Had Colonel Stoffel’s warnings been acted upon by the Ministers of Napoleon III., France, in all likelihood, would have been saved from her disasters, and the Prince Imperial have been the reigning Emperor to-day. After all his great services, how was Stoffel treated? Thiers dismissed him from the army on some frivolous pretext!
M. Pietri’s Letters to Stoffel.[153]
I.
Biarritz, September 27, 1866.
My dear Stoffel,
The Emperor has read the report which you sent to the Ministry of War. He waited for it two or three days, and was obliged to send for it. You did well to tell me about it. His Majesty, before receiving it, dictated to me the following questions, in all of which the Emperor is particularly interested:
1. How are the officers of the [German] Landwehr selected and named?
2. Where do they come from?
3. How many of them are there in each battalion of infantry and in each squadron?
4. Where are the horses for the squadrons of the Landwehr obtained?