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 out— Go out." His soldiers surrounded him, as he made for the door. He 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 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. 386 BRITISH EXPEDITION TO HOLLAND. [1799. thousand men; and he was to be joined by a Russian contingent of seventeen thousand men, paid by England, for the conveyance of which force to Holland a squadron had been sent forth in July. All went well for a time. Abercromby effected a landing at the Helder, supported by the fire from the fleet; and the troops were all disembarked on the 27th, after a feeble resistance. The fort of the Helder, which commanded the entrance of the Texel, was taken possession of; and the English fleet entered, and summoned the Dutch fleet to surrender. There was no battle; for the Dutch seamen were in a state of insubordination, and thus eight sail of the line and seventeen frigates fell into our hands. The ships were sent to England, our sailors murmuring that they had not been taken as prizes in fair fight; and public opinion complaining that we had turned a mutiny to our own advantage when we had so recently been placed in extreme danger by a mutiny in our own fleet. Abercromby, with his small force, maintained a defensive position; and on the 10th of September repulsed a fierce attack of twenty-four thousand French and Dutch under general Vandamme. The Russian contingent, with an additional force of seven thousand British, now arrived. But there came with them a commander-in-chief who was to supersede Abercromby. The duke of York took the command of the united British and Russian army of thirtysix thousand men. This was indeed to make war upon a large scale, as far as numbers were concerned. The expedition to Holland was the greatest attempt of the British government since the beginning of the contest with France. One thing was wanted-a General fit to command. The duke of York was not without experience in military matters; he was personally brave; but what he had done before as the leader of an army was no warranty for his fitness for this high responsibility. On the 19th of September it was determined to attack the enemy in four columns, the ground being of a nature to prevent a concentrated operation. The Russian column under general Hermann was routed. On the centre and left, where the duke of York was present, general Dundas and general Pulteney were defeating the enemy. But the duke, hearing of the disaster of Hermann, instantly changed a plan which was leading to victory, and marched to the assistance of the broken Russians. The duke was himself then compelled to retreat; and the day presented the usual consequences of bravery without judgment. On the 2nd of October another battle was fought, in which the right and centre of the British and Russians were partially successful, but where the want of combination prevented any real advantage. Time was precious. The republicans were gathering in great force; and some strong place must be obtained, through the possession of which supplies from the interior of the country could alone be insured. The army could not remain to starve in the narrow corner on which they were encamped, amidst dykes and causeys, on swampy ground now saturated with autumnal rains. Haarlem must be taken. The French, posted on a narrow isthmus by which it was necessary to approach Haarlem, were ready to contest the passage. On the 6th of October a battle was fought during the whole day, with equal bravery and equal loss. But the duke of York was no nigher the possession of Haarlem. The French were reinforced; the duke of York retired. Dangers were thickening around him. His great army was reduced to twenty thousand men, by sickness as much as by battle. He had provision only for eleven 1799.] BONAPARTE FIRST CONSUL. 387 days. He proposed a suspension of arms to general Brune, the French commander, preparatory to the evacuation of Holland by the British and Russians. The only point gained in this convention was that the Dutch fleet was to be retained. He bought the permission to go home in safety, upon the condition that eight thousand French and Dutch seamen, prisoners of war in England, should be given up to the French government. The troops quitted Holland on the 30th of November. Loud were the murmurs at home. The people were thankful that a navy remained to them in which command did not wholly go "by favour and affection." Some were glad that the ending of the expedition was no worse. "The armistice in Holland," wrote Cornwallis, "although it is not, perhaps, the most brilliant way of getting out of the scrape, has relieved my mind from much anxiety, and has insured to us some army, if we are not bent upon throwing it away." When Bonaparte and his two colleagues had taken possession of the Luxembourg on the 11th of November, he had no precedence. Each Consul was in his turn to act as president. There was much to be accomplished before Bonaparte could be installed in that almost absolute power to which all his movements were tending. A new Constitution was to be made. Commissions were appointed to square and dovetail the work into shape. Sièyes had his plan ready. The details were to be debated between the Consuls and the commissioners. The aptitude of Bonaparte for power; his sagacity; his quickness of observation,-turned every discussion to his own prospective advantage. By the 24th of December, the Constitution was completed and published. The Executive authority was to consist of three Consuls, Bonaparte being First Consul for ten years. This Executive was to propose the laws. The Legislative authority was a Tribunate, to discuss the projects of laws, and approve or reject them; a Legislative body of three hundred members, to vote upon the laws proposed by the Tribunate, without the right of discussion; and a Senate, of eighty members, who were to sit in secret. It was a mock Legislature, to strengthen the Executive. All these classes of legislators were to be paid. The three Consuls were to have an allowance, the first Consul receiving 500,000 francs a-year; each of the others three-tenths of that sum. Cambacérès and Lebrun were associated with Bonaparte in the consular office; but the real power was in his hands alone. Constitution was accepted by the votes of the people, three millions having registered their approval. Their votes were doubtless influenced by the agents of the government. But it is clear that the people were tired of anarchy; had no confidence in a Directory and Councils of Ancients and Five Hundred; cared little about Liberty; and had a profound admiration for military glory. The When the British Parliament met on the 22nd of January, 1800, after an adjournment in October, a royal message was presented, the chief purport of which was to lay before the two Houses "copies of communications recently received from the enemy, and of the answers which have been returned thereto by his majesty's command." The communications "received from the enemy" were a brief note from Talleyrand, Minister for Foreign Affairs in France, to lord Grenville, enclosing a letter from the First Consul * "Correspondence," vol. iii. p. 141. |