forth; above all, when he learned from the reports that French emigrants
had entered the enemy's ranks, whom he stigmatized by the name of
traitors, infamous and wretched creatures, unworthy of pity. I remember
that on the occasion of the capture of Huningen he thus characterized a
certain M. de Montjoie, who was now serving in the Bavarian army after
taking a German name, which I have forgotten. The Emperor added,
however: "At least, he has had the modesty not to keep his French name."
In general easy to conciliate on nearly all points, the Emperor was
pitiless towards all those who bore arms against their country; and
innumerable times I have heard him say that there was no greater crime in
his eyes.

In order not to add to the complication of so many conflicting interests
which encountered and ran contrary to each other still more each day, the
Emperor already had the thought of sending Ferdinand VII. back into
Spain. I have the certainty that his Majesty had even made some
overtures to him on this subject during his last stay in Paris; but it
was the Spanish prince who objected to this, not ceasing, on the
contrary, to demand the Emperor's protection. He desired most of all to
become the ally, of his Majesty, and it was well known that in his
letters to his Majesty he urged him incessantly to give him a wife of the
Emperor's selection. The Emperor had seriously thought of marrying him
to the eldest daughter of King Joseph, which seemed a means of
conciliating at the same time the rights of Prince Joseph and those of
Ferdinand VII., and King Joseph asked nothing better than to be made a
party to this arrangement; and from the manner in which he had used his
royalty since the commencement of his reign, we may be permitted to think
that his Majesty did not greatly object to this. Prince Ferdinand had
acquiesced in this alliance, which appeared very agreeable to him, when
suddenly at the end of the year 1813 he demanded time; and the course of