" Here, to the amazement of Lord Whitworth, Napoleon
enumerated frankly and powerfully all the perils of the enterprise:
the enormous preparations it would be necessary to make of ships,
men, and munitions of war-the difficulty of eluding the English
fleet. "The chance that we shall perish," said he, "is vastly
greater than the chance that we shall succeed . Yet this temerity,
my lord, awful as it is, I am determined to hazard, if you force
me to it. I will risk my army and my life. With me that great
enterprise will have chances which it can not have with any other.
See now if I ought, prosperous, powerful, and peaceful as I now am,
to risk power, prosperity, and peace in such an enterprise. Judge,
if when I say I am desirous of peace, if I am not sincere. It is
better for you; it is better for me to keep within the limits of
treaties. You must evacuate Malta. You must not harbor my assassins
in England. Let me be abused, if you please, by the English journals,
but not by those miserable emigrants, who dishonor the protection
you grant them, and whom the Alien Act permits you to expel from
the country. Act cordially with me, and I promise you, on my part,
an entire cordiality.
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