CHAP. V.

My Arrival and Reception at Leoben-Arrival at Milan— Negotiations with Austria-Bonaparte complains to the Directory-Royalist Clubs-sends La Valette, Augereau, und Bernadotte to Paris-18th Fructidor. I JOINED Bonaparte at Leoben, on the 19th of April, the day after the signature of the preliminaries of peace. Here ceased my intercourse with him as equal with equal, companion with companion; and those relations commenced, in which I saw him great, powerful, and surrounded with homage and glory. I no longer addressed him as formerly; I was too well aware of his personal importance. His position had placed too great a distance in the social scale between us, for me not to perceive the necessity of conforming myself accordingly. I made with pleasure, and without regret, the easy sacrifice of familiarity, of thee and thouing, and other trifles. He said, in a loud voice, when I entered the apartment in which he stood surrounded by a brilliant staff, I am glad to see you, at last.' As soon as we were alone, he gave me to understand that he was pleased with my reserve. I was immediately placed at the head of his cabinet; I spoke to him the same evening respecting the insurrection in the Venetian States; of the dangers which threatened the French, and of those which I had myself escaped. Be tranquil,' said he, these rascals shall pay for it; their republic has had its day.'

In the first conversation which Bonaparte had with me I thought I could perceive that he was dissatisfied with the preliminaries of peace. He had wished to advance with his army upon Vienna, and, before offering peace to the Archduke Charles, he wrote to the Directory that he wished to follow up his successes; but to be enabled to do so, he wished to be sustained by the co-operation of the armies of the Sambre and Meuse, and that of the Rhine. The Directory replied, that he must not reckon on a diversion in Germany, and that the armies alluded to were not to pass the Rhine. This resolution, so unexpected, obliged him to terminate his triumphs, and renounce, for the present, his favourite project of planting the standards of the Republic upon the walls of Vienna

In traversing the Venetian States to return to Milan, he frequently spoke of the affairs of that republic; and constantly stated, that he was originally entirely unconnected with the insurrections which had taken place; but as they had occurred he was not sorry for it, for that he certainly would take advantage of them in the settlement of the definitive treaty.

We arrived at Milan on the 5th of May. Bonaparte took up his residence at Montebello, a beautiful seat about three leagues from that city. Here commenced the negotiations for the peace, which was terminated at Passeriano. During the course of these negotiations, the Directory ordered the General-in-chief to demand the liberation of La Fayette, Latour-Maubourg, and Bureau de Puzy, who had been detained at Olmutz, since 1792, as prisoners of state. He executed this commission with as much pleasure as zeal; but he met with many difficulties, and it required all his vigour of character to enable him to succeed at the end of three months. They obtained their freedom in August 1797, and received it with that feeling of independence and dignity which a long and rigid captivity had not been able to destroy.

It was now the month of July, and the negotiations were still protracted, and the obstacles which were continually recurring could only be attributed to the artful policy of Austria, who seemed anxious to gain time. The news which he received at this time from Paris occupied his whole attention. He beheld with extreme displeasure, and even with violent anger, the manner in which the leading orators in the councils, and pamphlets written in a similar spirit, spoke of him, his army, his victories, the affairs of Venice, and the national glory. He regarded with indignation the suspicions which they endeavoured to throw upon his conduct and his ulterior views; and was furious at seeing his services depreciated, his glory and that of his companions in arms disparaged. On this occasion he wrote to the Directory a very spirited letter, and demanded his dismissal.

At this time it was generally reported that Carnot, from his office in the Luxembourg, had traced out the plan of those operations by which Bonaparte had acquired so much glory; and that to Berthier he was

indebted for their successful execution: and many persons are still of this opinion; but there is no foundation for the belief.-Bonaparte was an inventor, and not an imitator. It is true that, at the commencement of these brilliant campaigns, the Directory had transmitted to him certain instructions; but he always followed his own plans, and wrote that all would be lost if he were blindly to put in practice movements conceived at a distance from the scene of action. He also offered his resignation. The Directory, at length, admitted the difficulty of dictating military operations

Paris, and left every thing to him-and certainly, here was not a movement or operation which did not originate with himself. Bonaparte was exceedingly sensitive on this subject; and one day he said to me, 'As for Berthier, since you have been with me, you see what he is he is a blockhead: yet it is he who has done all.' Berthier, however, was a man of honour, courage, and probity, and exceedingly regular in the performance of his duties, and very efficient as the head of the staff of the army. This is all the praise that can be given him, and, indeed, all that he desired. Bonaparte had a great regard for Berthier, and he in return looked up to him with so much admiration, that he never could have presumed to oppose his plans, or give any advice. Bonaparte was a man of habit, and was much attached to all the people about him, and did not like new faces.

At this time young Beauharnois came to Milan; he was then in his seventeenth year, and had lived in Paris with his mother since the departure of Bonaparte. On his arrival he immediately entered the service, as aid-de-camp to the General-in-chief, who felt for him an affection which was justified by his many good qualities. Eugene had an excellent heart, a manly courage, a prepossessing exterior, with an obliging and amiable temper. His life is matter of history; and those who knew him will agree that his maturer years did not disappoint the promise of his youth. Already he displayed the courage of a soldier, and at a later period he evinced the talent of a statesman. From the time of his arrival in Milan till the end of the year 1802, I never lost sight of him for a moment; and during an intimacy of several years, nothing has occurred that would induce me to recall a single word of this praise.

Bonaparte was justly of opinion that the tardiness of the negotiations, and the difficulties which incessantly arose, were founded on the expectation of an event which would change the government of France, and render the chances of peace more favourable to Austria. He urged the Directory to put an end to this state of things-to arrest the emigrants, to destroy the influence of foreigners, to recall the armies, and to suppress the journals, which he said were sold to England, and were more sanguinary than Marat ever was. He despised the Directory, which he accused of weakness, indecision, extravagance, and a perseverance in a system degrading to the national glory.

He had long foreseen the struggle about to take place between the partisans of Royalty and the Republic, and had been urged by his friends to choose his party, or to act for himself; but before deciding, he first thought of his own interest. He did not consider that he had yet done enough to bear him out in seizing the supreme power, which, under existing circumstances, he might easily have done. He was satisfied, for the present, with joining that party which appeared to have the support of public opinion. I know he was determined upon marching to Paris with 25,000 men, if affairs appeared to take a turn unfavourable to the Republic, which he preferred to Royalty, because he expected to derive greater advantages from it. He carefully arranged his plan of the campaign. He considered that in defending this so-much-despised Directory, he was only protecting a power which appeared to have no other object than to occupy a situation until he was prepared to fill it. His resolution of passing the Alps with 25,000 men, and marching by Lyons upon Paris, was well known in the capital, and every one was occupied in discussing the consequences of this passage of another Rubicon. Determined on supporting the majority of the Directory, and of combating the Royalist faction, he sent his aid-de-camp, La Valette, to Paris, towards the end of July, and Augereau followed him very shortly after. Bonaparte wrote to the Directory, that Augereau had solicited permission to go to Paris on his own private affairs; but the truth is, that he was sent expressly to urge on the revolution which was preparing against the Royalist party, and the minority of the Directory. Bernadotte was subsequently despatched on the same errand; but he

did not take any great part in the affair-he was always prudent.

The Republican members of the Directory were Barras, Rewbell, and La Reveillière. Carnot, and Barthelemy were the other two, who were considered favourable to the emigrants, and to the re-establishment of monarchy.

The crisis of the 18th Fructidor (Sept. 5, 1797), which brought a triumph to the Republican party, and retarded for three years the extinction of the pentarchy, presents one of the most remarkable events in its short and feeble existence. The Republican Directors had determined upon arresting those members of the Council of Five Hundred, and of the Ancients, who were obnoxious to them; and to secure their success, they appointed Augereau military commandant, which was the object of Bonaparte's wishes.

Various plans were proposed and abandoned, and La Valette writes to Bonaparte on the 7th that the obstacles which occasioned it were-First, Disagreement respecting the means of execution. Second, The fear of engaging in a contest, of which the success is not doubtful, but of which the consequences are uncertain. Third, The embarrassment which would be caused by the Council of Ancients, who are determined to oppose no resistance, and by the Council of Five Hundred, who must be driven away, because they will not go quietly. And Fourth, The fear of the Babœuf re-action.

However, these fears were got over, and they determined upon a vigorous stroke. The fear of being anticipated, at length caused measures to be hurried forward.

At midnight, on the 17th, Augereau despatched orders to all the troops to march upon the points specified. Before day-break the bridges and principal squares were planted with cannon. At day-break the halls of the Council were surrounded, the guards of the Council fraternized with the troops, and forty of the most distinguished members of the Council of Five Hundred, and thirty-four of that of the Ancients, supposed most devoted to royalty, were arrested, and conducted to the Temple. Among the intended victims were Carnot and Barthelemy, both members of the Directory. Barthelemy fell into the hands of his pursuers; but Carnot effected his escape. These Directors were replaced by Merlin