Bonaparte Described.

27

to these reproaches. Aubry got up a malicious charge, and the result was, that the general, at once young and old, was suspended. Amidst the blundering and mismanagement which then prevailed in all matters of business, I was made one of the committee of war. Imagine how well fitted I was for the appointment. The case of the suspension was presented to me, accompanied by a report of disobedience. Aubry made a very long face. He wanted the case to be regarded as a matter of vast importance, and was astonished to find that I treated it with indifference. I should have been as much astonished if he had presumed to pronounce an opinion on a question of jurisprudence! I contented myself with signing the paper, in my turn, and throwing all the responsibility on him.

Some time after this, when I was lodging in the Rue Chabannais, I was startled by a knock at my door early one morning. The knock was somewhat louder than that given by the Duke of Orleans, when he had honoured me with a visit about two years previously. I requested my visitor to enter, and I saw before me a little, thin, sallow complexioned man. His ill arranged hair was hanging down in the curls called oreilles de chien, which were in fashion at that time. He was very badly dressed-his boots were too short, his coat too long, his cravat horridly wrinkled, and his hat bearing evidence of long service. Disfigured as he was by these shabby habiliments, I could not help remarking his white and beautifully formed hands, and his mouth, which was inconceivably handsome, especially when animated by either a good natured or a satirical smile. And then his eyes! what eyes they were! ... . as brilliant as those of the lion, or the eagle:at once, gentle, fierce, penetrating and confiding.... expressive of sublime genius and magnanimity. His fine teeth, also, attracted my attention. He had, altogether, the air of a sovereign in the garb of a beggar; or, perhaps, I may say he looked like Jupiter, when he visited Baucis and Philemon. Add to this, a full, sonorous and clear toned voice, easy, unaffected, yet dignified and commanding manners. Superiority of intellect was marked in every look and gesture:-in short, his appearance produced upon me an immediate and irresistible fascination. I was under

28

Error Acknowledged.

a spell. I felt that I was in the presence of a man who commanded my respect and admiration. Such, at least, is the impression he produced on me at first sight.

Fabre de l'Aude. He made the same impression on me. My first rencontre with him is quite a history.

Real.-And so is mine. I tremble, even now, when I think of it.

Myself. I shall never forget the first time I saw him. Prince Cambacérès.-Well, you shall each in your turn describe that memorable day of your lives. Meanwhile, let me proceed with my story.

""Citizen!' said my visitor, I am General Napoleon Bonaparte, whom you have unjustly suspended.'

"General, I replied, I fear there has been some mistake. Doubtless there was an error. . . . and I am afraid I committed it.

"That is wisely said! None but fools lay claim to infallibility, the Pope excepted.'

"Truly, General, said I, laughing, you would be fully justified in blaming me, if I had considered the case as anything more than a matter of form. It would have been most absurd in me to have pretended to judge you as a military man. I merely saw the public functionaries refusing obedience to the constituted authority. The fact is clear. You must admit that I acted as any other person would do in my place. But now to deal candidly with you; I willingly acknowledge that I treated you with great injustice. You are one of those who ought to be advanced, instead of being kept back among the common crowd. I know we are indebted to you for the taking of Toulon, and the taking of Toulon saved the republic. Your merit excites envy. People who have no talent cannot endure those who have any. But, have a little patience; you will work your way to your proper rank, if they do not speedily assign it to you as they should do.

"You see," continued Cambacérès, "that my compliments were well turned, or, as M. Pourceaugnac says, assez bien troussés. The General had come with the intention of reproving me: and we parted on friendly terms. He called on me again, admitted me to his confidence, and opened a correspondence with me about Italy and Egypt;

Story by Fabre de l'Aude.

29

in short, he admitted me to his friendship . . . . You know the rest. Now, Count Fabre de l'Aude, let us hear your story."

"I knew General Bonaparte only by name," said Count Fabre de l'Aude, "by the brilliant reputation he had earned at Toulon, and his first campaign of the Alps. There was at that time in the south of France, a Sieur P . . . . an ill disposed, envious, malignant creature who, in addition to all his other bad qualities, was avaricious and eager to grasp money, no matter by what means. One day, this miserable fellow entered my apartments pale, dejected, and apparently almost frightened out of his senses.

"You will be hanged to a certainty, said I. They are in pursuit of you.

"Alas! I am innocent! My only object was to save the republic.'

"To save the republic, truly, by your roguery. I know you well.

"For the sake of my poor father, of my mother whom you respect, of my brother... ?

"It is lucky for you that you are connected with so many respectable people. Let me hear what you have to say for yourself,

"At this moment a loud knocking was heard at the outer door. (I then lodged in the Rue Coq-Heron, No. 63.) I trembled, and P . . . . uttering a cry of terror, looked around him with an air of bewilderment: then, after a moment's pause, he made a spring, and, by a miracle of agility, he leaped completely over my bed and concealed himself by crouching down in the space between the bedstead and the wall. The door opened and a man entered But why should I attempt to describe him?... It was General Bonaparte. The portrait which Prince Cambacérès just now drew of him, is better than any I could trace. His eye flashed with rage, and, though innocent, I was almost as much awed as the criminal.

"I presume I am in the presence of Citizen Fabre de l'Aude?

"Yes, citizen, and I have the honour to address General Bonaparte?

"The same: I have come to inquire whether you can

furnish me with any information relating to a villain, a forger, a calumniator. I will make an end of him, Citizen Five Hundred, if I catch him. The rascal shall die by my hand. He comes from Carcassonne.'

"Whom he has disgraced, but whom I will avenge.' "What offence has he committed, General?

"He has been corresponding with the English cabinet under my name, and has denounced me to the Directory as a traitor to my country. What do you think of that, Citizen Fabre?"

"That any one has a good right to hang him, except yourself, General Bonaparte. You are a hero.

"I am a man of honour, and it is my duty to punish the villain. I request that you will give me his address.' "And I request that you will grant his pardon.

"I then made some observations, with the view of convincing the General how much he would degrade himself by taking revenge on so contemptible an enemy.

"You are right,' said he, after a moment's reflection, and raising his hand to his eyes, 'I will spare his life, but it must be only on condition of your making him retract and confess his turpitude. Let this point be clearly understood, without any room for evasion. The explanation must leave him black as ink, and me white as snow. that condition, I will spare him, but on no other.'

On

"This ultimatum, which was delivered in a voice of thunder, was not calculated to meet with objection, or resistance. I promised in the name of P.... all that was required, and the General then said:

"Citizen Five Hundred, (these were his words) I am delighted to have made your acquaintance. Come and see me; I am going to be married to-morrow, and it will not be long before I quit Paris. Honest men should meet together.'

"I accepted his invitation to visit him. After his marriage, I went to pay my respects to Mme. Bonaparte. The newly married couple admitted me to their intimacy; and I did not prove myself undeserving of it. I met at their

Visit to Madame Bonaparte.

31

house one of my colleagues, Ozun, who was, like myself, a member of the Council of Five Hundred. He was a man of considerable talent, and was devotedly attached to General Bonaparte. Thus, a double link of friendship was formed between us. After his departure for Italy, he wrote to me often. A year had not elapsed, when Özun, in the course of conversation, one day said to me:

"The General might be placed at the head of the government. His talent is universal, and he would govern and legislate as well as he fights. In short, he is a man without an equal.'

"I acquainted the General with what Ozun had said. His reply was, that the pear was not ripe, and that he never hurried things. However, our indiscretion did not injure us in his good opinion: on the contrary, I think it helped to recommend us to favour, as subsequent occurrences proved.

"A short time after this, I had an opportunity of acquainting Bonaparte with the ill-feeling entertained towards him by the Directory; but he knew it without my information. I was a spectator, rather than an actor, on the occasion of the 18th Fructidor. I observed the dissatisfaction of Barras. At one moment, he attempted to turn against the General the revolution which had been undertaken with his concurrence. This circumstance is not generally known: I will explain it to you some other time. Barras failed to accomplish his base design. Nevertheless, Bonaparte heard of it, and the lion began to roar. To appease him, it was proposed that he should go to Egypt. He departed, and our correspondence continued. One day, when I was writing to him, I overstepped the bounds of my reserve. Shall I give you a specimen of my style of writing at that time?"

We all with one voice signified our eager curiosity. Count Fabre reflected for a few moments, and then repeated to us (such was the retentive power of his memory) a letter couched in nearly the following terms:

"General,

Paris, August 12th, 1779.

"Things are going from bad to worse. No more victo