Louis XVIII. had ceased to exercise their functions. Abroad Napoleon was surrounded by an absolute quarantine. The King found himself at Gand in the midst of Ambassadors and Ministers, the Council and the Maison Militaire. Talleyrand continued to sit at the Congress of Vienna as the representative of his sovereign. Everything contributed to show that in the eyes of all Napoleon was no better than an adventurer ; unrecognised abroad, at home tolerated rather than accepted, his situation was such that not even a brilliant victory would have had power to improve it.
As it happened, the great catastrophe everybody was looking for came ; and without hesitation the Chamber declared itself permanent, refused to proclaim Napoleon II., while it exacted from the Emperor his abdication pure and simple. He was as good as annihilated ; for Waterloo had been his last card. He gave himself up for lost, and round him defection was general. Louis XVIII. succeeded in restoring himself. With the Ministers and functionaries who had surrounded him during this brief interregnum, he again took possession of France, but this time he met with a very different reception from that of 1814.
