_Feb. 9, 1817._ We proceed to Mr. Macirone’s account of the surrender of Paris. Let it speak for itself:— ‘Immediately after the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon returned to Paris, and abdicated the throne in _favour of his son, who would have been accepted and proclaimed by the French people_, but for the opposition of two celebrated individuals. ‘On this abdication, a commission of government, as it was called, was formed, consisting of Fouché, the president, Caulincourt, Carnot, Quinette, and Grenier. ‘On the 26th of June, I believe, the Duke of Wellington, at the head of his victorious army, reached Compeigne. In the course of the following night, a deputation of five persons was sent to him from Paris by the two Chambers, to solicit an armistice for a few days. The avowed purpose of this mission was to afford time for the return of another deputation, which had been despatched to the Allied Sovereigns, to assert the right of the French people to choose their own government, in conformity to the Declaration of the Allies, _that they warred against the person of Napoleon only, and not against the French people, or to force upon them any particular government_. ‘The Chamber of Deputies, the majority of the Commissioners of Government, and the Army, now in great strength in Paris, were _determined to resist any attempt to force the Bourbons upon them_; while the avowed opinion of Fouché and Caulincourt was, that such a determination could only lead to the destruction of Paris, and the loss of thousands of lives. They therefore sought the means of opening a communication with the Duke of Wellington, in which they might impart to him their views, and avert the calamity which they apprehended from the projects of the other parties. In the expediency of procuring an armistice for a few days, _all_ parties concurred; and Fouché, who had become acquainted with me in my interviews with him respecting King Joachim, solicited me to undertake the task of carrying on a communication between him and the Duke of Wellington. It was sufficient for me to know that the service in which I was to be engaged had for its object the prevention of a sanguinary conflict, which an attempt to take Paris by force would have occasioned, and I therefore consented to be the bearer of Fouché’s message to the Duke.