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Updated: May 20, 2025
At nine o'clock, the Growler, the Masher and I climb the ramparts, burst into the fortress, attack the keep, disarm the garrison... and the thing's done: Daubrecq is ours." "Unless Sebastiani's sons fling him through the trapdoor to which the marquis alluded..."
At that time only two European powers were not tied to Napoleon's fate Sweden and Turkey. Napoleon was anxious to gain the alliance of these two powers. With respect to Sweden his efforts were vain; and though, in fact, Turkey was then at war with Russia, yet the Grand Seignior was not now, as at the time of Sebastiani's embassy, subject to the influence of France.
It was February, 1848, and a great crisis was nearer at hand in politics than we suspected; besides which there had been several events in private life which had increased the general excitement of the period notably the murder of Marshal Sebastiani's daughter, the poor duchesse de Praslin.
Sébastiani's cavalry corps which had been the advance-guard from Weissenfels to Fulde, where one enters the mountains, should have been replaced by infantry at this point.
Even previous to the interview at Erfurt, after Sebastiani's return from Constantinople, although Napoleon still seemed to adhere to the idea of dismembering Turkey in Europe, he had admitted the correctness of his ambassador's reasoning: "That in this partition, the advantages would be all against him; that Russia and Austria would acquire contiguous provinces, which would make their dominions more complete, while we should be obliged to keep 80,000 men continually in Greece to retain it in subjection; that such an army, from the distance and losses it would sustain from long marches, and the novelty and unhealthiness of the climate, would require 30,000 recruits annually, a number which would quite drain France: that a line of operation extending from Athens to Paris, was out of all proportion; that besides, it was strangled in its passage at Trieste, at which point only two marches would enable the Austrians to place themselves across it, and thereby cut off our army of observation in Greece from all communication with Italy and France."
A great deal was said about the views and projects of France with respect to Turkey, and this complaint originated in General Sebastiani's mission to Egypt. On that point I can take upon me to say that the English Government was not misinformed.
We were no more than two short leagues from Frankfort, a considerable town, with a stone bridge across the Main. The French army would need to go along the bank of this river to reach Mainz and the frontier of France, which was a day's march from Frankfort; so Napoleon detached Sébastiani's corps and a division of infantry to go and occupy Frankfort, and to take over and destroy the bridge.
Sébastiani's cavalry, of which Exelmans' division, which included my regiment, formed a part, were instructed to cross the river by the ford at Chemochowitz. The weather, which was already threatening in the morning, should have warned the Marshal to put off the attack to another day, or at least to act rapidly.
After this swift raid, Wittgenstein recalled his troops and continued his march up the Dvina. The affair did Sébastiani's reputation a great deal of harm and drew down on his head the reproaches of the Emperor.
"So, on principle," Arsene Lupin concluded, "the crystal stopper must still be in Daubrecq's study?" "If it was there before Daubrecq's disappearance, it should be there now." "And on the study-table." "On the study-table? Why do you say that?" "Because I know," said Lupin, who had not forgotten Sebastiani's words. "But you don't know the article in which the stopper is hidden?" "No.
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