Louisa gently nodded. "The king is right," she said, "we should know the
worst. Let us sit down, if your majesty please."
She took a seat on the sofa; the emperor and her husband occupied the
easy-chairs on the other side of the table.
"I implore your majesties, however, to listen without interrupting me,"
said Alexander, drawing a paper from his bosom. Glancing over it, he
added: "Napoleon demands, above all, that Prussia shall cede to him the
whole territory on the right of the Niemen, the city of Memel, and the
district extending as far as Tilsit, for he asserts that this is the
natural frontier of Russia. He requires your majesty, further, to cede
your whole territory on the left of the Elbe to France, for he regards
the Elbe as also the natural frontier of the Prussian kingdom. He
stipulates expressly that the district of Hildesheim shall not be
included in the territory of your majesty on the right of the Elbe, for
he desires this district to form part of the new kingdom of Westphalia,
which he has resolved to organize. But to compensate you for this loss,
he will prevail upon Saxony to cede to you a territory on the right of
the Elbe, equivalent to the district of Memel. Napoleon demands the
Polish provinces of Prussia for the new kingdom of Poland to be
organized; but your majesty is to keep Pomerelia and the districts of
Kulm, Elbing, and Marienwerder.
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