About noon the wind freshened a little. At four o'clock they were off Leghorn. One frigate was in sight five leagues to leeward, another on the coast of Corsica, and a man-of-war brig, which was perceived to be Le Zephir, commanded by Captain Andrieux, was coming down upon the imperial flotilla right before the wind. It was first proposed to speak to him, and make him hoist the three-coloured flag. "The Emperor, however, gave orders to the soldiers of the guard to take off their caps and conceal themselves below, choosing rather to pass by the brig without being known, and reserving himself in case of necessity, for the alternative of making him change his colours. At six o'clock the two brigs passed alongside of each other, and their commanders, who were acquainted, spoke together. The captain of Le Zephir inquired after the Emperor, and was answered through a speaking trumpet by the Emperor himself, that he was extremely well. ""The two brigs, steering opposite courses, were soon out of sight of each other, without Captain Andrieux having any suspicion of the valuable prize, that he had allowed to escape. ""In the night of the 27th the wind continued to freshen. At day-break a seventy-four was descried, which appeared steering for San Fiorenzo or Sardinia, and it was soon perceived, that she took no notice of the brig[42]."" [Footnote 42: The passages between two sets of inverted commas are copied from the official account published on the 22d of March. This account was drawn up by Napoleon, and I thought I could not do better than borrow his words.] The Emperor, before he quitted the island of Elba, had prepared with his own hand two proclamations, one addressed to the French people, the other to the army; and he was desirous of having them copied out fairly. His secretary and General Bertrand, being neither of them able to decipher them, carried them to Napoleon, who, despairing of doing it himself, threw them into the sea from vexation. Then, after meditating for a few moments, he dictated to his secretary the two following proclamations on the spot. _Proclamation._ Gulf of Juan, March the 1st, 1815. Napoleon, by the grace of God and constitution of the empire, Emperor of the French, &c. &c. &c. _To the Army._ Soldiers! We have not been vanquished: two men, who issued from our ranks, betrayed our laurels, their country, their prince, their benefactor.