imbecility of the old Governments and of their servants,
Napoleon was able to land his little force safely in the Golfe de
Jouan on the afternoon of March 1st.[464] Is it surprising that
foreigners, who had not yet fathomed the eccentricities of British
officialdom, should have believed that we connived at Napoleon's
escape? It needed the blood shed at Waterloo to wipe out the
misconception.

"I shall reach Paris without firing a shot." Such was the prophecy of
Napoleon to his rather questioning followers as they neared the coast
of Provence. It seemed the wildest of dreams. Could the man, who had
been wellnigh murdered by the rabble of Avignon and Orgon, hope to
march in peace through that royalist province? And, if he ever reached
the central districts where men loved him better, would the soldiery
dare to disobey the commands of Soult, the new Minister of War, of
Ney, Berthier, Macdonald, St. Cyr, Suchet, Augereau, and of many more
who were now honestly serving the Bourbons? The King and his brothers
had no fears. They laughed at the folly of this rash intruder.

At first their confidence seemed justified. Napoleon's overtures to
the officer and garrison of Antibes were repulsed, and the small
detachment which he sent there was captured. Undaunted by this check,
he decided to hurry on by way of Grasse towards Grenoble, thus
forestalling the news of his first failure, and avoiding the royalist
districts of the lower Rhone.

Napoleon was visibly perturbed as he drew near to Grenoble. There the
officer in command, General Marchand, had threatened to exterminate
this "band of brigands"; and his soldiers as yet showed no signs of
defection. But, by some bad management, only one battalion held the
defile of Laffray on the south. As the bear-skins of the Guard came in
sight, the royalist ranks swerved and drew back. Then the Emperor came
forward, and ordered his men to lower their arms. "There he is: fire
on him," cried a royalist officer. Not a shot rang out.--"Soldiers,"
said the well-known voice, "if there is one among you who wishes to
kill his Emperor, he can do so. Here I am." At once a great shout of
"Vive l'Empereur" burst forth: and the battalion broke into an
enthusiastic rush towards the idol of the soldiery.

That scene decided the whole course of events. A little later, a young
noble, Labedoyere, leads over his regiment; at Grenoble the garrison
stands looking on and cheering while the Bonapartists batter