Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Volume II

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 65.

454

"Covers were laid for seven hundred. Napoleon remained at table but a short time: he appeared to be uneasy, and much preoccupied." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 63.

455

"Every one of the ministers wished to give him an entertainment, but he only accepted a dinner from the Minister of Justice (Cambacérès.) He requested that the principal lawyers of the Republic might be there. He was very cheerful at this dinner, conversed at large on the criminal code, to the great astonishment of Tronchet, Treilhard, Merlin, and Target, and expressed his desire to see persons and property placed under the guard of a simple code, suitable to an enlightened age." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 64.

456

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 67.

457

Hedouville was born at Laon in 1755. In 1801, Buonaparte appointed him ambassador to Petersburgh. On the restoration of the Bourbons he was made a peer of France, and died in 1825.

458

"On the 8th Brumaire (30th October,) Napoleon dined with Barras: a conversation took place after dinner. 'The Republic is falling,' said the director; 'things cannot go on; a change must take place, and Hedouville must be named president. As to you, general, you intend to rejoin the army; and, for my part, ill as I am, unpopular, and worn out, I am only fit to return to private life. Napoleon looked steadfastly at him without replying a word. Barras cast down his eyes, and remained silent. Thus the conversation ended." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 72; Thiers, tom. x., p. 359.

459

Thiers, tom. x., p. 363.

460

"Talleyrand availed himself of all the resources of a supple and insinuating address, in order to conciliate a person whose suffrage it was important to him to secure." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 66. – "It was he who disclosed to Buonaparte's views all the weak points of the government, and made him acquainted with the state of parties, and the bearings of each character." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 96.

461

"Napoleon effected the 18th of Brumaire without admitting Fouché into the secret." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 66. – "Buonaparte was too cunning to let me into the secret of his means of execution, and to place himself at the mercy of a single man; but he said enough to me to win my confidence, and to persuade me that the destinies of France were in his hands." – Fouché, tom. i., p. 98.

462

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 74.

463

"Moreau, who had been at the dinner of the Legislative Body, and with whom Napoleon had there, for the first time, become acquainted, having learned from public report that a change was in preparation, assured Napoleon that he placed himself at his disposal, that he had no wish to be admitted into any secret, and that he required but one hour's notice to prepare himself. Macdonald, who happened then to be at Paris, had made the same tenders of service." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 77.

464

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 78. For some curious historical notes on the 18th Brumaire, furnished to Sir Walter Scott by a distinguished authority, and of which great, although unacknowledged, use has since been made by M. Bourrienne, see Appendix to this volume, No. VIII (#pgepubid00039).

465

Afterwards Third Consul, Arch-Treasurer, and Duke of Placentia.

466

Buonaparte afterwards made Cornet a member of the Conservative Senate and grand officer of the Legion of Honour. On the restoration of the Bourbons, he became a peer of France. – See his "Notice Historique," published in 1819.

467

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 78.

468

"The messenger found the avenues filled with officers: Napoleon had the folding doors opened; and his house being too small to contain so many persons, he came forward on the steps in front of it, received the compliments of the officers, harangued them, and told them that he relied upon them all for the salvation of France. Enthusiasm was at its height: all the officers drew their swords, and promised their services and fidelity." – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 80.

469

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 85.

470

Lacretelle, tom. xiv., p. 413; Thiers, tom. x., p. 370; Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 264; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 82.

471

Lacretelle, tom. xiv., p. 415.

472

"Then all at once concluding his harangue, in a calm tone he added, 'This state of things cannot last; it would lead us in three years to despotism.'" – Mad. de Staël, tom. ii., p. 224; Thiers, tom. x., p. 376; Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 265.

473

Letter to the Directory. – See Gourgaud, tom. i., Appendix, p. 336.

474

"Fouché made great professions of attachment and devotion. He had given directions for closing the barriers, and preventing the departure of couriers and coaches. 'Why, good God?' said the general to him, 'wherefore all these precautions? We go with the nation, and by its strength alone: let no citizen be disturbed, and let the triumph of opinion have nothing in common with the transactions of days in which a factious minority prevailed.'" – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 87.

475

Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 86.

476

The women of lower rank who attended the debates of the Council, plying the task of knitting while they listened to politics, were so denominated. They were always zealous democrats, and might claim in one sense Shakspeare's description of

"The free maids who weave their thread with bones." – S.

477

"The recommendation was a wise one; but Napoleon thought himself too strong to need any such precaution. 'I swore in the morning,' said he, 'to protect the national representation; I will not this evening violate my oath.'" – Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 87.