With the air reverberating to the sound of the guns pounding at the northern and eastern defences of the capital, Talleyrand conducted a series of brief negotiations with various interested parties. But there was always the possibility that Napoleon might return and take the city back. Talleyrand therefore made a show of packing up his belongings, and in the evening obediently set off for Blois too. He chose to exit Paris via the gate of Passy, where his friend Charles de Rémusat was the National Guard officer on duty. In accordance with an agreement reached between them earlier, Rémusat
...more
