"MY DEAR JULIE,--I have received your letter of the 15th from Mortfontaine. The sentiment which you have experienced in returning to that beautiful place, where we have been so happy for so long a time, and at so little expense, needs not the explanation of any supernatural causes. You perceive that there you have been happier than you are now, than you will be for a long time. The happiness which you have there enjoyed is sure as the past; that which is destined for you here is as uncertain as the future. Life at Mortfontaine is that of innocence and peace; it is that of the patriarchs. The life at Naples is that of kings. It is a voyage over a sea, often calm, but sometimes stormy. The life at Mortfontaine was a promenade as placid as its waters. It flowed noiselessly like the light skiff which a slight effort of the oars of Zenaide[N] sufficed to push forward around the isle of Molton.[O] [Footnote N: Daughter of the king.] [Footnote O: An island in the lake of Mortfontaine.] "But after all these regrets of a good heart, gentle and reasonable, there come the results of the reflections of a strong mind and an elevated soul which owes itself entirely to the will of Providence, manifested by the spontaneous coming, and not desired by us, of grandeurs which point us to other duties. I console myself, in this new career, by seeing it traversed by my wife and my children. The most unpleasant part of the voyage is over, that which I have taken without them. Now peace will reunite us. And if you do not find here your own country, our reunion will give us the illusion of it. As we shall be the same to each other, I believe that, come what may, you will find Mortfontaine, where you see me happy in the love of my family, and in the happiness which I shall be able to confer, and in that still greater happiness of which I shall dream. Adieu, my dear Julie. I embrace you tenderly." The victories of the Emperor, the peace of Tilsit, the Russian alliance, had greatly diminished the influence of the British Cabinet upon the Continent, and, in the same proportion, had increased that of France. Still the Cabinet of St. James was unrelenting in opposition to Napoleon. The British cruisers ran along the coast of Italy, landing here and there Sicilian or Calabrian brigands, who were under the pay of Ferdinand and Caroline. It was also proved that assassins were in the employ of Ferdinand and his queen.