The most glorious epoch for France—­The First Consul’s desire of peace—­Malta ceded and kept—­Bonaparte and the English journals—­ Mr. Addington’s letter to the First Consul—­Bonaparte prosecutes Peltier—­Leclerc’s expedition to St. Domingo—­Toussaint Louverture—­ Death of Leclerc—­Rochambeau, his successor, abandons St. Domingo—­ First symptoms of Bonaparte’s malady—­Josephine’s intrigues for the marriage of Hortense—­Falsehood contradicted.

The epoch of the peace of Amiens must be considered as the most glorious in the history of France, not excepting the splendid period of Louis xiv.’s victories and the more brilliant era of the Empire.  The Consular glory was then pure, and the opening prospect was full of flattering hope; whereas those who were but little accustomed to look closely into things could discern mighty disasters lurking under the laurels of the Empire.

The proposals which the First Consul made in order to obtain peace sufficiently prove his sincere desire for it.  He felt that if in the commencement of his administration he could couple his name with so hoped for an act he should ever experience the affection and gratitude of the French.  I want no other proof of his sentiments than the offer he made to give up Egypt to the Grand Seignior, and to restore all the ports of the Gulf of Venice and of the Mediterranean to the States to which they had previously belonged; to surrender Malta to the order of the Knights of St. John, and even to raze its fortifications if England should think such a measure necessary for her interests.  In the Indies, Ceylon was to be left to him,

     —­[Ceylon belonged to Holland, but was retained by England under the
     treaty of Amiens.]—­

and he required the surrender of the Cape of Good Hope and all the places taken by the English in the West Indies.

England had firmly resolved to keep Malta, the Gibraltar of the Mediterranean, and the Cape of Good Hope, the caravanserai of the Indies.  She was therefore unwilling to close with the proposition respecting Malta; and she said that an arrangement might be made by which it would be rendered independent both of Great Britain and France.  We clearly saw that this was only a lure, and that, whatever arrangements might be entered into, England would keep Malta, because it was not to be expected that the maritime power would willingly surrender an island which commands the Mediterranean.  I do not notice the discussions respecting the American islands, for they were, in my opinion, of little consequence to us.

—­[It is strange that Bourrienne does not allude to one of the first arbitrary acts of Napoleon, the discussions on which formed part of those conversations between Napoleon and his brother Lucien of which Bourrienne complained to Josephine he knew nothing.  In 1763 France had ceded to England the part of Louisiana on the east of the Mississippi, and the part on