The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 03 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
General
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 03 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
would impose upon us! —— is a traitor! he was about to compromise with
the enemy—I have taken his command from him—he shall never again command
a corporal’s guard—we are an independent nation—England should be the
last power to tyrannize over us in our choice of a government._”—He then
desired me to proceed to lay before the Commission at the Thuilleries
the result of my mission, adding, “they know very well that I have now
with me more than 100,000 men, with 500 pieces of cannon, and 25,000
cavalry.”
‘I proceeded to the palace of the Thuilleries, where I was introduced to
the Commission. Carnot immediately asked, what my errand to the enemy
had been? Fouché quickly answered, that he had sent me. Quinette and
Grenier looked as if they were not satisfied with this answer. Carnot
continued to address me, and asked whether I had seen the Deputies at
the Duke of Wellington’s head-quarters? I answered in the affirmative,
and that I could give him an account of the result of their mission:
upon this they became attentive, and heard my account with dismay and
indignation. Carnot expressed the same sentiments that Davoust had
recently done; and added, rather roughly, that he could by no means give
credit to my account, either as to the Duke of Wellington’s _sine qua
non_, or as to the force of the enemy in the vicinity of Paris: he
further said, with a sneer, “we shall have, I hope, a very different
account on the return of the Deputies.” Fouché defended me, and reproved
him for so uncivilly questioning my veracity, and assured him that he
might put implicit confidence in me. Carnot and Grenier then took me to
a topographical map, and questioned me as to the movements of the Duke
of Wellington? I answered their interrogatories to the extent to which I
thought myself warranted: and it appeared that I informed them of
nothing with which they were not already acquainted. Carnot then, in a
polite manner, told me I might retire.
‘It would appear, that in consequence of having learned from me the
nature of the communication which the Deputies would have to make to the
Chambers, and dreading its discouraging effects on the members, and on
the people at large, their return to Paris had been prevented. Some
private orders seem to have been given to that effect; for on the same
day that I entered Paris by the Barriere de la Villette, the Deputies
approached that part, preceded by Colonel Latour Maubourg, who was
attached to their mission, when the French out-posts fired, killed the
Prussian trumpeter’s horse, and a ball grazed the epaulette of the
Colonel. The Deputies turned back, and attempted to enter by the
Barriere de St. Dennis, but were refused. They there received fresh
instructions to treat, and it was so managed, that they did not return
to Paris till after the capitulation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account