1799.] SIEGE OF ACRE-BATTLE OF ABOUKIR. 381 in sight. The place must be stormed before the reinforcements could land. It was stormed on the 7th; it was stormed on the 8th; it was stormed on the 10th. Bonaparte was held at bay. On the 21st, the camp before Acre was broken up. On his return march to Egypt, from Cesarea to Jaffa, the whole country was set on fire. The Turks and Arabs hung on the French rear, and killed every straggler. The sick dropped on the burning sand, unable to keep up with their comrades. At Jaffa the army halted. What was to be done with the sick in the hospitals? Thiers gives one version of a story that brought as much odium upon Bonaparte as the massacre of the Turkish prisoners: "Bonaparte said to the physician Desgenettes, that it would be much more humane to administer some opium to them, than to leave them alive. The physician made this answer, My business is to cure and not to kill.' No opium was administered; and the fact only served for the propagation of an unworthy calumny, now destroyed." * A French historian, Poujoulat, who had travelled in Palestine, does not doubt that between three and four hundred sick and wounded were poisoned. Bonaparte himself denied to O'Meara the poisoning even of "a few miserables, who could not recover." But he added, "Not that I think it would have been a crime had opium been given to them; on the contrary, I think it would have been a virtue." + Bonaparte returned to Cairo, assuming to himself all the honours of a conqueror. It is difficult to determine whether his proclamations to the people of Egypt, or his despatches to the French Directory, contain the greater number of lies and exaggerations in reference to this Syrian campaign. But the misfortunes of the siege of Acre were redeemed by a great victory, on the 25th of July, over a Turkish army which had landed at the peninsula of Aboukir. Bonaparte, upon the news of their landing, had made a rapid march from Cairo to Alexandria with ten thousand men; and the rout of the Turks, who fought most bravely, was complete. After the decisive battle of Aboukir, Bonaparte became restless. His communication with Europe had been cut off for nearly a year. It had been an eventful year. The French armies in Italy and in Germany had sustained great reverses, of which he was ignorant. He had in vain sent forth some brigs to detain merchant vessels, that he might obtain news from Europe. He then sent a flag of truce to the Turkish fleet, under the pretence of negotiating an exchange of prisoners, but with the real intent that some intelligence should be obtained. Sir Sidney Smith, says Thiers, learning that Bonaparte was ignorant of the disasters of France, "felt a malignant pleasure in sending to him a packet of all the journals." Bonaparte passed an entire night in devouring the information contained in these newspapers. He at once took his determination to embark secretly for Europe. Let us take a rapid glance at the various events that led this man of decision to resolve that" the time is out of joint," and that he alone was "born to set it right." After the separate treaty of Campo Formio between Austria and France, a Congress assembled at Radstadt, to treat of the complex subject of a general peace, to include all the States of the German empire. Its sittings, which "Révolution Française," livre xliii. 382 BONAPARTE HEARS OF THE DEFEATS OF THE FRENCH. [1799. At the commenced in December, 1797, were continued through 1798. end of that year a treaty of alliance between Great Britain and Russia, against France, was agreed upon; and the emperor Francis and the emperor Paul were drawing together in a determination to unite their forces in a common endeavour to resist the growing power of the ambitious Republic. Naples and Sardinia had declared war against France. At the beginning of January, 1799, the king of Naples had fled from his capital to Palermo; the French general Championnet had entered the city; proclaimed the abolition of royalty; and the kingdom of Naples was henceforth to be the Parthenopeian Republic. A Russian army of sixty thousand men, commanded by Suwaroff, arrived in Moravia in December; and were welcomed by the emperor of Germany with unmistakeable demonstrations. The French plenipotentiaries at Radstadt demanded that the Diet of the Empire should oppose the entrance of the Russian army upon Germanic territory. The answer being unsatisfactory, Ehrenbreitstein, which had been long blockaded by the French, was besieged, and the fortress capitulated in January. The French were now masters of both banks of the Rhine. Jourdan crossed the river into Suabia; the Directory declared war against Austria; Jourdan advanced to the Danube; was encountered by the archduke Charles, and driven back over the Rhine in April. When Switzerland was invaded by the French in 1798, the Grisons stood aloof. They were now assaulted by the French; but the Austrians came from the Tyrol to their aid, and drove the invaders from their territory. Switzerland now became the seat of war, and Massena stood upon the defensive at Zurich. At the close of March the Austrian and French armies were actively engaged in Italy. The French were driven beyond the Mincio. The ability of Moreau could not enable him to make a stand against the determination of the old Austrian general Melas. On the 18th of April, Suwaroff joined the Austrians with fifty thousand Russians, and this famous slaughterer of Turks and Poles took the command of the combined armies. The battle of Cassano, on the 27th of April, was decisive of the fate of the Cisalpine Republic. The battle of the Trebbia ensued, in which, after three days of desperate conflict, Suwaroff defeated Macdonald and Victor, who retreated over the Apennines. The attempted junction of the two armies of Italy resulted in the defeats of the two commanders, Moreau and Macdonald. In three months the great campaigns of Bonaparte thus appeared to have been productive only of fleeting triumphs. Royalty was restored at Naples by cardinal Ruffo, with English assistance; and, painful to record, the bad faith and miserable vengeance of the corrupt and despotic court upon the patriotic party found a supporter in the greatest of British admirals. Such was the posture of European affairs when George III. closed the Session of Parliament on the 12th of July, and said, "It is impossible to compare the events of the present year with the state and prospects of Europe at the distance of but a few months, without acknowledging, in humble thankfulness, the visible interposition of Divine Providence, in averting those dangers which so long threatened the overthrow of all the establishments of the civilized world." Such were the confident expectations of the parties to the Second Coalition against France, concluded on the 22nd of June, between Great Britain, the emperor of Germany, the emperor of Russia, some of the German minor 1799.] HE LEAVES EGYPT-THE FRENCH DIRECTORY. 383 States, Naples, Portugal, Turkey, and Barbary. France herself was exposed to a greater danger than that of external foes. Her executive government was weak and unpopular. The people were oppressed by taxes; and more oppressed by the Conscription, by which every Frenchman, from the age of twenty to forty-five, was liable to be chosen by lot for military service. Such was the news that sir Sidney Smith might have placed before Bonaparte on the banks of the Nile. The intelligence of the journals, it is believed, was confirmed by a private communication from his brothers Lucien and Joseph; which had reached him by a faithful messenger, in spite of the vigilance of the English cruisers. On the 24th of August, Bonaparte embarked at Alexandria, accompanied by seven of his generals. Two frigates and two smaller vessels had been got ready, by his orders, for this perilous adventure. This was not, says Thiers, a desertion; "for he left a victorious army to brave dangers of every kind, and, most horrible of all, the danger of being carried in fetters to London." Bonaparte was himself very calm amidst these dangers. He possibly did not imagine that Pitt would carry him about in an iron cage, like another Bajazet, even if he were captured by an English fleet. It was the 9th of October when he landed at Fréjus. The people ought to have opposed his landing as a violation of the Quarantine laws, but they said, "Better the plague than the Austrians." The Austrians were close at hand. They occupied all the mountainous passes which separate France from Italy. After the great victory of the Austro-Russian army at Novi, in August-which victory was succeeded by other triumphs-the French were expelled from the land which Bonaparte had conquered and revolutionized. That he should have been received in Provence as the man whose advent would be the safety of France was a natural and reasonable confidence. On the 16th of October, Bonaparte was in Paris. From his old house in la rue Chantereine he proceeded immediately to the Luxembourg, the palace of the Directory. He told the members that having become apprised of the disasters of France he had come to defend the country. But he was to them an object of suspicion and of fear. Bernadotte, it is said, counselled the arrest of Bonaparte for desertion; and Barras replied, "We are not strong enough for that." The Directory consisted of Barras, Sièyes, Ducos, and two obscure republicans, Moulins and Gohièr. They were divided in their policy as to abiding by the existing Constitution, which some wished to modify and some to overturn. Bonaparte came as a new power to mould or to awe conflicting opinions, whether of the Directors or of the Legislative bodies, into a shape favourable to his own ambition. He attached himself to the party of Sièyes and Ducos. Barras preserved a sort of neutrality. Bonaparte had two able counsellors to assist him in any intrigue for the transfer of power to new hands-Talleyrand and Fouché. The majority of the Council of Five Hundred, with Bernadotte, were against any project for organic change. Three weeks of intrigue ended in placing France under a Dictatorship-three weeks of plots, which Bourienne, Bonaparte's secretary, says, "were accompanied by so much trickery, falsehood, and treachery, that for the honour of human nature it is desirable to hide them under a veil." The preparations of the conspirators were at length complete. The Council of Ancients possessed an authority, under the Constitution, for determining the place of meeting of the Legislative body. A 384 REVOLUTION OF THE EIGHTEENTH BRUMAIRE, [1799. packed number assembled privately on the 9th of November (18th Brumaire), and decreed that the sitting should be held the following day at the palace of St. Cloud. Bonaparte was charged with the execution of this decree; and all the troops of the line and the National Guard were placed under his orders. He very quickly availed himself of his power, by stationing troops at the Tuileries, at the Luxembourg, at St. Cloud, under the command of his trusty generals; and by assigning to other chosen lieutenants positions where military force might put down all opposition that might be excited by those whose reign was coming to a close. Barras, Moulins, and Gohièr were left to their own reflections in the Luxembourg, whilst their servant was thus preparing to become their master. The Council of Five Hundred met on the 9th of November, only to hear the decree which suspended their sitting on that day, and which ordered their assembling on the next day at St. Cloud. At one o'clock on the afternoon of the 10th, the Council of Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred there assembled, surrounded by troops. Bonaparte came in his carriage, with a numerous escort. Sièyes and Ducos were also there to confer with him. The Ancients were told that the Directors had resigned, and it was proposed to replace them according to the provisions of the Constitution. Barras had indeed resigned, by getting away from Paris in hot haste. Moulins and Gohièr were prisoners in the Luxembourg. It was a critical moment. Bonaparte came into the Assembly; and, according to the historical authorities of the Revolution, harangued with visible emotion but with great effect. The speeches which the historians put into his mouth differ very considerably; and well they may differ, says Bourienne, who was present, "for he made no speech, but delivered a series of rambling, unconnected sentences, and confused replies to the President's questions." Berthier and Bourienne were glad to get him away from the wearied and impatient Assembly. At the Council of Five Hundred, to which Bonaparte then repaired, there were fewer words but more action. He entered the wing of the palace where they were sitting, followed by grenadiers. Furious cries assailed him of "Down with the tyrant-Down with the dictator-Go outGo out." His soldiers surrounded him, as he made for the door. mounted his horse when he escaped from what he represented as a danger to his person, and told his troops that an attempt had been made to assassinate him. "Vive Bonaparte" was the re-assuring cry. Within there was now a greater danger than the imaginary daggers of the irritated members of the Five Hundred. His brother Lucien was the President; and he was called upon to declare Napoleon, "hors la loi "—those terrible words which had sent Robespierre and many another revolutionary tyrant to the scaffold. Lucien refused to put the question, and implored them to hear his brother. By direction of Napoleon, grenadiers again entered the hall; seized Lucien, and carried him forth. The two mounted their horses; Lucien harangued the troops; told them that assassins were overwhelming the majority; that he and his brother would swear to be faithful to Liberty. The soldiers hesitated at the proposal to expel the Five Hundred from their hall; but Lucien exclaimed, "I swear that I will stab my own brother to the heart if he ever attempt anything against the liberties of France." Again the soldiers shouted "Vive Bonaparte." Murat and Leclerc then put themselves at the head of a battalion; led them to the door of the Assembly; drowned the He 1799.] OVERTHROW OF THE DIRECTORY BY BONAPARTE. 385 outcries of the members by the beat of drums; and cleared the hall by that irresistible power which Mirabeau declared should alone disperse the Tiers Etat-"We will only quit by the power of the bayonet."* Night came on. Lucien collected some thirty members of the Five Hundred, who passed decrees, in the name of that body, to the effect that the Directory existed no longer; that sixty persons were no longer representatives; and that a Provisional Executive Commission should be formed of three members, who should be styled Consuls-Sièyes, Ducos, and Napoleon Bonaparte, being named to that office. The Council of Ancients concurred in the decrees. The three colleagues immediately took the oaths to be faithful to the sovereignty of the people, to the Republic, to Liberty and Equality, and to the representative system. The Republic on that night really came to an end. Whilst these events were taking place in Paris; whilst the supreme power was passing into the hands of a great soldier,-a man of indomitable energy, gathering around him all the civil and military talent of his country, without respect to the claims of birth, and despising the routine which placed authority in the hands of the incapable-the British administration, rarely departing from its almost slavish dependence upon royal command or parliamentary influence, had sent a powerful force for the deliverance of Holland, organized upon the old principles of favouritism. Other men than equerries at Windsor anticipated the result; when "unformed regiments were hurried on immediate service;" and brigades were made up "for the amusement of young Princes and of foolish and inexperienced Generals." The "young princes" likely to be employed were the dukes of York, Cumberland, and Gloucester. The duke of York was the only prince of the three who went to Holland for his "amusement." A British army was assembled on the coast of Kent. A general, neither foolish nor inexperienced, Sir Ralph Abercromby, sailed on the 12th of August, with a first detachment of twelve * Ante, p. 169. + Cornwallis-"Correspondence," vol. iii. p. 123. |