The Shasta courier., 1863-01-24
The Second AbdIcatIon.

Silent and woe stricken, Napoleon retired
from the field of Waterloo. At one O'Clock
in the morning be arrived at Quatre Bras
It was lovely Summers night, with brill
liant moon and an rnclouded sky. In the ear.
lysiawn he arrived at Quatre Bras. After {
feh s.enents of rest on the sofa, be agair
mounted his horse, and, accompanied ty's
small retinue, pressed on to Laon, where hs
arrived at four o'clock in the afternoon. Here
he wrote his celebrated bulletin Of the disas
ter, TO bs sent to Paris, and handing it t
Ge.. Drouot, said
q Here is the bulletin of Waterloo. ] uisl
yo4 4tb hear it read. If have omitted any
esd tial circumstances you will remind NJ,
of Asm. 1t is not my Intention to concea
anything. Now. as after the affair at Mos
cow, the whole truth must be disclosed tt
France. I might have thrown on Marsha
Nex4tEe blame Of part Of the misfortune a
W4erloo. But the mischief is done. N,
moi. must be said"
A Ger an hour Of troubled sleep he took
carriage, and, driving all day, just after mid
night arrived at Paris, and went to the pal
ace If the Elysee. Throwing himself upon
sofa yhe pressed his hand upon his ieart, say
nm suffering here The army has per
form prodigies ofvalor. 1t is greyous te
thir hat we should have been overcome af.
ter aany heroic efforts. My most brilliant
victd 10 not shed more glory on the French
arm Ma the defeat at Waterloo. Our troops
hayM been beaten they have been sacri
ficeM lssacred by overwhelming numbers
N.Y. q suffered themselves to be cut to
pie% fhout askingfor quarter. But they
exciA. "a 70 me, Withdraw, withdraw YOU
see th;3 heath is resolved to s. are your majes-
ty' And opening their ranks, my old grena-
diers Screened me from the carnage, by FORM
ing around me a rampant of their own bodies
My brave, my admirable guard has been de-
stroyei an1 have not perished with them. "
He retired to his cabinet, and soon called
for Caulamcour.. His pallid cheek and sunk
en- eye preessimed the anguish Of his mind. In
tones of Exhaustion he said, '' / feel that |
have received my death wound. The bll W
that has i len on me at Waterloo is mortal
The eneAics' force qusdrupied ours. But |
had comt.aesi q bold vancouver with the view
of preyer ing tie junction Of the two hostile
armies. X infamous desertion of Bourmont
forced meAs eg.,i,sso al my sSarrunse
TO PASS over to the enemy on the eve Of bat
tie Atrocions The blood OF his country.
men be upon his head! The maledictious of
France will pursue him. Oh, this baseness is
Incredible The annals Of the French army
offer no precedent for such crime. The con-
sequences of this detection have been most
disastrous. 1t created dependency. Grouchy
was t 20 late. Ney was carried away by en-.
thusiasm. Our army performed prodiges Of
valor and yet We lost the battle. Generals,
r,arshals all fp,l pht rloriousIvc -
Lucian and Joseph, informed of the return
Of their brother, FASTENED to the Eiysee. Soon
the apartments were filled with all the great
functiqRaries Of the expire. Some advised
one n and some another At seven in
the q ing Napoleon assembled the Council
ofStS The bulletin of Waterloo was then
reads u Napoleon thus addressed them
II earmy is covered with glory Deser-
tions, Misunderstanding and inexplicable
fatalitI have rendered unavailing the heroic
exert fas of our troops Our disasters are
great but they are still repairable if my ef-
forts e seconded. | returned to Paris to
stimu tie noble impulse N the French
peoply will rise, the enemy will be subdued.
If, instead of resorting to prompt measures
and making extraordinary sacrifices. time is
visited in disputes and discussions, all is
lost The enemy is in France. In eight
days he will be at the gates Of the capital.
To save the country, it is necessary that |
should be invested with vast power, with
temporary dictatorship. For the interests
of all / ought to possess this power, but it
will be more proper that it be conferred up
on me by the chambers"
Carnot. with deep emotion. said. 81 de-
clare that consider it indispensable that dur
ing the present crisis. the sovereign should
be invested with absolute power"
Many others advocated this view. Fouche,
then the agent of the Duke of Wellington,
suggested that the Chamber ofDeputies would
not consent to the dictatorship.
Napoleon inquired, g What is it they wish
Speak candidly. Is it my abdication they de-
sire?"
~ fear it is so, SIRE" Regnault answered,
sadly. "And though it is deeply repugnant
to my feelings to tell your majesty painful
truth, yet it is my belief that. were you not
to abdicate voluntarily, the Chamber of Dep
uties would requiresyour abdication.'
Others responded. If the deputies will
not unite with the Emperor to saS France,
he must save the empire by his single efforts
He must declare himself dictator"
The nation,'' said the Emperor, - did
not elect the Deputies to overthrow me. but
to support me. Woe TO them if the presence
on the French soil do not arouse their energy
and their patriotism Whatever course they
may adopt, / shall be supported by the peo-
pie and the army. The fate of the Chamber
its very existence-depends on my will
Were to pronounce their doom, they would
all be sacrificed. They are playing an art
full game No matter have no need t.
resort to stratagem. / have right on my side
The patriotism of the people, their antipathy
to the Bourbons, their attachment to my per.
son. all these circumstances still afford i'm
mense resources, is we knew how to profit by
them"
The Chambers were now in session. The
majority of them thought that if Napoleon
would abdicate, the allies would sheathe the
sword. Resolutions suggesting this were
passed. La Fayette introduced them. HI
afterwards regretted it bitterly, stating tha
the restoration of the empire under the heil
of Napoleon was the only hope of France
John Adams was equally clear upon thi
point. He says: La Fayette was wrong
The Emperor was the true rallying point