Page:Memoirs of Baron Hyde de Neuville; outlaw, exile, ambassador; (IA memoirsofbaronhy01hyde).pdf/227

Rh by fatalities, which seem to be multiplied indefinitely. Such a moment, for Buonaparte, was that of the death of the Duc d’Enghien, The crown which was soon to surround Napoleon's brow, may well have dazzled his contemporaries; but all who study his history impartially, will see, at this time, the dawn of those political faults, that despotism and blindness, which prepared the way for the fall of the Empire, and place it, in spite of its false splendour, far below the Consulate. The first epoch of Napoleon's power, had, in many respects, a real greatness, which is admitted, even by those who re- fused to give the First Consul the confidence which is due only to institutions firmly established upon a principle.

The death of the Duc d’Enghien showed clearly enough, the fate which awaited George Cadoudal and his friends. The conspiracy had served as a pretext, it was now to serve as a justification! But the difficulties in the way of the government were great, for it was impossible to make the conspirators appear assassins. With that indomitable courage, that bold frankness, which could never yield or lie, even in the presence of death, George avowed everything, It is not easy to ascribe secret designs to those who unveil their own projects to the light of day, and George openly declared his intention of making an end of the First Consul,—but not by cowardly assassination, such as they had sought to lay to his charge on the 3rd Nivóse. In the interrogations to which he was subjected, he gave the most explicit answers. He made no attempt to defend his life, but only his honour. He was asked what was his object in coming to Paris. ‘I came to attack the First Consul,’ he replied, ‘I wished to attack him openly, by armed force, and not to assassinate him.’ ’What was your project?’ ‘To put a Bourbon in the place of the First Consul.’

Is it necessary to insist on the intentions of the conspirators, when we find among them such estimable men as MM. de Polignac, and M. de Riviére? Public �