Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume III.Scott, Walter
History
Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume III.
Scott, Walter
France -- History -- 1789-1815; Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
The fate which Mr. Drake dreaded, and perhaps narrowly escaped, actually
befell Sir George Rumbold, resident at the free German city of Hamburgh,
in the capacity of his British Majesty's envoy to the Circle of Lower
Saxony. On the night of the 25th October, he was seized, in violation of
the rights attached by the law of nations to the persons of ambassadors,
as well as to the territories of neutral countries, by a party of the
French troops, who crossed the Elbe for that purpose. The envoy, with
his papers, was then transferred to Paris in the capacity of a close
prisoner, and thrown into the fatal Temple. The utmost anxiety was
excited even amongst Buonaparte's ministers, lest this imprisonment
should be intended as a prelude to further violence; and both Fouché and
Talleyrand exerted what influence they possessed over the mind of
Napoleon, to prevent the proceedings which were to be apprehended. The
King of Prussia also extended his powerful interposition; and the result
was, that Sir George Rumbold, after two days' imprisonment, was
dismissed to England, on giving his parole not to return to Hamburgh. It
seems probable, although the _Moniteur_ calls this gentleman the worthy
associate of Drake and Spencer Smith, and speaks of discoveries amongst
his papers which were to enlighten the public on the policy of England,
that nothing precise was alleged against him, even to palliate the
outrage which the French ruler had committed.
The tenor of Buonaparte's conduct in another instance, towards a British
nobleman of distinction, though his scheme was rendered abortive by the
sagacity of the noble individual against whom it was directed, is a
striking illustration of the species of intrigue practised by the French
police, and enables us to form a correct judgment of the kind of
evidence upon which Buonaparte brought forward his calumnious accusation
against Britain and her subjects.
[Sidenote: LORD ELGIN.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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