"Angoulême, 7 June.
"Monsieur le vicomte,
"I had received and forwarded your letter of Friday last, when, on Sunday, the Prefect of the Loire-Inférieure[404] sent word requiring me to leave the town of Nantes[405]. I was on my way and at the gates of Angoulême; I have just been taken before the Prefect, who has notified me of an order from M. de Montalivet[406] by which I am to be taken back to Nantes under an escort of gendarmes. Since my departure from Nantes, the Department of the Loire-Inférieure has been placed under martial law, and, by this entirely illegal transfer, I am made subject to the laws of exception. I am writing to the Minister to ask him to have me taken to Paris; he will receive my letter by the same post. The object of my journey to Nantes seems to have been utterly misinterpreted. Decide therefore whether, in the light of your prudence, you will think it right to mention the matter to the Minister. I apologize for addressing this request to you; but I have no one to whom to apply but yourself.
"Pray believe, monsieur le vicomte, in my old and sincere attachment, and in my profound respect.
"Your most devoted servant,
"Berryer the Younger."
"P.S.—There is not a moment to lose if you are willing to see the Minister. I am going to Tours, where his new orders will still find me on Sunday; he can dispatch them either by telegraph or express."
I informed M. Berryer, in the following reply, of the decision to which I came:
"Paris, 10 June 1832.
"I received your letter, monsieur, dated Angoulême, the 7th instant. It was too late for me to see M. the Minister of the Interior, as you wished; but I wrote to him at once, sending him your own letter enclosed in mine. I hope that the mistake which occasioned your arrest will soon be admitted and that you will be restored to liberty and to your friends, among whom I beg you to number myself.
"A thousand hearty compliments, with the renewed assurance of my sincere and entire devotion.
"Chateaubriand."
Here is my letter to the Minister of the Interior:
"Paris, 9 June 1832.
"Monsieur le ministre de l'intérieur,
"I have this moment received the enclosed letter. As I should probably not be able to see you as quickly as M. Berryer wishes, I have decided to send you his letter. His complaint appears to me to be justified: he will be innocent in Paris as at Nantes and at Nantes as in Paris; this is a thing which the authorities must admit and, by righting M. Berryer's complaint, they will avoid giving a retroactive effect to the law. I venture to hope all, monsieur le comte, from your impartiality.
"I have the honour to be, etc., etc.
"Chateaubriand."
[330] This book was written in Paris and Geneva, from October 1830 to June 1832.—T.
[331] This and the following pages were written in March and April 1831.—B.
[332] The Études historiques.—B.
[333] The trial of the ministers before the Court of Peers commenced on the 15th and ended on the 21st of December 1830. The verdict condemned the Prince de Polignac to perpetual imprisonment on the continental territory of the Kingdom, declared him to have forfeited his titles, rank and Orders, declared him besides to be civilly dead and subject to all the other effects of the penalty of transportation. Messieurs de Peyronnet, de Chantelauze and de Guernon-Ranville were condemned to imprisonment for life.—B.