Citizen Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs.' Did you write the
address?"

"Yes, general."

"Well, go on."

And without stopping a single time, and even without hesitating,
Bonaparte dictated the following letter:

"In three or four hours, citizen minister, every thing will be
decided--peace or war. I confess that I shall do every thing to make
peace, in consequence of the advanced season and the slim prospect
of achieving important successes."

"You know very little about the nations of the peninsula; they do
not deserve that forty thousand French soldiers should be killed for
their sake. I see from your letter that you always argue from
unfounded premises. You fancy that liberty would make a great
impression upon a lazy, superstitious, cowardly, and degraded
people."

"You ask me to do miracles, and I cannot perform them. Ever since I
came to Italy, the nation's desire for liberty and equality was not
my ally, or at best it was but a very feeble one. Whatever is merely
good to be mentioned in proclamations and printed speeches is worth
no more than a novel."

"Hoping that the negotiations will have a favorable issue, I do not
enter upon further details to enlighten you about many matters which