have departed from Fontainebleau. I
am assured that the Emperor Alexander intends to hunt you up in Novara
if you should not come to Malmaison. It will therefore be impossible to
avoid him. Consider that the fate of your children lies in his hands! In
the treaty of Fontainebleau you and your children were provided for
together; this is a great point for you, and proves how highly you are
thought of.

"It is to the Emperor of Russia alone that you owe this; and when the
Duke of Vicenza submitted this article of the treaty to the Emperor
Napoleon for his signature, it met with his entire approval. Your sole
and undivided authority over your children is thereby acknowledged. You
should, therefore, not reject the good offered you for your children. I
do not think it would require much persuasion to induce others to accept
that which is tendered you.

"Madame Tascher, who has proved herself to be your true friend and
relative, has just had her first interview with the Duke of Dalberg, the
member of the provisional government. She spoke of you, and I will here
give you his response, word for word: 'She is considered as being
altogether foreign to the Bonaparte family, because she has separated
herself from her husband. She will be the refuge of her children, who
are left to her. She is so dearly beloved and highly esteemed, that