a letter written by Bertrand, asking if the
marcin
(Marcin)
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