Memoirs of Napoleon — Volume 13 by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
page 2 of 86 (02%)
page 2 of 86 (02%)
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Unalterable determination of the Allies with respect to Napoleon--
Fontainebleau included in the limits to be occupied by the Allies-- Alexander's departure from Paris--Napoleon informed of the necessity of his unconditional abdication--Macdonald and Ney again sent to Paris--Alleged attempt of Napoleon to poison himself--Farewell interview between Macdonald and Napoleon--The sabre of Murad Bey-- Signature of the act of unconditional abdication--Tranquillity of Paris during the change of Government--Ukase of the Emperor of Russia relative to the Post-office--Religious ceremony on the Place Louis XV.--Arrival of the Comte d'Artois--His entrance into Paris-- Arrival of the Emperor of Austria--Singular assemblage of sovereigns in France--Visit of the Emperor of Austria to Maria Louisa--Her interview with the Emperor Alexander--Her departure for Vienna. When Marmont left Paris on the receipt of the intelligence from Essonne, Marshals Macdonald and Ney and the Duke of Vicenza waited upon the Emperor Alexander to learn his resolution before he could have been informed of the movement of Marmont's troops. I myself went during the morning to the hotel of M. de Talleyrand, and it was there I learnt how what we had hoped for had become fact: the matter was completely decided. The Emperor Alexander had walked out at six in the morning to the residence of the King of Prussia in the Rue de Bourbon. The two sovereigns afterwards proceeded together to M. de Talleyrand's, where they were when Napoleon's Commissioners arrived. The Commissioners being introduced to the two sovereigns, the Emperor Alexander, in answer to their proposition, replied that the Regency was impossible, as submissions to the Provisional Government were pouring in from all parts, and that if the army had formed contrary wishes those should have been sooner made known. "Sire," observed Macdonald, "that--was--impossible, as none of the Marshals were in Paris, and besides, who could foresee the |
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