had got out of the way; but on hearing that Ouvrard had surrendered himself he said to me, “The fool! he does not know what is awaiting him!  He wishes to make the public believe that he has nothing to fear; that his hands are clean.  But he is playing a bad game; he will gain nothing in that way with me.  All talking is nonsense.  You may be sure, Bourrienne, that when a man has so much money he cannot have got it honestly, and then all those fellows are dangerous with their fortunes.  In times of revolution no man ought to have more than 3,000,000 francs, and that is a great deal too much.”

Before going to prison Ouvrard took care to secure against all the searches of the police any of his papers which might have committed persons with whom he had dealings; and I believe that there were individuals connected with the police itself who had good reason for not regretting the opportunity which M. Ouvrard had taken for exercising this precaution.  Seals, however, were put upon his papers; but on examining them none of the information Bonaparte so much desired to obtain was found.  Nevertheless on one point his curiosity was satisfied, for on looking over the documents he found from some of them that Madame Bonaparte had been borrowing money from Ouvrard.

As Ouvrard had a great number of friends they bestirred themselves to get some person of influence to speak to the First Consul in his favour.  But this was a commission no one was willing to undertake; because, prejudiced as Bonaparte was, the least hint of the kind would have appeared to him to be dictated by private interest.  Berthier was very earnestly urged to interfere, but he replied, “That is impossible.  He would say that it was underhand work to get money for Madame Visconti.”

I do not recollect to what circumstance Ouvrard was indebted for his liberty, but it is certain that his captivity did not last long.  Sometime after he had left his prison Bonaparte asked him for 12,000,000, which M. Ouvrard refused.

On his accession to the Consulate Bonaparte found M. Ouvrard contractor for supplying the Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Massaredo.  This business introduced him to a correspondence with the famous Godoy, Prince of the Peace.  The contract lasted three years, and M. Ouvrard gained by it a net profit of 15,000,000.  The money was payable in piastres, at the rate of 3 francs and some centimes each, though the piastre was really worth 5 francs 40 centimes.  But to recover it at this value it was necessary for M. Ouvrard to go and get the money in Mexico.  This he was much inclined to do, but he apprehended some obstacle on the part of the First Consul, and, notwithstanding his habitual shrewdness, he became the victim of his over-precaution.  On his application M. de Talleyrand undertook to ask the First Consul for authority to give him a passport.  I was in the cabinet at the time, and I think I still hear the dry and decided “No,” which was