That he meditated a second 18th of Brumaire, there can be no doubt; but the decided tone of the debates in the National Assembly, the solicitations of his friends, and the hope of securing the Throne to his family, induced him to abandon all idea of such a project. It is, besides, more than probable that, aware as he was of the bad feeling that existed, to a great extent, both in the Chambers and in the country, towards the Bourbons; as also of the conflicting principles of the different factions, he calculated upon the chances of a Revolution productive of anarchy and confusion, which he yet might be called upon to reduce to order and submission.
When it is considered that the great mass of the Army of the Line was devoted to Napoleon; that the rallied Army of the North was falling back upon Paris, where it would concentrate its strength and be reinforced from Regimental Depôts; and, further, that the Armies on the Eastern Frontier were still holding their respective positions, and that even in La Vendée the Imperial troops had succeeded in quelling the insurrection,—when, in addition to all this, it is considered how great, how extraordinary, was the influence induced by the prestige of Napoleon with the majority of the nation, dazzled as the latter had been by countless victories that outweighed, in its estimation, those fatal disasters which it ascribed solely to the united power of the great European League established against France,—it is impossible not to be struck by the firm, bold, and determined attitude assumed by the French Parliament. France, on this critical occasion, displayed one of the brightest examples the World has yet beheld of the force of Constitutional Legislation. Under all the attendant circumstances, it was a remarkable triumph of free institutions over monarchical despotism.
It is now necessary to revert to the operations of the Allied Armies.
On the 23d of June, Wellington and Blücher gave to the great mass of their troops a halt; not merely for the sake of affording them rest, but also for the purpose of collecting the stragglers, and bringing up the ammunition and the baggage.
The only movement made on the part of the Anglo-Allied Army, on this day, was that by Major General Lyon's Sixth Hanoverian Brigade, which, together with Grant's Hussar Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Webber Smith's Horse Battery, Major Unett's and Major Brome's Foot Batteries, marched, under the personal command of Sir Charles Colville, to attack Cambray, the garrison of which, the Duke had been led to believe, had abandoned the place, leaving in it at most three hundred or four hundred men. Colville was furnished with a letter from the Duke to the Governor, summoning him to surrender; as also with some copies of his Grace's Proclamation of the 22nd to the French. The 1st Brunswick Light Battalion was sent forward from the Reserve at Bavay, to watch Le Quesnoy; which Fortress was still occupied by the Enemy.
The Third Prussian Corps d'Armée was pushed forward to Avesnes, by which means the Three Corps destined to advance upon Paris were so placed that they could form a junction, with only half an ordinary march; and this relative position was maintained throughout the remainder of the line of advance.
The Allied Commanders had an interview on this day at Catillon, for the purpose of arranging their plan of combined operations. The intelligence they had procured having satisfied them that the Enemy was collecting his forces at Laon and Soissons: they decided upon not pursuing him along that line, since their progress towards the capital might, in that case, be impeded by affairs of Advanced and Rear Guards; but upon moving by the right bank of the Oise, and crossing this river at either Compiegne or Pont St Maxence. By thus turning the French Left, they hoped to intercept the Enemy's retreat, or at all events to reach Paris before him; and in order to deceive him as to these intentions, he was to be followed by Prussian Cavalry, assuming to be the Advanced Guard of the Allied Armies.
It was also settled, that as they might find it necessary to throw bridges across the Oise, the British General should bring forward his Pontoon Train; that possessed by the Prussians being inadequate for the purpose.
In order to secure a good base whence to conduct these operations, it was further arranged that the Corps under Prince Frederick of the Netherlands should remain, for the purpose of besieging the Fortresses situated on the Scheldt, and between that river and the Sambre: and that the following Corps should undertake the besieging of the Fortresses on the Sambre, and between this last river and the Moselle, namely, the Second Prussian Corps d'Armée, commanded by General Pirch; the Corps d'Armée of North Germany, commanded at first by General Count Kleist von Nollendorf, and subsequently by Lieutenant General Hacke; as also a portion of the garrison troops of Luxemburg, commanded by Lieutenant General Prince Louis of Hesse Homburg,—the whole of these German forces being placed under the chief command of Prince Augustus of Prussia.