in its true light," said Savary, "when I proved to him the palpable
existence of the odious machination, he could not find terms to express
his indignation. 'What baseness, what horrible villainy!' he exclaimed;
and gave me orders to arrest and bring to Paris the infamous writer of
the letter; and you may rely upon it his orders shall be promptly
obeyed."

Savary, as he had said, instantly despatched orders for the arrest of the
writer, whom he directed to be sent to France. On his arrival he was
interrogated respecting the letter. He declared that he had written it
at the instigation and under the dictation of Marshal Davoust, for doing
which he received a small sum of money as a reward. He also confessed
that when the letter was put into the post the Prince of Eckmuhl ordered
the Director of the Post to open it, take a copy, then seal it again, and
send it to its address--that is to say, to me--and the copy to the
Emperor. The writer of the letter was banished to Marseilles, or to the
Island of Hyeres, but the individual who dictated it continued a Marshal,
a Prince, and a Governor-General, and still looked forward to the
Viceroyalty of Poland! Such was the discriminating justice of the
Empire; and Davoust continued his endeavours to revenge himself by other
calumnies for my not having considered him a man of talent. I must do
the Duc de Rovigo the justice to say that, though his fidelity to
Napoleon was as it always had been, boundless, yet whilst he executed the
Emperor's orders he endeavoured to make him acquainted with the truth, as
was proved by his conduct in the case I have just mentioned. He was much
distressed by the sort of terror which his appointment had excited in the
public, and he acknowledged to me that he intended to restore confidence
by a more mild system than that of his predecessor. I had observed
formerly that Savary did not coincide in the opinion I had always
entertained of Fouche, but when once the Due de Rovigo endeavoured to