the diplomats on both parts made small abortive attempts to bring their monarchs back to the table , for their several causes ; but alexander could scarcely make apology now without becoming a liar , and napoleon , at first only surprised , grew swiftly choleric when he understood alexander 's intransigence had not been a mere flourishing of temper but an expression of true feeling , and an outright rejection of the most central terms which should have formed naturally the core of any serious negotiation .