The man was saved twice over.
Whilst Carrel was advancing to recovery, as M. Dupuytren had predicted, preventative arrests were being continued; but, on 14 February, the Council Chamber found the seconds of M. Roux-Laborie and of MM. Albert Berthier and Théodore Anne not guilty, and they were set at liberty. The first use these gentlemen made of their liberty was to place themselves at the disposal of MM. d'Hervas and Achille Grégoire; only, not wanting to enter upon this succession of duels as a mere matter of principle, they chose their seconds from among the Republicans. Thus, MM. Mathieu and Alexis Dumesnil were M. Berthier's seconds, and Étienne Arago and Anténor Joly those of M. Théodore Anne. But, on the morning of the 15th, MM. Théodore Anne and Albert Berthier received this letter, written by Carrel in duplicate. We have the one addressed to Théodore Anne.
"PARIS, 15 February 1833
"SIR,—I have learnt with keen satisfaction that to-day you have at last been allowed to return to your business affairs and to your friends. I cannot protest too energetically against the motive upon which they dared to found your arbitrary detention; but I particularly want to tell you, sir, how very sensible I have been to the attentions heaped upon me by your generous loyalty at a time when I might have feared to have no claim upon it except the sorrow and active solicitude of my seconds and friends. In this perilous moment, it has been difficult for me to distinguish between the devotion of friends who desired to uphold my cause and share my dangers, and the generous courtesy of the men of honour whom M. Roux-Laborie had selected for seconds. Be sure, sir, I have noticed everything even during the time when sharp suffering seemed to obliterate my light, and I shall never forget the assiduous attentions with which you have lavished upon me personally. I need hardly tell you, sir, how sorry I was that my seconds thought it their duty, yielding to the impulse of the moment, to seek out you and M. Berthier to be their opponents; for the future, I can only count you among the number of people who wish me well, and to whom I in return wish well. Accept this assurance, and believe me, Your most devoted Servant,
"CARREL"
The same day, Carrel came out of doors and went to La Tribune, to Le National, and to pay a call on M. Roux-Laborie, whose wound was much less serious than that of his adversary, but was healing much more slowly, and still kept him to his bedroom. Finally, after Carrel's letter, no further duels were possible. On 17 February, the Republican newspapers contained the following paragraph:—
"17 February.—It will be remembered that after the duel between MM. Carrel and Roux-Laborie, M. Carrel's seconds addressed a challenge to the seconds of M. Laborie, MM. Albert Berthier and Théodore Anne. As is known, these two gentlemen had been placed under arrest, charged with inciting to murder. That accusation having beep abandoned, MM. Albert Berthier and Théodore Anne were bound, on recovering their liberty, to warn M. Carrel's seconds that they were now at their disposition; they had added that, not wishing a meeting between them to assume a political character, they chose their seconds from among the political friends of M. Carrel's seconds. The seconds of both sides, having met together, have decided that they could not allow any sequel to this affair to take place, since, on behalf of MM. Berthier and Théodore Anne, the question of the political aspect is abandoned, and the challenge of MM. d'Hervas and Achille Grégoire was only prompted by the danger M. Armand Carrel might then incur, a danger happily and speedily dissipated. Things being in this state, the undersigned seconds decree that any collision between the friends of MM. Armand Carrel and Laborie, when the reasons thereof no longer exist, would be unjustifiable in the light of reason and of honour.
"AMBERT, GUINARD, GRÉGOIRE LECOCQ, ORANNE, seconds to MM. D'HERVAS and ACHILLE GRÉGOIRE; MATHIEU and ALEXIS DUMESNIL, ÉTIENNE ARAGO, ANTÉNOR JOLY, seconds to MM. BERTHIER and THÉODORE ANNE"
On the 14th, as we said, MM. Théodore Anne and Albert Berthier had been set at liberty. On the 15th, Beauchene returned from the country and informed me of his arrival. The following day, our seconds conferred together; but, as I have said, after Carrel's letter, no more duels were possible. Besides, the rumour of the Duchesse de Berry's pregnancy, without being officially declared, began to take a serious complexion. No one any longer had doubts on the subject, when, in the official column of the Moniteur of 26 February, one read—
"On Friday, 22 February, at half-past five o'clock, Madame la duchesse de Berry handed to M. le général Bugeaud, governor of the citadel of Blaye, the following declaration:—
'Compelled by circumstances and by the measures ordered by the Government, although I have the gravest reasons for keeping my marriage secret, I think it due to myself as well as to my children to declare that I was married secretly during my stay in Italy.
"'CITADEL OF BLAYE, 22 February 1833.
Signed "'MARIE-CAROLINE'
"This declaration, transmitted by M. le général Bugeaud to M. le président du Conseil, Ministre de la guerre, has been placed at once among the archives of the chancellerie de France."
Not one word concerning Her Royal Highness's pregnancy was suggested in those lines; but one felt perfectly sure that they had only been written on account of her condition. Furthermore, only two and a half months later, the name of the Duchesse de Berry's new husband was officially pronounced in the official report of the accouchement. Here is that report, a curious sequel to that which was addressed to the Tuileries on the day of the birth of the Duc de Bordeaux:—
"On 10 May 1833, at half-past three in the morning:
"We the undersigned,—THOMAS-ROBERT BUGEAUD, membre de la chambre des députés, maréchal de camp, commandant supérieur de Blaye; ANTOINE DUBOIS, professeur honoraire à la faculté de médecine de Paris; CHARLES-FRANÇOIS MARCHAND-DUBREUIL, sous-préfet de l'arrondissement de Blaye; DANIEL-THÉOTIME PASTOUREAU, président du tribunal de première instance de Blaye; PIERRE NADAUD, procureur du roi près le même tribunal; GUILLAUME BELLON, président du tribunal de commerce, adjoint au maire de Blaye; CHARLES BORDES, commandant de la garde nationale de Blaye; ELIE DESCRAMBES, curé de Blaye; PIERRE-CAMILLE DELORD, commandant de la place de Blaye; CLAUDE-OLIVIER DUFRESNE, commissaire civil du gouvernement à la citadelle; witnesses called at the request of General Bugeaud to be present at the accouchement of Her Royal Highness Marie-Caroline, princesse des Deux-Siciles, duchesse de Berry (MM. MERLET, maire de Blaye, Regnier juge de paix, witnesses equally called, being at that time absent in the country and unable to be present), state that we were taken to the citadel of Blaye and into the house inhabited by Her Royal Highness, where we were introduced to a salon next to the room in which the princess was confined.
"M. le docteur Dubois, M. le général Bugeaud and M. Delord, commandant de la place, were in the salon from the first labour-pangs; they declared to the other witnesses that Madame la duchesse de Berry had just been delivered at three o'clock, that they had seen her receive the attention of docteurs Deneux and Menière, M. Dubois having remained in the room until the child was born. M. le général Bugeaud went in to ask Madame la duchesse if she wished to receive the witnesses; she replied, 'Yes, as soon as the child has been washed and dressed.' A few minutes later, Madame d'Hautefort appeared in the salon and invited the witnesses to enter on behalf of the duchesse, and we immediately did so.
"We found the Duchesse de Berry laid in her bed with a new-born infant on her left; at the foot of her bed sat Madame d'Hautefort; Madame Hansler, MM. Deneux and Menière were standing at the head of the bed.
"'M. le président Pastoureau then approached the princesse and addressed the following questions to her in a loud voice—
"'Have I the honour of speaking to Madame la duchesse de Berry?'
"'Yes.'
"'You are really Madame la duchesse de Berry?'
"'Yes, monsieur.'
"'Is the child just born lying by you yours?'
"'Yes, monsieur, it is mine.'
"'What sex is it?'
"'It is of the feminine sex. I have deputed M. Deneux to declare that fact.'
"Then Louis-Charles Deneux, docteur de médecine, ex-professeur de clinique d'accouchement de la faculté de Paris, titular member of the Académie royale de médecine, made the following declaration:—
"'I have just delivered Madame la duchesse de Berry, here present, wife in lawful wedlock of Comte Hector de Lucchesi-Palli, a prince of the House of Campo-Franco, gentleman of the chamber to the King of the Two Sicilies, domiciled at Palermo.'
"M. le Comte de Brissac and Madame la Comtesse d'Hautefort, asked by us if they would sign the statement of the event of which they had been witnesses, replied that they had come here to attend to the Duchesse de Berry as friends but not to sign any sort of document.
"In respect of all this we have drawn up the present report, in three copies, one to be deposited in our presence in the archives of the citadel, while the other two have been placed with M. le général Bugeaud, governor, whom we have charged to hand them to the Government, duly signed after being read over, on the day, month and year dated above."