"And I also," said the General; "I share in the uneasiness of him who has preceded me at this tribune. Yes! we ought to consider the safety of the Empire, and the maintenance of our Liberal Institutions; and, while the Government is inclined to present to you such measures as tend to this end, it appears important to preserve to the Chamber the honour of not having proposed an object which ought to be the free concession of the Monarch. I move that a Deputation of five Members shall be appointed to proceed to the Emperor, which Deputation shall express to His Majesty the urgency of his decision. Their Report will, I trust, satisfy at once the wish of the Assembly, and that of the Nation."
This proposition was most favourably received, and the President was on the point of putting it to the vote, when Solignac again appeared in the tribune.
"I wish," said he, "to propose an Amendment to my Motion. Several persons have intimated to me that we shall soon be informed of His Majesty's determination. I consequently think it necessary that we should wait for one hour, to receive the Message; which it seems is to be addressed to the Chambers. I therefore move that we adjourn for that time." (This part of his speech was met with great disapprobation on the part of the Chamber.) "Gentlemen!" continued the General, "we all wish to save our country; but can we not reconcile this unanimous sentiment with the laudable desire that the Chamber should preserve the honour of the Chief of the State?" (Cries of "Yes! yes!") "If I requested that we should wait until this evening or tomorrow, some considerations might be opposed—but, one hour"—("Yes! yes! To the vote!" was the general exclamation; and the Chamber adjourned).
In the mean time, Napoleon had been made acquainted with the disposition of the Chamber of Representatives, by Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angely; who hastened to warn him that if he did not immediately abdicate, his deposition would, in all probability, be declared.
He was enraged at the idea of this contemplated violence. "Since that is the case," he said, "I will not abdicate at all. The Chamber is composed of a set of Jacobins, impracticables, and intriguers; who are seeking for disorder, or for place. I ought to have denounced them to the Nation, and given them their dismissal. The time that has been lost may yet be recovered."
Regnault, however, urged him in the strongest manner to yield to imperious circumstances, and to renew the noble and generous sacrifice he made in 1814. He assured him that if he did not take this step, he would be accused by the Chamber, and even by the whole Nation, of having, out of personal considerations alone, prevented the possibility of obtaining peace.
Solignac and other Deputies were then announced. They boldly declared to him that he had no other course open to him but that of submission to the desire entertained by the Representatives of the Nation. Solignac described to him the scene in the Chamber of Deputies, and the difficulty he had experienced in inducing the latter to suspend, even for one hour, their decision; which, if not anticipated by a voluntary Abdication, would entail upon him the disgrace of forfeiture. Even his brothers, Lucien and Joseph, now gave their opinion that the moment for resistance had passed.
When the paroxysm of rage, to which these representations gave rise, had subsided: Napoleon announced his determination to abdicate in favour of his son; and, desiring his brother Lucien to take a pen, he dictated to him the following Declaration:—
"Frenchmen! In commencing the War for maintaining the national independence, I relied on the union of all efforts, of all desires, and the concurrence of all the national authorities. I had reason to hope for success, and I braved all the Declarations of the Powers allied against me.
"Circumstances appear to be changed. I offer myself a sacrifice to the hatred of the Enemies of France. May they prove sincere in their Declarations, and have really directed them solely against my power. My political life is terminated; and I proclaim my Son, under the title of Napoleon II., Emperor of the French.
"The present Ministers will form provisionally the Council of the Government. The interest which I take in my Son induces me to invite the Chamber to form the Regency by a law without delay.
"Unite all for the public safety, in order to remain an independent Nation.
"Napoleon."
This was the last great act of his political life. Defeated and humbled by foreign Enemies, subdued and controlled by the Representatives of the Nation; he was forced to descend from a Throne whence he had at one time swayed the destinies of Sovereigns rendered dependent on his mighty will. Almost all the previous changes and gradations in his extraordinary career had been preluded or accompanied by some magnificent scene of dramatic effect, or a violent coup d'état; but, in this instance, the transition was attended by no circumstance more remarkable than the quietude with which it was effected. The cessation of the political existence of such a man would have been most naturally looked for as an event coincident only with the termination of a life which, if not closed upon the pinnacle of glory, would be sought for amidst the shock of battle, or in the vortex of a state convulsion.