Note 325 — Chapter LXXIII
Reading edition
In a proclamation to the French, issued by Bernadotte from Cologne, Feb. 12, he says, "Once more in sight of the banks of this river, where I have so often fought for you, I feel a desire to communicate to you my thoughts. It has been the constant effort of your Government to debase every thing, that it might despise ever thing: it is time that this system should change. All enlightened men desire the preservation of France; they only require that she shall be no longer the scourge of the earth. The allied sovereigns have not coalesced to make war against nations, but to force your Government to recognise the independence of states: Such are their intentions, and I pledge myself to you for their sincerity."—Meredith's Memorials of Charles John, p. 208.