"When I arrived at the door of the saloon, the First Consul took leave of M. de Talleyrand, and called me. He expressed his astonishment at the great diversity of opinion of the two last persons whom he had consulted, and demanded mine. I recalled to him his political principles, which were to govern all the factions by taking part with none. I recalled to him the circumstance of his entry into the artillery in consequence of the encouragement which the Prince of Conde had given me to commence a military career. I still remembered the quatrain of the verses composed by the abbe Simon: "'Conde! quel nom, l'univers le venere; A ce pays il est cher a jamais; Mars l'honore pendant la guerre, Et Minerve pendant la paix.'[K] [Footnote K: "Conde! what a name! the universe reveres it; To this country it is ever dear; Mars honors it during war, And Minerva during peace."] "Little did we then think that we should ever be deliberating upon the fate of his grandson. Tears moistened the eyes of Napoleon. With a nervous gesture, which always with him accompanied a generous thought, he said, 'His pardon is in my heart, since it is in my power to pardon him. But that is not enough for me. I wish that the grandson of Conde should serve in our armies. I feel myself sufficiently strong for that.' "With these impressions I returned to Mortfontaine. The family were at the dinner-table. I took a seat by the side of Madame de Stael, who had at her left M. Mathieu de Montmorency. Madame de Stael, with the assurance which I gave her of the intention of the First Consul to pardon a descendant of the great Conde, exclaimed in characteristic language, "'Ah! that is right; if it were not so, we should not see here M. Mathieu de Montmorency.' "But another nobleman present, who had not emigrated, said to me, on the contrary: 'Will it then be permitted to the Bourbons to conspire with impunity? The First Consul is deceived if he think that the nobles who have not emigrated, and particularly the historic nobility, take any deep interest in the Bourbons.' Several others present expressed the same views. "The next day, upon my return to Malmaison, I found Napoleon very indignant against Count Real; whose motives he accused, reproaching him with having employed in his government certain men too much compromised in the great excesses of the Revolution. _The Duke d'Enghien had been condemned and executed even before the announcement of his trial had been communicated to Napoleon._