In fine, despatches from Turin announced to him, that he must no longer reckon upon any assistance from the Swiss, or upon the promises of the King of Sardinia.
The Prince in consequence ordered a retreat to be sounded, and retired to Valence.
The Emperor, who, according to custom, took the trouble to compose himself the articles in the Moniteur relative to this little war, gave the following account of the evacuation of Valence.
"Valence, the 7th of April. The Duke of Angoulême has made a sad figure here. The alarm bell sounded throughout Dauphiny, and numerous battalions of the national guards departed for Lyons. The Duke of Angoulême, informed of their arrival, set off helter skelter with the four thousand insurgents, who are under his orders. The troops of the line, informed by our citizens, that we were engaged in the cause of the nation against a few privileged families, of the people against the nobility, and in short of the revolution against the counter-revolution, suddenly changed sides. The army however reckons three traitors, who appear to have taken the part of the enemies of their country: they are Generals Ernouf, Monnier, and D'Aultannie." He forgot General Loverdo.
The Emperor was equally careful, to make public the correspondence, that was intercepted: and as some announced the intention of separating the chaff from the wheat, and throwing it into the fire; others, of hanging all the rebels, without exception, and without mercy; and, in fine, others, invited Spain, Switzerland, and the King of Piedmont, to come and reduce France to reason; they contributed not less powerfully than the success of the imperial army, to detach from the cause of the Bourbons every Frenchman, who was an enemy to treachery, hanging, and foreigners.
General Grouchy, informed of the retreat of the Duke of Angoulême, sent some light troops in pursuit of him. Most of the chasseurs of the 14th, and of the artillerymen, joined the imperialists. The volunteers of the south, who had hitherto set no bounds to their presumptuous hopes, now found none to their fears. As cowardly in adversity, as they were arrogant in prosperity, they abandoned their general at the approach of danger; and all, with the exception of a few hundreds of brave fellows, sought safety in flight.
The Duke of Angoulême, surrounded by the feeble remnants of their battalions, and by the 10th of the line, which still remained faithful, continued his retrograde march night and day; and traversed in silence the places, which his army had made ring with the shouts of victory but a few days before. The mountaineers, who had suffered so much from the exactions and ill treatment of the royal volunteers, now repeated in their turn "Wo to the vanquished!" and did not allow a moment's rest to the Duke of Angoulême and his followers. Pressed on one side by the columns of Grouchy, on the other by the troops of General Gilly; shut in, without hope of succour, between the Drôme, the Rhone, the Durance, and the mountains, the Duke of Angoulême had only two resources: one was, to abandon his army, and get over the mountains to Marseilles or Piedmont; the other, to submit, with his companions in misfortune, to the law of the conqueror.
The Prince would not separate his fate from that of his army. He consented to surrender. Baron de Damas and General Gilly regulated the conditions of the capitulation. It was agreed, that the Prince should disband his army, and have liberty to embark at Cette. As soon as this intelligence was announced by a telegraphic despatch, it was immediately made known to the Emperor by the Duke of Bassano, who prevailed on him, though opposed by several distinguished persons, to return an answer, by the same mode of conveyance, approving of the capitulation. At the same instant a second despatch announced, that General Grouchy refused to sign the treaty, unless he had the consent of the Emperor, and the Duke of Angoulême was deemed a prisoner. Upon this the Duke of Bassano hastened to transmit the first orders of Napoleon, and delayed informing him of the impediment to the ratification, till night rendered any new orders by telegraph impracticable. Being made acquainted with this noble daring of his minister, instead of reprimanding him, the Emperor dictated to him the following letter:
"M. le Count Grouchy, the ordinance of the king, dated on the 6th of March, and the declaration signed at Vienne on the 13th by his ministers, would authorize me to treat the Duke of Angoulême, as that ordinance, and that declaration, would have had me and my family treated: but, persevering in that disposition, which induced me to ordain, that the members of the Bourbon family might have free egress from France, my intention is, that you give orders for the Duke of Angoulême to be conducted to Cette, where he shall be embarked, and that you watch over his safety, and prevent him from receiving any ill treatment. You will only take care to recover the money that has been taken from the public offices, and to require the Duke of Angoulême to engage to restore the diamonds of the crown, which are the property of the nation[90]. You will at the same time make known to him the provisions of the laws of the national assemblies, which have been renewed, and which apply to those members of the Bourbon family, who shall re-enter the French territories," &c.
While awaiting the decision of Napoleon, the Duke of Angoulême was strictly watched. He supported this fresh disgrace with firmness and tranquillity. The Marquis de Rivière, informed of his detention, threatened Count Grouchy, if he did not restore him to liberty, to surrender Marseilles to the English, and raise up all Provence. These empty threats had no effect. The fate of the duke did not depend on Count de Grouchy: it was in opposition to his own feelings, that he had ventured to lay a sacrilegious hand on this prince; and he prayed sincerely, that the decision of the Emperor would allow him to break his chains.