First Consul had expected; and, notwithstanding all the address of
Lucien, the communication was not heard without much uneasiness. But
Lucien had prepared a speech quite to the taste of the First Consul.
After dilating for some time on the efforts of the Government to obtain
peace he deplored the tergiversations of Austria, accused the fatal
influence of England, and added in a more elevated and solemn tone,
"At the very moment when, the Consuls were leaving the Palace of the
Government a courier arrived bearing despatches which the First Consul
has directed me to communicate to you." He then read a note declaring
that the Austrian Government consented to surrender to France the three
fortresses of Ulm, Philipsburg, and Ingolstadt. This was considered as a
security for the preliminaries of peace being speedily signed. The news
was received with enthusiasm, and that anxious day closed in a way highly
gratifying to the First Consul.

Whilst victory confirmed in Italy the destinies of the First Consul, his
brothers were more concerned about their own interests than the affairs
of France. They loved money as much as Bonaparte loved glory. A letter
from Lucien to his brother Joseph, which I shall subjoin, shows how ready
they always were to turn to their own advantage the glory and fortune of
him to whom they were indebted for all their importance. I found this
letter among my papers, but I cannot tell why and how I preserved it.
It is interesting, inasmuch as it shows, the opinion that family of
future kings entertained of their own situation, and of what their fate
would have been had Bonaparte, like Desaix, fallen on the field of
Marengo. It is, besides, curious to observe the, philosopher Lucien
causing Te Deum, to be chanted with the view of influencing the public
funds. At all events I copy Lucien's letter as he wrote it, giving the
words marked in italics [CAPS] and the numerous notes of exclamation
which distinguish the original.