THE FALL OF THE REPUBLIC 397
independence of Ragusa, that does not mean that I shall evacuate it ; on the contrary, when the Montenegrins have gone home, I intend to organise the country, and then abandon it if necessary, retaining only Stagno.” The Ragusans did not know of this, and believed that they would soon be free, but their hopes were dashed to the ground when, on August 24, war broke out again.
   The French paid the indemnities for the siege very liberally—13,000,000 francs—as the money was to be provided for by Austria, whom they held responsible for all the consequences of the Russian occupation of Cattaro. On the strength of this generosity the Senate tried once more through Count Sorgo, a Ragusan resident in Paris, to get the other loan of 600,000 francs refunded, but without success. At last, on July 8, 1807, the Peace of Tilsit was signed, by which Russia gave up Cattaro to the French. Berthier, in a letter to General Marmont, who was now in command in Dalmatia, wrote : “ Ragusa must certainly be united to Dalmatia ; you must therefore continue to fortify it.” On August 13 Marmont stopped at Ragusa on his way to Cattaro, and received the Senators very affably ; but in the course of conversation he said to one of them : “ Vous allez être des nôtres.” On being asked for an explanation of these ominous words, he added “ that in the present circumstances they could not remain free : the delegates having said that without merchant shipping the State could not exist, Marmont replied that by belonging to the great Emperor His Majesty would find means of compensating them. The next day the General told the delegates who had called on him that he was instructed to inform them of their future