Читать книгу The Collected Works of Napoleon Bonaparte - Charles Downer Hazen, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne - Страница 159

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"I hereby solemnly protest, before God and man, against the injustice offered me, and the violation of my most sacred rights, in forcibly disposing of my person and my liberty. I came freely on board of the Bellerophon; I am not a prisoner; I am the guest of England. I was, indeed, instigated to come on board by the captain, who told me that he had been directed by his Government to receive me and my suite, and conduct me to England, if agreeable to my wishes. I presented myself in good faith, with the view of claiming the protection of the English laws. As soon as I had reached the deck of the Bellerophon, I considered myself in the home and on the hearth of the British people.

"If it was the intention of Government, in giving orders to the captain of the Bellerophon to receive me and my suite, merely to entrap me, it has forfeited its honor and sullied its flag.

"If this act be consummated, it will be useless for the English to talk to Europe of their integrity, their laws, and their liberty. British good faith will have been lost in the hospitality of the Bellerophon.

"I appeal to history,—it will say that an enemy, who made war for twenty years upon the English people, came voluntarily, in his misfortunes, to seek an asylum under their laws. What more striking proof could he give of his esteem and his confidence? But what return did England make for so magnanimous an act? They pretended to hold out a friendly hand to this enemy; and when he delivered himself up in good faith, they sacrificed him."