The moment for marching to battle was propitious. The Prince of Eckmuhl solicited peace.
The Duke of Albuféra had just concluded an armistice with Marshal Frimont, commander of the Austrian forces. The prince informed the Duke of Wellington of it; and demanded of him, to cause a cessation of hostilities, till a decision of congress should take place. "If I appear on the field of battle with the idea of your talents," he added, "I shall carry with me the conviction, that I am fighting for the most sacred of causes, that of the defence and independence of my country; and, whatever may be the result, my lord, I will merit your esteem."
If, instead of holding a language more suitable to a man half vanquished, than to a French general accustomed to conquer, another chief, differently inspired, had declared with noble firmness, that he was ready, if a stop were not put to unjust aggressions, to give to his eighty thousand brave soldiers the signal of victory or death; the enemy would unquestionably have desisted from pursuing a war, now become without object, without utility, and without glory. But the Duke of Wellington, faithfully informed of the true state of things, knew that the Prince of Eckmuhl, satisfied with having surmounted his prejudices and opinions, appeared more disposed to neutralize the courage of his troops, than to put it to the proof; and Wellington refused the suspension of hostilities proposed. It entered into the policy of the princes, who had taken up arms for legitimacy, to compel us to receive Louis XVIII. cap in hand: and the consequence of this was, that the allied generals avoided treating; as the sentiments of the president of the committee, and of the general of the French army, fully satisfied them, that they might wait without any risk, till circumstances or treachery compelled us, to submit to the law of necessity.
Wellington had rejected the proposal of Marshal Davoust, under the frivolous pretence, that the Emperor had resumed the command of the army. It is naturally to be presumed, that the committee had not neglected, to give the commissioners immediate information of the departure of Napoleon, and of the circumstances, that had preceded it. But it had hitherto received no communication from them. Their correspondence, intentionally fettered by the allies, had been farther prevented by our advanced posts; who, considering the persons appointed to hold a parley as machinators of treason, stopped their way with their muskets. The committee resolved, therefore, to obtain news of them at any price: and, on the recommendation of the Duke of Otranto, it despatched to them M. de Tromeling. It was not ignorant, that this emigrant officer, a Vendean, and long detained in the Temple as the companion of Sir Sidney Smith and Captain Wright, little merited the confidence of the patriots. But the double-faced agents of M. Fouché alone could open the enemy's lines; and it was obliged, in spite of itself, to make use of them.
M. de Tromeling set out. Instead of delivering his despatches to the commissioners, he was afraid of their being taken from him by the enemy, and he destroyed them. The committee thought, that he had rather deceived himself by his cunning; but it readily excused this error, to attend wholly to the news he had brought.
Our commissioners arrived at the English head-quarters on the 28th, and were eager to solicit a suspension of arms.
Lord Wellington informed them, that he wished to consult with Prince Blucher on this point; and on the 29th of June, at half after eleven in the evening, he sent them the following answer.
Head quarters of Prince Blucher,
June the 29th, 1815, 11-½ at night.
"Gentlemen,
"I have the honour to acquaint you, that having consulted Marshal Prince Blucher on your proposal for an armistice, his highness has agreed with me, that, under present circumstances, no armistice can take place, while Napoleon Bonaparte is in Paris, and at liberty; and that the operations are in such a state, that he cannot stop them.