It was a brave plan and preparations were put in hand. The decks of the frigates were cleared for action, and the topsails made ready for hoisting. But still Napoleon refused to act and all the time his situation became more perilous. The following day, 11 July, newspapers arrived from Paris which contained bad news. Paris had surrendered to the Allies and King Louis XVII had returned to the city to take up residence. This had grave implications for Napoleon's followers who were likely to be declared traitors and executed if caught. On 12 July the white flag of the Bourbons appeared for the first time in the immediate neighbourhood. The log of the Bellerophon records that at 5 pm a white flag was seen flying over La Rochelle, the ancient harbour town which overlooked the anchorage of Basque Roads. Maitland hoisted the British ensign and a white flag at the mainmast in acknowledgement, headed for the roadstead, dropped anchor and shattered the peace of the evening by firing a royal salute of 21 guns.
Captain Philibert, the commander of the Saale, who was a royalist at heart and had shown little enthusiasm at having to act as host to Napoleon, now declared that he could not agree to be part of Captain Ponée's audacious plan. Napoleon decided there was no future in using the frigates to escape, and later that day he disembarked from the Saale and went across to the Ile d'Aix where he knew he could be sure of support from the loyal soldiers and the islanders. He took up residence in the commandant's house where he was given a room on the first floor, with a fine view over the anchorage. This was to be the last place on French soil that Napoleon stayed in.
On the morning of 13 July he received a surprise visit from his brother Joseph Bonaparte, the ex-King of Spain. Joseph had travelled from Bordeaux where he had chartered an American ship which was moored in the estuary of the Gironde. He was strongly against Napoleon seeking political asylum in Britain and urged him to join him on the ship and sail to New York. Napoleon thanked him for his offer but turned it down and told him to return at once to Bordeaux and make good his escape. Six weeks later Joseph was in America.
That evening Napoleon made his decision. He would surrender himself voluntarily to the British and put his trust in British justice and the country's long tradition of harbouring political refugees. Before going to bed he dictated the following letter to the Prince Regent, Britain's acting head of state during the illness of his father King George III:
Your Royal Highness,
A victim to the factions which distract my country, and to the enmity of the greatest powers of Europe, I have terminated my political career, and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself upon the hospitality of the British people. I put myself under the protection of their laws; which I claim from your Royal Highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies.
Napoleon.
Rochefort 13 July 1815
The reference to Themistocles, the Athenian statesman of classical Greece who had surrendered to Artaxerxes, suggests that Napoleon saw his action as a grand gesture, an appeal from the vanquished leader to the conqueror. The letter brought tears to the eyes of General Gourgaud who was to be entrusted with delivering it to the Prince Regent. But first Napoleon wanted to be sure that there was no sign of the passports which would allow him passage to America. Early the next morning Las Cases and General Lallemand were despatched to the Bellerophon to see if there was any news of the passports, and, if not, to discuss the embarkation of Napoleon and his suite on the British ship. Once again the schooner Mouche headed across the water flying a flag of truce. Captain Maitland ordered breakfast for the two envoys and sent a signal to Captain Sartorious of the Slaney to join them on board. As on the previous occasion he wanted a witness to their discussions. When Sartorius arrived the four men settled down to detailed negotiations. Once again Las Cases put the case for allowing Napoleon to sail to America. He assured Maitland that, 'The emperor is so anxious to spare the further effusion of human blood that he will proceed to America in any way the British Government chooses to sanction, either in a French ship of war, a vessel armed en flute, or even in a British ship of war.'
Maitland replied:
I have no authority to agree to any arrangement of that sort, nor do I believe my Government would consent to it; but I think I may venture to receive him into this ship and convey him to England. If, however, he adopts that plan, I cannot enter into any promise as to the reception he may meet with, as, even in the case I have mentioned, I shall be acting on my own responsibility and cannot be sure that it would meet the approbation of the British Government.
Maitland was questioned on what sort of reception Napoleon might expect in England and, according to Las Cases, he assured him that 'Napoleon would find all the respect and good treatment he could wish for in England' and that 'in generosity of feeling and liberality of opinions the English people were superior to the throne itself.' It is hard to believe that this was an accurate account of Maitland's conversation. Apart from the fact that he would have been well aware of the animosity and hatred of Napoleon in many quarters in England, he frequently repeated that he had no authority to grant terms of any sort and could take no responsibility for his reception there. They went on to discuss Napoleon's younger brother, Lucien Bonaparte, who had been captured by a British warship in 1810. He had been allowed to settle in a country house at Thorngrove near Worcester where he lived in some comfort under the supervision of a single police inspector. This may have been seen as an encouraging sign but it would have been naïve for the envoys to assume that the former conqueror of half Europe would be regarded in the same light.
As the French envoys were leaving, Las Cases assured Captain Maitland that he had little doubt that he would see the Emperor on board his ship. That evening a barge was rowed across from the French frigates and Las Cases, accompanied this time by General Gourgaud, arrived bearing a letter for Maitland which stated that Napoleon 'will proceed on board your ship with the ebb tide tomorrow morning, between four and five o'clock', and enclosing a list of the fifty members of Napoleon's suite who would be accompanying him. Maitland was also asked to arrange for General Gourgaud to be sent to England so that he could deliver Napoleon's letter to the Prince Regent.
Maitland agreed with all the requests. It seemed that he would be able to carry out the Admiralty's orders without a shot being fired. First he arranged for Captain Sartorious to sail on ahead in the Slaney, taking with him General Gourgaud, together with his own despatches to the Admiralty. Before midnight the Slaney weighed anchor and set off for England. He then discussed with Las Cases how best to accommodate Napoleon and his party. Maitland suggested that his own cabin, the great cabin at the stern of the ship, should be divided in two, one half for the use of Napoleon and the other half for the use of the ladies in his party. Las Cases inspected the space and said, 'If you allow me to give an opinion, the Emperor will be better pleased to have the whole of the after-cabin himself, as he is fond of walking about, and will by that means be able to take more exercise.'
Maitland replied, As it is my wish to treat him with every possible consideration while he is on board the ship I command, I shall make any arrangement you think will be most agreeable to him.' Between them they worked out the accommodation for the rest of Napoleon's entourage. It was agreed that thirty-three of them would travel on the Bellerophon, and the remaining seventeen would be accommodated on the Myrmidon. They were still discussing these domestic arrangements late in the evening when a boat came alongside with a man bearing an urgent message. He reported that Napoleon had already put to sea in a chasse-marée, had sailed past La Rochelle and was intending to escape via the northern channel that night. Las Cases assured Maitland that the report could not possibly be correct. He left the ship soon afterwards.