now more firmly established than the English Government? Does it imagine
that for the French Government reciprocity will be difficult? What might
be the effect of an exchange of such insults--of this protection and this
encouragement accorded to assassins?"

The irritation was real, and its manifestations sincere; but they cloaked
more serious incentives to anger, and pretensions fatal to the repose of
Europe. For a long time the First Consul had repelled with scorn any
intervention of England in the affairs of the new States he had created,
and which the English Government had constantly refused to recognize. The
complaints of Lord Hawkesbury on the subject of the French mediation in
Switzerland provoked an explosion of anger and threats. "Whatever may be
said or not said," wrote Talleyrand to Otto, "the resolution of the First
Consul is irrevocable. He will not have Switzerland converted into a new
Jersey. You will never speak of war, but you will not suffer any one to
speak to you of it. With what war could they threaten us? With a naval
war? But our commerce has only just started afresh, and the prey that we
should afford the English would be scarcely worth while. Our West Indies
are supplied with acclimatized soldiers! St. Domingo alone contains 25,000
of them. They might blockade our ports, it is true; but at the very moment
of the declaration of war England would find herself blockaded in turn.
The territory of Hanover, of Holland, of Portugal, of Italy, down to
Tarento, would be occupied by our troops. The countries we are accused of
domineering over too openly--Liguria, Lombardy, Switzerland, Holland--
instead of being left in this uncertain situation, from which we sustain a
thousand embarrassments, would be converted into French provinces, from
which we should draw immense resources; and we should be compelled to
realize that empire of the Gauls which is ceaselessly held up as a terror
to Europe. And what would happen if the First Consul, quitting Paris for
Lille or St. Omer, collecting all the flat-bottomed vessels of Flanders