Prince Blücher, who entertained a great contempt for diplomacy, attributing as he did the cause of the renewal of the War to the ill concocted schemes to which that War had given birth, had hitherto refrained from either receiving in person, or noticing in writing, any communication addressed to him by the French authorities. He applied himself solely to the military solution of the Great Problem on which depended the Peace of Europe.
Upon this occasion, however, tempted probably by the opportunity which was offered to him of sharply retorting upon the Marshal, under whose government of Hamburg the greatest excesses had been committed upon his countrymen; he was induced to pen the following reply, couched in his rough native German, as if to evince both his disdain of the usual diplomatic mode of communication, and his dislike of even the very language of the country he so thoroughly detested:—
"To the French General Davoust.
"Head Quarters, July 1, 1815.
"Marshal,
"It is not conformable to truth that, because Napoleon has abdicated the throne, there exists no further motive for War between the Allied Powers and France. His abdication is conditional; that is, in favour of his son: but a Decree of the Allied Powers excludes not only Napoleon, but every member of his Family, from the Throne.
"If General Frimont has considered himself authorised to conclude an Armistice with your General opposed to him, that is no motive for us to do the same. We shall pursue our victory. GOD has given us strength and resolution to do so. Beware, Marshal, of what you do; and forbear devoting another city to destruction! for you know what liberties the exasperated soldiers would take, should your capital be carried by storm. Do you solicit the maledictions of Paris, in addition to those of Hamburg?
"We shall enter Paris to protect the respectable inhabitants against the mob, by whom they are threatened with pillage. An Armistice can be made with security nowhere but in Paris. This, our relative position towards your Nation, be pleased, Marshal, not to mistake!
"Let me finally observe to you, Marshal, if you mean to negotiate with us, it is matter of surprise that, in defiance of the Law of Nations, you detain our Officers dispatched with Letters and Orders.
"In the usual form of conventional civility, I have the honour to be,
"Marshal,
"Your obedient servant,
"Blücher."
Whilst thus endeavouring to draw the Allied Generals into negotiation; Fouché and Davoust felt the necessity of carrying out their plans with the greatest caution, and in such a manner as to prevent any unfavourable construction being put upon their motives by the Army.
On the evening of the 30th of June, there was an assemblage of General Officers at the Head Quarters in Villette; at which it was proposed to send up an Address to the Chamber of Representatives expressive of the determined spirit of resistance which animated the troops, and of their hostility to the Bourbons. It was adopted by the majority; and Davoust, though secretly working with Fouché for the Restoration of Louis XVIII., did not hesitate to attach to it his signature. It was couched in the following terms:—
"Camp at Villette, 30th June.
"Representatives of the People!
"We are in presence of our Enemies. We swear before you and the world to defend, to our last breath, the cause of our independence and the national honour.
"It is wished to impose the Bourbons upon us, but these Princes are rejected by the immense majority of Frenchmen. If their return could be agreed to, recollect, Representatives, that you would sign the annihilation of the Army; which for twenty years has been the Palladium of French honour. There are in War, especially when it has been long conducted, successes and reverses. In our successes, we have appeared great and generous. If it is wished to humble us in our reverses, we shall know how to die.
"The Bourbons present no guarantee to the Nation. We received them with sentiments of the most generous confidence: we forgot all the calamities they had caused us in their rage to deprive us of our most sacred rights. Well! what return did they make for this confidence? They treated us as rebels and as vanquished. Representatives! these reflections are terrible, because they are true. History will one day relate what the Bourbons have done to replace themselves on the Throne of France; it will also narrate the conduct of the Army; of that Army essentially national; and posterity will judge which best deserved the esteem of the World.
"The Marshal Prince of Eckmühl, Minister at War,
"Count Pajol, commanding the First Corps of Cavalry,
"Count d'Erlon, commanding the Right Wing,
"Count Vandamme, General in Chief."
(And fifteen other Generals.)
The Chambers being thus appealed to, felt it incumbent on them to issue a Proclamation explanatory of the political situation of France; and of their own intentions under all the critical circumstances in which it presented itself to their view. This document, cautiously drawn up by the Constitutionalists who formed the preponderating party in the State, and strongly marked by the policy which was pursued throughout by Fouché, was framed with great tact. Although it acknowledged the nomination of Napoleon's son to the Empire, it manifested no hostility to the Bourbons: it expressed a desire to secure a Monarchical and Representative Government; but, at the same time, declared that the Head of the Government, whoever he might be, must enter into a solemn Compact and abide by the Constitutional Charter.
In short, its general tone was sufficiently independent to secure for it, if not the approbation, at least the acquiescence, of both the Liberals and the Buonapartists; whilst, on the other hand, it significantly indicated the terms upon which a Bourbon might re-ascend the throne, and rally round him the Friends of Constitutional Order and Civil Rights. With but few exceptions it admitted of being reconciled with the Proclamation published on the 28th of June by Louis XVIII. It ran thus:—