"Seated around the table," (in the house of Joseph Bonaparte) "a few moments were devoted to the question as to who should subscribe first, as it seemed that the honor belonged to him (Joseph) as the brother of the Chief of the Government. In the mildest manner, yet with all the firmness required by the occasion, I remarked that my quality of Cardinal and representative of the Pope would not permit me to take second place among the signers; I observed, moreover, that under the old Government of France, as in all such cases, the cardinals had undisputed precedence, and that I could not yield in a point which did not concern me personally but the dignity with which I was vested. I must in justice admit that, after some difficulty, he yielded with good grace, and agreed that I should sign first, while he should follow in the second place, then the Prelate Spina, followed in order by the Counsellor Cretet, Padre Caselli, and finally the Abbe Bernier. "Thereupon we immediately prepared for the work in hand, and I took up the pen to affix my signature. But what was my surprise when I saw the Abbe Bernier presenting me the copy which he had unrolled, in order that I should begin with that rather than with my own, and after glancing over it to assure myself that it was correct, I perceived that the Concordat which I was about to sign was not the one upon which not only the negotiators, but the First Consul also, had agreed, but one entirely different. The change in the first line caused me to examine with greater diligence the remainder of the document, and I discovered that the present copy not only contained the very same draft which the Pope had refused to admit without proper corrections, and which had given cause for the recall of the French envoy through the refusal of the Pope, but it changed the same in many points, having inserted many things which had already been rejected before that draft was sent to Rome. "A proceeding of such a nature, incredible though a fact, and which I will not permit myself to characterize--the thing speaks for itself--paralyzed, so to speak, my hand before it could sign. I expressed my surprise, and declared decisively that I could not sign that document at any price. The brother of the First Consul seemed no less astonished at what he heard, and declared that he could not be persuaded of what I said, since the First Consul had told him that everything was agreed and that nothing remained to be done except to sign."