Murat dreamed of seating himself on the throne of a restored Poland, and he was angry at the mistrust of the great nobles. Napoleon read in his correspondence a thought that the brilliant chief of the vanguard dared not express; he had said to Davout, at the beginning of the campaign, "When I shall see 40,000 Poles in the field I will declare their independence, not before." In their turn the Poles, long crushed down by harsh servitude, asked for guarantees from the conqueror, who had only delivered them in order to subjugate them afresh. "Those who show so much circumspection, and ask so many guarantees, are selfish persons, who are not warmed by the love of country," wrote the emperor to Murat, already Grand Duke of Berg for several months past. "I am experienced in the study of men. My greatness is not founded on the aid of a few thousand Poles. It is for them to profit, with enthusiasm, by present circumstances; it is not for me to take the first step. Let them display a firm resolution to render themselves independent--let them engage to uphold the king who will be given to them, and then I shall see what I shall next have to do. Let it be well understood that I do not come to beg a throne for any of my relations; I have no lack of thrones to give to my family." In that conversation with the world which he kept up by bulletins from the grand army, Napoleon spoke of the Poles in other language; but he no longer laid bare the secret of his thoughts. "The army has entered into Warsaw," wrote he from Posen on December 1st. "It is difficult to paint the enthusiasm of the Poles. Our entry into this great city was a triumph, and the feelings that the Poles of all classes display since our arrival cannot be expressed. The love of country and the national sentiment is not only preserved in its entirety in the hearts of the people, but it has even gained new vigor from misfortune. Their first passion, their chief desire, is to become once more a nation. The richest leave their castles in order to come and demand, with loud cries, the re-establishment of the nation, and to offer their children, their fortunes, their influence. This spectacle is truly touching. Already they have everywhere resumed their ancient costume and their ancient customs. "Shall the throne of Poland be re-established, and shall this great nation reassert its existence and its independence? From the depths of the tomb shall it be born again to life? God alone, who holds in His hands the results of all events, is the arbiter of this grand political problem." Under the hand of God, which in the depths of his soul he often recognized, the Emperor Napoleon believed himself to be the arbiter of the grand problem of the independence of Poland. He remained personally indifferent to it, resolved on pursuing his own interest, either in aid of, or in contempt of, the interests and aspirations of the Poles.