Rejecting this expedient, and all others having been found equally objectionable, the only alternative which remained was to surrender his person, either to the allied powers as a body, or to any one of them in particular. The former course would have been difficult, unless Napoleon had adopted the idea of resorting to it earlier, which, in the view of his escape by sea, he had omitted to do. Neither had he time to negotiate with any of the allied sovereigns, or of travelling back to Paris for the purpose, with any chance of personal safety, for the Royalists were now every where holding the ascendency, and more than one of his generals had been attacked and killed by them. He was cooped up, therefore, in Rochefort,[177] although the white flag was already about to be hoisted there, and the commandant respectfully hinted the necessity of his departure. It must have been anticipated by Napoleon, that he might be soon deprived of the cover of the batteries of the isle of Aix. The fact is (though we believe not generally known,) that on the 13th July, Lord Castlereagh wrote to Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, commanding off Cape Finisterre, suggesting to him the propriety of attacking, with a part of his force, the two frigates in the roads of the isle d'Aix, having first informed the commandant that they did so in the capacity of allies of the King of France, and placing it upon his responsibility if he fired on them from the batteries. Napoleon could not, indeed, know for certain that such a plan was actually in existence, and about to be attempted, but yet must have been aware of its probability, when the Royalist party were becoming every where superior, and their emblems were assumed in the neighbouring town of Rochelle. It is, therefore, in vain to state Buonaparte's subsequent conduct, as a voluntary confidence reposed by him in the honour of England. He was precisely in the condition of the commandant of a besieged town, who has the choice of surrendering, or encountering the risks of a storm. Neither was it open for him to contend, that he selected the British, out of all the other allied powers, with whom to treat upon this occasion. Like the commandant in the case above supposed, he was under the necessity of surrendering to those who were the immediate besiegers, and therefore he was compelled to apply for terms of safety to him who alone possessed the direct power of granting it, that is, to Captain Frederick Maitland, of the Bellerophon. [Sidenote: NEGOTIATION WITH MAITLAND.]