ally
supposed, to favour the plans of the leaders of the Royalist party, to
whom M. Nesselrode had declared that hefore he would pledge himself to
further their views he must have proofs that they were seconded by the
population of Paris.

I was afterwards informed by an eye-witness of what took place on the
evening of the 31st of March in one of the principal meetings of the
Royalists, which was held in the hotel of the Comte de Morfontaine, who
acted as president on the occasion. Amidst a chaos of abortive
propositions and contradictory motions M. Sosthenes de la Rochefoucauld
proposed that a deputation should be immediately sent to the Emperor
Alexander to express to him the wish of the meeting. This motion was
immediately approved, and the mover was chosen to head the deputation.
On leaving the hotel the deputation met M. de Chateaubriand, who had that
very day been, as it were, the precursor of the restoration, by
publishing his admirable manifesto, entitled "Bonaparte and the
Bourbons." He was invited to join the deputation; but nothing could
overcome his diffidence and induce him to speak. On arriving at the
hotel in the Rue St. Florentin the deputation was introduced to Count
Nesselrode, to whom M. Sosthenes de la Rochefoucauld briefly explained
its object; he spoke of the wishes of the meeting and of the manifest
desire of Paris and of France. He represented the restoration of the
Bourbons as the only means of securing the peace of Europe; and observed,
in conclusion, that as the exertions of the day must have been very
fatiguing to the Emperor, the deputation would not solicit the favour of
being introduced to him, but would confidently rely on the good faith of
his Imperial Majesty. "I have just left the Emperor," replied M.
Nesselrode, "and can pledge myself for his intentions. Return to the
meeting and announce to the French people that in compliance with their
wishes his Imperial Majesty will use all his influence to restore the
crown to the legitimate monarch: his Majesty Louis XVIII. shall reascend
the throne of France." With this gratifying intelligence the deputation
returned to the meeting in the Rue d'Anjou.

There is no question that great enthusiasm was displayed on the entrance
of the Allies into Paris. It may be praised or blamed, but the fact
cannot be denied. I closely watched all that was passing, and I observed
the expression of a sentiment which I had long anticipated when, after
his allia