After peace was concluded with Russia in 1801, the Duke took the opportunity of returning to France and collecting the remains of the enormous fortune of his ancestors, for the sake of paying the debts of his father and grandfather, both of whom had greatly involved their patrimony by their insane prodigality: this was his _sole_ object; and he abandoned the whole of his rights to the creditors, retaining for himself nothing of that immense inheritance. It was certainly giving evidence of a most noble disposition! The Duc de Richelieu, prime minister of Louis XVIII., and great-nephew of the celebrated cardinal, did not himself possess an income of more than 20,000 francs![41] [41] About 800_l._ Buonaparte was at the summit of his consular glory when the illustrious name of Richelieu was presented to him; and he who attached a great value to names of historic celebrity, and who was also a great admirer of the iron-handed minister, offered the Duke employment in his army: but he refused it, and is it possible to blame him for so doing? He was a man of high and ancient descent, warmly attached to the House of Bourbon, and resolved not to serve in a French army except under the royal banner: his refusal, however, rendered it necessary he should immediately quit Paris; and on his return to the Emperor Alexander he was entrusted with the execution of rather a difficult task, being appointed to the government of the southern portion of that immense empire. All the provinces on the borders of the Black Sea had been converted into uncultivated deserts by the ravages of war, and the barbarous ignorance of the Mussulman inhabitants rendered them incapable of repairing the mischief--in fact, the old Roman colonies of the Palus Meotides no longer existed except in name; and in repeopling this desert, the closest and most careful surveillance was necessary for the purpose of introducing European customs and civilisation. In the beginning of 1803, the Duke was appointed Governor of Odessa, and he was afterwards employed in the general administration of New Russia--a country where the climate is mild and genial, and which is like Italy, only devoid of the arts and of cultivation: institutions had been commenced, but nothing was completed, and in a city of considerable extent there were hardly 5000 inhabitants.[42] M. de Richelieu, without the slightest hesitation, had recourse to the measures necessary for improving this state of things, even though he sometimes offended ancient customs and selfish interests; but it is only by means of absolute power that great reforms can be accomplished. Every thing appeared to have received new life; commerce, set free from the bonds by which she was before shackled, made a rapid advance, and the population of Odessa was in a short time doubled. The administration of the governor extended from the vast countries of the Dniester to the Kouban and the Caucasus; and the colonies of German