He reached Fréjus on May 28; but as the shore became clearer and the outline of the coast grew into the horizon, the hopes with which he had left Caroline began to weaken, and he became oppressed with a sense of helplessness, seeming to feel that he was struggling against hopeless odds. The sight of the country he had once served so well, and where his name had been a household word—he was known as “the Achilles of France”—struck chill upon his heart. He had loved his mistress, and had never counted the cost, but he had sided against her too, and, as he well knew, a country, like a woman, forgets a thousand acts of devotion in the face of one affront. He had no friends there any more save, perhaps, his brother-in-law; but Napoleon had a woman’s memory for past wrongs too, and though his letters had been full of affection while the issue of his own attempt was still problematical, now that he had succeeded he could repay to the uttermost farthing. He might need Murat to lead the cavalry—nay, as it seemed, he _must_ need him, for he could not, surely, allow a personal spite to prevent him from using that weapon of weapons when the hilt of it was held out to him! Murat was not the only one either. Ney had sworn to bring the Emperor back in a cage like a wild beast—and he had taken Ney to his heart as soon as they met. Marmont had deliberately gone over to the enemy—taking his corps with him. Indeed, of all Napoleon’s former adherents it might be said that only Soult had proved to be the true metal, for he had not laid down his arms till after the Emperor had descended from the throne, and he had fought his last fight with as high a courage and as steadfast a heart as his first. Soult had never surrendered, nor had he ever allowed it to be said that force of arms had compelled him to submit to the allies. He had obeyed the decision of his countrymen, and that was all. The evil days upon which he had fallen had eaten into Murat’s self-confidence badly, and he dared not even proceed to Paris, but remained at Toulon. From there he wrote to Fouché, whom he still imagined to have kindly feelings towards him—Fouché!—because in his prosperity he had befriended him. “You know,” he wrote, “the motive and the result of the war in Italy. Arrived in France. I now offer my arm to the Emperor and trust that Heaven may allow me to atone for the disasters of the King by the success of the Captain.” Fouché presented the letter to Napoleon without comment, and the latter read it. “What treaties of peace have I concluded with the King of Naples since the war of 1814?” he asked, handing it back, and Fouché bowed himself out.