Murat, at Ollendorf upon the shores of the Ulm, received several very polite and pressing invitations to an alliance from the Austrian Commissioner, Count von Mier, and he had listened to them, as one of his contemporaries says, without disdain. Wishing, though, to get an idea of what his own people might think of such a suggestion, he consulted two or three of his Ministers and generals on the subject. The result did not help him much, for they all held different opinions. One held that France’s welfare was that of Naples, and that, with the return of the Bourbons to Paris, everything that the Revolution and the Empire had done for Italy would be wiped out; another that Murat’s duty was to establish himself firmly and hold fast to his throne, whatever might happen to his own people and the Emperor. Upon one point they were all agreed, and that was that Murat’s first and most imperative duty was to so order his relations with the Powers as to exclude any possible chance of Ferdinand’s return—it was as to the best way of attaining that desired condition of things that they differed. “The old and the new era,” said one, advocating the continuance of the existing alliance with France, “are at war with one another, and the victory cannot for the present be assigned to any particular state or people. Should the new triumph, all the social institutions of Europe will, in twenty years’ time, be established upon the basis of the civil polity introduced by the French; but if the old, all progress will be arrested and the new States be thrown back towards the hated condition of the past.” He goes on to remark upon the reliance to be placed upon the word of the kings, then struggling against Napoleon, “for if kings promise to-day, they will break their words to-morrow.” The other finishes his address, in which he advises Murat to let France bleed to death by herself, thus: “Above all, I beseech you not to be caught by false glory, but to believe that there is only one way to preserve your reputation, which is to preserve your throne!” The military element seems to have been of the same opinion as number two, but Joachim wavered—as well he might, for both parties to the discussion were right. Even if he joined himself to the allies, it was quite likely that this throne would be taken from him at the first convenient moment. The Bourbons were everywhere, and Spain, Italy, Austria, and presently France would be filled with them. Their clamour would rise, in a hurricane, and what could those who professed to hold their own crowns as gifts from the Almighty say in answer to them? If the Emperor of Austria ruled by Divine Right, he must believe that Ferdinand did the same. If the Divine Right could be disregarded in one case, it could be disregarded in all, and there were plenty of evilly disposed persons who desired nothing better. It would be a weapon in their hand, and they had plenty of weapons already.