_General rejoicing on the return of Buonaparte--Advances made to
him on all sides--Napoleon coalesces with Siêyes--Revolution of
the 18th Brumaire (Nov. 9)--Clashing Views of the Councils of
Ancients, and the Five Hundred--Barras and his Colleagues
resign--Proceedings of the Councils on the 18th--and
19th--Sittings removed from Paris to St. Cloud--Commotion in the
Council of Five Hundred--Napoleon menaced and assaulted, and
finally, extricated by his Grenadiers--Lucien Buonaparte, the
President, retires from the Hall--Declares the Council
dissolved--Provisional Consular Government of Buonaparte,
Siêyes, and Ducos._
[Sidenote: PARIS.]
Buonaparte had caused himself to be preceded by an account of his
campaigns in Africa and Asia, in which the splendid victory over the
Turks at Aboukir enabled him to gloss over his bad success in Syria, the
total loss of his fleet, and the danger of Malta, which was closely
besieged by the English. Still, however, these despatches could never
have led any one to expect the sudden return of a general engaged on a
foreign service of the utmost importance, who, without having a better
reason to allege, than his own opinion that his talents were more
essential to his country in France than in Egypt, left his army to its
fate, and came, without either order or permission from his government,
to volunteer his services where they were not expected, or perhaps
wished for. Another in the same circumstances, or perhaps the same
general at another period of the Revolution, would have been received by
the public with alienated favour, and by the government with severe
inquiry, if not with denunciation.
On the contrary, such was the general reliance on the talents of
Buonaparte, that, delighted to see him arrive, no one thought of asking
wherefore, or by whose authority he had returned. He was received like a
victorious monarch re-entering his dominions at his own time and
pleasure. Bells were everywhere rung, illuminations made, a delirium of
joy agitated the public mind, and the messenger who carried the news of
his disembarkation to Paris, was received as if he had brought news of a
battle gained.[448]
The hall of the Council of Five Hundred re-echoed with cries of victory,
while the orator, announcing the victories of Brune over the English,
and Massena over the Russians, dwelt upon the simple fact of
Buonaparte's return, as of interest equal to all these successes. He was
heard with shouts of "Long live the Republic!" which, as the event
proved, was an exclamation but very indifferently adapted to the
occasion.
Josephine, and Joseph Buonaparte, apprised by the government of the
arrival of Napoleon, hastened to meet him on the road; and his progress
towards Paris was everywhere attended by the same general acclamations
which had received him at landing.[449]
The members of Government, it must be supposed, felt alarm and anxiety,
which they endeavoured to conceal under the appearance of sharing in
the general joy.[450] The arrival of a person so influential by his
fame, so decided in his character, engaged with no faction, and pledged
to no political system, was likely to give victory to one or the other
party who were contending for superiority, as he should himself
determine. The eyes of all men were upon Napoleon, while his reserved
and retired mode of life prevented any accurate anticipation being
formed of the part which he was likely to take in the approaching
convulsions of the state.[451] While both parties might hope for his
participation and succour, neither ventured to call into question his
purpose, or the authority by which he had left his army in Egypt, and
appeared thus unexpectedly in the capital. On the contrary, they courted
him on either hand as the arbiter, whose decision was likely to have
most influence on the state of the nation.[452]
Napoleon, meanwhile, seemed to give his exclusive attention to
literature, and, having exchanged the usual visits of form with the
ministers of the Republic, he was more frequently to be found at the
Institute, or discussing with the traveller Volney, and other men of
letters, the information which he had acquired in Egypt on science and
antiquities, than in the haunts of politicians, or the society of the
leaders of either party in the state. Neither was he to be seen at the
places of popular resort: he went into no general company, seldom
attended the theatres, and, when he did, took his seat in a private
box.[453]
A public entertainment was given in honour of the general in the church
of St. Sulpice, which was attended by both the Legislative Bodies.
Moreau shared the same honour, perhaps on that account not the more
agreeable to Buonaparte. Jourdan and Augereau did not appear--a cloud
seemed to hang over the festival--Napoleon only presented himself for a
very short time, and the whole was over in the course of an hour.[454]
To the military, his conduct seemed equally reserved--he held no levees,
and attended no reviews. While all ranks contended in offering their
tribute of applause, he turned in silence from receiving them.[455]
In all this there was deep policy. No one knew better how much popular
applause depends on the gloss of novelty, and how great is the
difference in public estimation, betwixt him who appears to hunt and
court acclamations, and the wiser and more dignified favourite of the
multitude, whose popularity follows after him and seeks him out, instead
of being the object of his pursuit and ambition. Yet under this still
and apparently indifferent demeanour, Napoleon was in secret employed in
collecting all the information necessary concerning the purposes and the
powers of the various parties in the state; and as each was eager to
obtain his countenance, he had no difficulty in obtaining full
explanations on these points.
[Sidenote: STATE OF PARTIES.]
The violent Republicans, who possessed the majority in the Council of
Five Hundred, made advances to him; and the generals Jourdan, Augereau,
and Bernadotte, offered to place him at the head of that party, provided
he would maintain the democratical constitution of the year Three.[456]
In uniting with this active and violent party, Buonaparte saw every
chance of instant and immediate success; but, by succeeding in the
outset, he would probably have marred the farther projects of ambition
which he already nourished. Military leaders, such as Jourdan and
Bernadotte, at the head of a party so furious as the Republicans, could
not have been thrown aside without both danger and difficulty: and it
being unquestionably the ultimate intention of Buonaparte to usurp the
supreme power, it was most natural for him to seek adherents among
those, who, though differing concerning the kind of government which
should be finally established, concurred in desiring a change from the
republican model.
Barras, too, endeavoured to sound the purposes of the general of the
army of Egypt. He hinted to him a plan of placing at the head of the
Directory Hedouville,[457] a man of ordinary talent, then general of
what was still termed the Army of England, of retiring himself from
power, and of conferring on Napoleon the general command of the
Republican forces on the frontiers, which he vainly supposed preferment
sufficient to gratify his ambition.[458] Buonaparte would not listen to
a hint which went to remove him from the capital, and the supreme
administration of affairs--he knew also that Barras's character was
contemptible, and his resources diminished--that his subsequent conduct
had cancelled the merit which he had acquired by the overthrow of
Robespierre, and that to unite with him in any degree would be to adopt,
in the public opinion, the very worst and most unpopular portion of the
Directorial Government. He rejected the alliance of Barras, therefore,
even when, abandoning his own plan, the director offered to concur in
any which Napoleon might dictate.
A union with Siêyes, and the party whom he influenced, promised greater
advantages. Under this speculative politician were united for the time
all who, though differing in other points, joined in desiring a final
change from a revolutionary to a moderate and efficient government,
bearing something of a monarchical character. Their number rendered this
party powerful. In the Directory it was espoused by Siêyes and Ducos; it
possessed a large majority in the Council of Ancients, and a respectable
minority in that of the Five Hundred. The greater part of the middling
classes throughout France, embraced with more or less zeal the
principles of moderation; and agreed, that an executive government of
some strength was necessary to save them from the evils of combined
revolutionary movements. Though the power of the Moderates was great,
yet their subsequent objects, in case of success, were various. Thus
Buonaparte saw himself encouraged to hope for victory over the existing
government and the Republicans by the united strength of the Moderates
of every class, whilst their difference in opinion concerning the
ultimate measures to be adopted, afforded him the best opportunity of
advancing, during the competition, his own pretensions to the larger
share of the spoil.[459]
Napoleon communicated accordingly with Siêyes, upon the understanding
that he was to be raised to the principal administration of affairs;
that the constitution of the year Three, which he himself had once
pronounced "the masterpiece of legislation, which had abolished the
errors of eighteen centuries," was entirely to be done away; and that a
constitution was to be adopted in its stead, of which he knew nothing
more, than that it was ready drawn up, and lay in the portfolio of
Siêyes. No doubt, the general mentally reserved the right of altering
and adjusting it as it should best suit his own views,--a right which he
failed not to exercise to a serious extent. When these great
preliminaries had been adjusted, it was agreed that it should be
executed between the 15th and 20th Brumaire.
In the interim, several men of influence of both councils were admitted
into the secret. Talleyrand, who had been deprived of office by the
influence of the Republicans, brought his talents to the aid of
Buonaparte.[460] Fouché, according to Napoleon, was not consulted--the
Memoirs which bear his name aver the contrary--it is certain, that in
his important capacity of minister of police, he acted in Buonaparte's
favour during the revolution.[461] Some leading members of both
legislative bodies were cautiously intrusted with what was going
forward, and others were generally advised to hold themselves in
readiness for a great movement.
A sufficient military force was next to be provided; and this was not
difficult, for the reputation of Buonaparte ensured the conspirators
unlimited influence among the soldiery. Three regiments of dragoons were
enthusiastically petitioning the honour of being reviewed by Napoleon.
The adherence of these troops might be counted upon. The officers of the
garrison of Paris were desirous to pay their respects to him; so were
the forty adjutants of the national guard, whom he himself had appointed
when general of the troops in the interior. Many other officers, as well
reduced as holding commissions, desired to see the celebrated general,
that they might express their devotion to his person, and adherence to
his fortunes. All these introductions had been artfully postponed.[462]
Two men of more renowned name, Moreau and Macdonald,[463] had made
tenders of service to Buonaparte. These both favoured the moderate
party, and had no suspicion of the ultimate design of Napoleon or the
final result of his undertaking.
A final resolution on 15th Brumaire determined the 18th (9th November)
for the great attempt--an interval was necessary, but the risk of
discovery and anticipation made it desirable that it should be as short
as possible. The secret was well kept; yet being unavoidably intrusted
to many persons, some floating and vague rumours did get abroad, and
gave an alarm to the parties concerned.
[Sidenote: THE EIGHTEENTH BRUMAIRE.]
Meanwhile, all the generals and officers whom we have named, were
invited to repair to Napoleon's house at six o'clock on the morning of
the 18th Brumaire, and the three regiments of cavalry already mentioned
were appointed to be ready and mounted in the Champs Elysées, to receive
the honour of being reviewed by Buonaparte, according to their petition.
As an excuse for assigning so unusual an hour of rendezvous, it is said
that the general was obliged to set out upon a journey. Many officers,
however, understood or guessed what was to be done, and came armed with
pistols as well as with swords. Some were without such information or
presentiment. Lefebvre, the commandant of the guard of the
Representative Bodies, supposed to be devoted to the Directory, had only
received an invitation to attend this military assembly on the preceding
midnight. Bernadotte, unacquainted with the project, and attached to the
Republican faction, was, however, brought to Buonaparte's house by his
brother Joseph.[464]
The surprise of some, and the anxious curiosity of all, may be supposed,
when they found a military levee so numerous and so brilliant assembled
at a house incapable of containing half of them. Buonaparte was obliged
to receive them in the open air. Leaving them thus assembled, and
waiting their cue to enter on the stage, let us trace the political
manœuvres from which the military were to take the signal for action.
Early as Buonaparte's levee had taken place, the Council of Ancients,
secretly and hastily assembled, had met still earlier. The ears of all
were filled by a report, generally circulated, that the Republican party
had formed a daring plan for giving a new popular impulse to the
government. It was said, that the resolution was taken at the Hôtel de
Salm, amongst the party who still adopted the principles of the old
Jacobins, to connect the two representative bodies into one National
Assembly, and invest the powers of government in a Committee of Public
Safety, after the model of what was called the Reign of Terror.
Circulated hastily, and with such addition to the tale as rumours
speedily acquire, the mind of the Council of Ancients was agitated with
much fear and anxiety. Cornudet, Lebrun,[465] and Fargues, made glowing
speeches to the Assembly, in which the terror that their language
inspired was rendered greater by the mysterious and indefinite manner in
which they expressed themselves. They spoke of personal danger--of being
overawed in their deliberations--of the fall of liberty, and of the
approaching destruction of the Republic. "You have but an instant to
save France," said Cornudet; "permit it to pass away, and the country
will be a mere carcass, disputed by the vultures, whose prey it must
become." Though the charge of conspiracy was not distinctly defined, the
measures recommended to defeat it were sufficiently decisive.
By the 102d, 103d, and 104th articles of the Constitution, it was
provided, that the Council of Ancients might, if they saw it expedient,
alter the place where the legislative bodies met, and convoke them
elsewhere; a provision designed, doubtless, to prevent the exercise of
that compulsion, which the Parisians had at one time assumed over the
National Assembly and Convention. This power the Council of Ancients now
exercised. By one edict the sittings of the two councils were removed to
St. Cloud; by another, the Council delegated to General Buonaparte full
power to see this measure carried into effect, and vested him for that
purpose with the military command of the department. A state messenger,
the deputy Cornet,[466] was sent to communicate to the general these
important measures, and require his presence in the Council of Ancients;
and this was the crisis which he had so anxiously expected.[467]
A few words determined the numerous body of officers, by whom the
messenger found him surrounded, to concur with him without scruple. Even
General Lefebvre, who commanded the guard of the legislative bodies,
declared his adhesion to Buonaparte.[468]
The Directory had not even yet taken the alarm. Two of them, indeed,
Siêyes and Ducos, being in the secret of the conspiracy, were already at
the Tuileries, to second the movement which was preparing. It is said
that Barras had seen them pass in the morning, and as they were both
mounted, had been much amused with the awkward horsemanship of
Siêyes.[469] He little guessed on what expedition he was bound.
When Buonaparte sallied forth on horseback, and at the head of such a
gallant cavalcade of officers, his first movement was to assume the
command of the three regiments of cavalry, already drawn up in the
Champs Elysées, and to lead them to the Tuileries, where the Council of
Ancients expected him. He entered their hall surrounded by his military
staff, and by those other generals, whose name carried the memory of so
many victories. "You are the wisdom of the nation," he said to the
Council: "At this crisis it belongs to you to point out the measures
which may save the country. I come, surrounded by the generals of the
Republic, to promise you their support. I name Lefebvre my lieutenant.
Let us not lose time in looking for precedents. Nothing in history ever
resembled the end of the eighteenth century--nothing in the eighteenth
century resembled this moment. Your wisdom has devised the necessary
measure, our arms shall put it into execution."[470] He announced to the
military the will of the Council, and the command with which they had
intrusted him; and it was received with loud shouts.
In the meanwhile the three directors, Barras, Gohier, and Moulins, who
were not in the secret of the morning, began too late to take the alarm.
Moulins proposed to send a battalion to surround the house of
Buonaparte, and make prisoner the general, and whomsoever else they
found there. But they had no longer the least influence over the
soldiery, and had the mortification to see their own personal guard,
when summoned by an aide-de-camp of Buonaparte, march away to join the
forces which he commanded, and leave them defenceless.[471]
Barras sent his secretary, Bottot, to expostulate with Buonaparte. The
general received him with great haughtiness, and publicly before a large
group of officers and soldiers, upbraided him with the reverses of the
country; not in the tone of an ordinary citizen, possessing but his own
individual interest in the fate of a great nation, but like a prince,
who, returning from a distant expedition, finds that in his absence his
deputies have abused their trust, and misruled his dominions. "What have
you done," he said, "for that fine France, which I left you in such a
brilliant condition? I left you peace, I have found war--I left you the
wealth of Italy, I have found taxation and misery. Where are the hundred
thousand Frenchmen whom I have known?--all of them my companions in
glory?--They are dead."[472] It was plain, that even now, when his
enterprise was but commenced, Buonaparte had already assumed that tone,
which seemed to account every one answerable to him for deficiencies in
the public service, and he himself responsible to no one.
Barras, overwhelmed and stunned, and afraid, perhaps, of impeachment for
his alleged peculations, belied the courage which he was once supposed
to possess, and submitted, in the most abject terms, to the will of the
victor. He sent in his resignation, in which he states, "that the weal
of the Republic, and his zeal for liberty alone, could have ever induced
him to undertake the burden of a public office; and that, seeing the
destinies of the Republic were now in the custody of her youthful and
invincible general he gladly resigned his authority."[473] He left Paris
for his country seat, accompanied by a guard of cavalry, which
Buonaparte ordered to attend him, as much, perhaps, to watch his motions
as to do him honour, though the last was the ostensible reason. His
colleagues, Gohier and Moulins, also resigned their office; Siêyes and
Ducos had already set the example; and thus, the whole Constitutional
Executive Council was dissolved, while the real power was vested in
Buonaparte's single person. Cambacérès, minister of justice, Fouché,
minister of police,[474] with all the rest of the administration,
acknowledged his authority accordingly; and he was thus placed in full
possession as well of the civil as of the military power.[475]
The Council of Five Hundred, or rather the Republican majority of that
body, showed a more stubborn temper; and if, instead of resigning,
Barras, Gohier, and Moulins, had united themselves to its leaders, they
might perhaps have given trouble to Buonaparte, successful as he had
hitherto been.
This hostile Council only met at ten o'clock on that memorable day, when
they received, to their surprise, the message intimating that the
Council of Ancients had changed the place of meeting from Paris to St.
Cloud; and thus removed their debates from the neighbourhood of the
populace, over whom the old Jacobinical principles might have retained
influence. The laws as they stood afforded the young Council no means of
evading compliance, and they accordingly adjourned to meet the next day
at St. Cloud, with unabated resolution to maintain the democratical part
of the constitution. They separated amid shouts of "Long live the
Republic and the Constitution!" which were echoed by the galleries. The
_tricoteuses_,[476] and other more zealous attendants on their debates,
resolved to transfer themselves to St. Cloud also, and appeared there in
considerable numbers on the ensuing day, when it was evident the
enterprise of Siêyes and of Buonaparte must be either perfected or
abandoned.
The contending parties held counsel all the evening, and deep into the
night, to prepare for the final contest on the morrow. Siêyes advised,
that forty leaders of the opposition should be arrested;[477] but
Buonaparte esteemed himself strong enough to obtain a decisive victory,
without resorting to any such obnoxious violence. They adjusted their
plan of operations in both Councils, and agreed that the government to
be established should be provisionally intrusted to three Consuls,
Buonaparte, Siêyes, and Ducos. Proper arrangements were made of the
armed force at St. Cloud; and the command was confided to the zeal and
fidelity of Murat. Buonaparte used some interest to prevent Bernadotte,
Jourdan, and Augereau, from attending at St. Cloud the next day, as he
did not expect them to take his part in the approaching crisis. The last
of these seemed rather hurt at the want of confidence which this caution
implied, and said, "What, general! dare you not trust your own little
Augereau?"[478] He went to St. Cloud accordingly.
Some preparations were necessary to put the palace of St. Cloud in
order, to receive the two Councils; the Orangerie being assigned to the
Council of Five Hundred; the Gallery of Mars to that of the Ancients.
In the Council of Ancients, the Modérés, having the majority, were
prepared to carry forward and complete their measures for a change of
government and constitution. But the minority, having rallied after the
surprise of the preceding day, were neither silent nor passive. The
Commission of Inspectors, whose duty it was to convene the Council, were
inculpated severely for having omitted to give information to several
leading members of the minority, of the extraordinary convocation which
took place at such an unwonted hour on the morning preceding. The
propriety, nay the legality, of the transference of the legislative
bodies to St. Cloud, was also challenged. A sharp debate took place,
which was terminated by the appearance of Napoleon, who entered the
hall, and harangued the members by permission of the president. "Citizen
representatives," said he, "you are placed upon a volcano. Let me tell
you the truth with the frankness of a soldier. I was remaining tranquil
with my family, when the commands of the Council of Ancients called me
to arms. I collected my brave military companions, and brought forward
the arms of the country in obedience to you who are the head. We are
rewarded with calumny--they compare me to Cæsar--to Cromwell. Had I
desired to usurp the supreme authority, I have had opportunities to do
so before now. But I swear to you the country has not a more
disinterested patriot. We are surrounded by dangers and by civil war.
Let us not hazard the loss of those advantages for which we have made
such sacrifices--Liberty and Equality."
"And the Constitution!" exclaimed Linglet, a democratic member,
interrupting a speech which seemed to be designedly vague and
inexplicit.
"The Constitution!" answered Buonaparte, giving way to a more natural
expression of his feelings, and avowing his object more clearly than he
had yet dared to do--"It was violated on the eighteenth
Fructidor--violated on the twenty-second Floreal--violated on the
thirtieth Prairial. All parties have invoked it--all have disregarded it
in turn. It can be no longer a means of safety to any one, since it
obtains the respect of no one. Since we cannot preserve the
Constitution, let us at least save Liberty and Equality, the foundations
on which it is erected." He went on in the same strain to assure them,
that for the safety of the Republic he relied only on the wisdom and
power of the Council of Ancients, since in the Council of Five Hundred
were found those men who desired to bring back the Convention, with its
revolutionary committees, its scaffolds, its popular insurrections. "But
I," he said, "will save you from such horrors--I and my brave comrades
at arms, whose swords and caps I see at the door of the hall; and if any
hired orator shall talk of outlawry, I will appeal to the valour of my
comrades, with whom I have fought and conquered for liberty."[479]
The Assembly invited the general to detail the particulars of the
conspiracy to which he had alluded, but he confined himself to a
reference to the testimony of Siêyes and Ducos; and again reiterating
that the Constitution could not save the country, and inviting the
Council of Ancients to adopt some course which might enable them to do
so, he left them, amid cries of "Vive Buonaparte!" loudly echoed by the
military in the courtyard, to try the effect of his eloquence on the
more unmanageable Council of Five Hundred.
The deputies of the younger Council having found the place designed for
their meeting filled with workmen,[480] were for some time in a
situation which seemed to resemble the predicament of the National
Assembly at Versailles, when they took refuge in a tennis-court. The
recollection was of such a nature as inflamed and animated their
resolution, and they entered the Orangerie, when at length admitted, in
no good humour with the Council of Ancients, or with Buonaparte.
Proposals of accommodation had been circulated among them ineffectually.
They would have admitted Buonaparte into the Directory, but refused to
consent to any radical change in the constitution of the year Three.
The debate of the day, remarkable as the last in which the Republican
party enjoyed the full freedom of speech in France, was opened on
nineteenth Brumaire, at two o'clock, Lucien Buonaparte being president.
Gaudin, a member of the moderate party, began by moving, that a
committee of seven members should be formed, to report upon the state of
the Republic; and that measures should be taken for opening a
correspondence with the council of Ancients. He was interrupted by
exclamations and clamour on the part of the majority.
"The Constitution! The Constitution or Death!" was echoed and re-echoed
on every side. "Bayonets frighten us not," said Delbrel; "we are free
men."--"Down with the Dictatorship--no Dictators!" cried other members.
Lucien in vain endeavoured to restore order. Gaudin was dragged from the
tribune; the voice of other Moderates was overpowered by clamour--never
had the party of democracy shown itself fiercer or more tenacious than
when about to receive the death-blow.
"Let us swear to preserve the Constitution of the year Three!" exclaimed
Delbrel; and the applause which followed the proposition was so general,
that it silenced all resistance. Even the members of the moderate
party--nay, Lucien Buonaparte himself--were compelled to take the oath
of fidelity to the Constitution, which he and they were leagued to
destroy.
"The oath you have just taken," said Bigonnet, "will occupy a place in
the annals of history, beside the celebrated vow taken in the
tennis-court. The one was the foundation of liberty, the other shall
consolidate the structure." In the midst of this fermentation, the
letter containing the resignation of Barras was read, and received with
marks of contempt, as the act of a soldier deserting his post in the
time of danger. The moderate party seemed silenced, overpowered, and on
the point of coalescing with the great majority of the Council, when the
clash of arms was heard at the entrance of the apartment. All eyes were
turned to that quarter. Bayonets, drawn sabres, the plumed hats of
general officers and aides-de-camp, and the caps of grenadiers, were
visible without, while Napoleon entered the Orangerie, attended by four
grenadiers belonging to the constitutional guard of the Councils. The
soldiers remained at the bottom of the hall, while he advanced with a
measured step and uncovered, about one-third up the room.
He was received with loud murmurs. "What! drawn weapons, armed men,
soldiers in the sanctuary of the laws!" exclaimed the members, whose
courage seemed to rise against the display of force with which they were
menaced. All the deputies arose, some rushed on Buonaparte, and seized
him by the collar; others called out--"Outlawry--outlawry--let him be
proclaimed a traitor?" It is said that Arena, a native of Corsica like
himself, aimed a dagger at his breast, which was only averted by the
interposition of one of the grenadiers.[481] The fact seems extremely
doubtful, though it is certain that Buonaparte was seized by two or
three members, while others exclaimed, "Was it for this you gained so
many victories?" and loaded him with reproaches. At this crisis a party
of grenadiers rushed into the hall with drawn swords, and extricating
Buonaparte from the deputies, bore him off in their arms breathless with
the scuffle.[482]
It was probably at this crisis that Augereau's faith in his ancient
general's fortune began to totter, and his revolutionary principles to
gain an ascendence over his military devotion. "A fine situation you
have brought yourself into," he said to Buonaparte, who answered
sternly, "Augereau, things were worse at Arcola--Take my advice--remain
quiet, in a short time all this will change."[483] Augereau, whose
active assistance and co-operation might have been at this critical
period of the greatest consequence to the Council, took the hint, and
continued passive.[484] Jourdan and Bernadotte, who were ready to act on
the popular side, had the soldiers shown the least hesitation in
yielding obedience to Buonaparte, perceived no opening of which to avail
themselves.
The Council remained in the highest state of commotion, the general
voice accusing Buonaparte of having usurped the supreme authority,
calling for a sentence of outlawry, or demanding that he should be
brought to the bar. "Can you ask me to put the outlawry of my own
brother to the vote?" said Lucien. But this appeal to his personal
situation and feelings made no impression upon the Assembly, who
continued clamorously to demand the question. At length Lucien flung on
the desk his hat, scarf, and other parts of his official dress. "Let me
be rather heard," he said, "as the advocate of him whom you falsely and
rashly accuse." But his request only added to the tumult. At this moment
a small body of grenadiers, sent by Napoleon to his brother's
assistance, marched into the hall.
They were at first received with applause; for the Council, accustomed
to see the triumph of democratical opinions among the military, did not
doubt that they were deserting their general to range themselves on the
side of the deputies. Their appearance was but momentary--they instantly
left the hall, carrying Lucien in the centre of the detachment.
Matters were now come to extremity on either side. The Council, thrown
into the greatest disorder by these repeated military incursions,
remained in violent agitation, furious against Buonaparte, but without
the calmness necessary to adopt decisive measures.
Meantime, the sight of Napoleon, almost breathless, and bearing marks of
personal violence, excited to the highest the indignation of the
military. In broken words he told them, that when he wished to show them
the road to lead the country to victory and fame, "they had answered him
with daggers."
Cries of resentment arose from the soldiery, augmented when the party
sent to extricate the president brought him to the ranks as to a
sanctuary. Lucien, who seconded his brother admirably, or rather who led
the way in this perilous adventure, mounted on horseback instantly, and
called out, in a voice naturally deep and sonorous, "General, and you,
soldiers! the President of the Council of Five Hundred proclaims to you,
that factious men, with drawn daggers, have interrupted the
deliberations of the Assembly. He authorises you to employ force against
these disturbers--The Assembly of Five Hundred is dissolved!"
Murat, deputed by Buonaparte to execute the commands of Lucien, entered
the Orangerie with drums beating, at the head of a detachment with fixed
bayonets. He summoned the deputies to disperse on their peril, while an
officer of the constitutional guard called out, he could be no longer
answerable for their safety. Cries of fear became now mingled with
vociferations of rage, execrations of abhorrence, and shouts of _Vive la
République_. An officer then mounted the president's seat, and summoned
the representatives to retire. "The General," said he, "has given
orders."
Some of the deputies and spectators began now to leave the hall; the
greater part continued firm, and sustained the shouts by which they
reprobated this military intrusion. The drums at length struck up and
drowned further remonstrance.
"Forward, grenadiers," said the officer who commanded the party. They
levelled their muskets, and advanced as if to the charge. The deputies
seem hitherto to have retained a lingering hope that their persons would
be regarded as inviolable. They now fled on all sides, most of them
jumping from the windows of the Orangerie, and leaving behind them their
official caps, scarfs, and gowns. In a very few minutes the apartments
were entirely clear; and thus, furnishing, at its conclusion, a striking
parallel to the scene which ended the Long Parliament of Charles the
First's time, terminated the last democratical assembly of France.[485]
Buonaparte affirms, that one of the general officers in his suite
offered to take the command of fifty men, and place them in ambush to
fire on the deputies in their flight, which he wisely declined as a
useless and gratuitous cruelty.[486]
[Sidenote: ARENA.]
The result of these violent and extraordinary measures was intimated to
the Council of Ancients; the immediate cause of the expulsion of the
Five Hundred being referred to the alleged violence on the person of
Buonaparte, which was said by one member to have been committed by
Arena, while another exaggerated the charge, by asserting that it was
offered in consequence of Buonaparte's having made disclosure of some
mal-practices of the Corsican deputy while in Italy. The _Moniteur_ soon
after improved this story of Arena and his single poniard, into a party
consisting of Arena, Marquezzi, and other deputies, armed with pistols
and daggers. At other times, Buonaparte was said to have been wounded,
which certainly was not the case. The effect of the example of Brutus
upon a republican, and an Italian to boot, might render the conduct
ascribed to Arena credible enough; but the existence of a party armed
with pocket-pistols and daggers, for the purpose of opposing regular
troops, is too ridiculous to be believed. Arena published a denial of
the attempt;[487] and among the numbers who witnessed the scene no proof
was ever appealed to, save the real evidence of a dagger found on the
floor, and the torn sleeve of a grenadier's coat, circumstances which
might be accounted for many ways. But having served at the time as a
popular apology for the strong measures which had been adopted, the
rumour was not allowed to fall asleep. Thomé, the grenadier, was
declared to have merited well of his country by the Legislative Body,
entertained at dinner by the general, and rewarded with a salute and a
valuable jewel by Josephine. Other reports were put in circulation
concerning the violent purposes of the Jacobins. It was said the ancient
revolutionist, Santerre, was setting a popular movement on foot, in the
Fauxbourg Saint Antoine, and that Buonaparte, through the ex-Director
Moulins, had cautioned him against proceeding in his purpose, declaring,
that if he did, he would have him shot by martial law.
But the truth is, that although there can be no doubt that the popular
party entertained a full purpose of revolutionizing the government anew,
and restoring its republican character, yet they were anticipated and
surprised by the movement of the 18th and 19th Brumaire, which could
not, therefore, in strict language, be justified as a defensive measure.
Its excuse must rest on the proposition which seems undoubted, that
affairs were come to such extremity that a contest was unavoidable, and
that therefore it was necessary for the moderate party to take the
advantage of the first blow, though they exposed themselves in doing so
to the reproach of being called the aggressors in the contest.[488]
The Council of Ancients had expressed some alarm and anxiety about the
employment of military force against the other branch of the
constitutional representation. But Lucien Buonaparte, having succeeded
in rallying around him about a hundred of the council of the juniors,
assumed the character and office of that legislative body, now
effectually purged of all the dissidents, and, as President of the Five
Hundred, gave to the Council of Ancients such an explanation, as they,
nothing loth to be convinced, admitted to be satisfactory. Both councils
then adjourned till the 19th February, 1800, after each had devolved
their powers upon a committee of twenty-five persons, who were
instructed to prepare a civil code against the meeting of the
legislative bodies. A provisional consular government was appointed,
consisting of Buonaparte, Siêyes,[489] and Roger Ducos.
The victory, therefore, of the eighteenth and nineteenth Brumaire, was,
by dint of sword and bayonet, completely secured. It remained for the
conquerors to consider the uses which were to be made of it.
FOOTNOTES:
[448] Thiers, tom. x., p. 346; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 56; Lacretelle,
tom. xiv., p. 385.
[449] "It was not like the return of a citizen to his country, or a
general at the head of a victorious army, but like the triumph of a
sovereign restored to his people."--GOURGAUD, tom. i., p. 57.
[450] "The news of his return caused a general delirium. Baudin, the
deputy from Ardennes, who was really a worthy man, struck with the idea
that Providence had at length sent the man for whom he and his party had
so long searched in vain, died the very same night from excess of
joy."--GOURGAUD, tom. i., p. 59; FOUCHÉ, tom. i., p. 107.
[451] "Having thus arrived in Paris quite unexpectedly, he was in his
own house, in the Rue Chantereine, before any one knew of his being in
the capital. Two hours afterwards, he presented himself to the
Directory, and, being recognised by the soldiers on guard, was announced
by shouts of gladness. All the members of the Directory appeared to
share in the public joy."--GOURGAUD, tom. i., p. 60.
[452] See Mémoires de Gohier, tom. i., pp. 198-212.
[453] 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.
[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.
[478] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 87.
[479] Thibaudeau, tom. i., p. 38; Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 267; Thiers,
tom. x., p. 380; Lacretelle, tom. xiv., p. 424; Gourgaud, tom. i., p.
92.
[480] "So late as two o'clock in the afternoon, the place assigned to
the Council of Five Hundred was not ready. This delay of a few hours was
very unfortunate. The deputies formed themselves into groups in the
garden; their minds grew heated; they sounded one another, interchanged
declarations of the state of their feelings, and organized their
opposition."--GOURGAUD, tom. i., p. 89.
[481] "The Corsican Arena approached the general, and shook him
violently by the collar of his coat. It has been supposed, but without
reason, that he had a poniard to kill him."--MAD. DE STAËL, tom. ii., p
239.
[482] "In the confusion, one of them, named Thomé, was slightly wounded
by the thrust of a dagger, and the clothes of another were cut
through."--Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 95.
[483] Lacretelle, tom. xiv., p. 428; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 91.
[484] The _Moniteur_ is anxious to exculpate Augereau from having taken
any part in favour of the routed party on the nineteenth Brumaire. That
officer, it says, did not join in the general oath of fidelity to the
Constitution of the year Three. The same official paper adds, that on
the evening of the nineteenth, being invited by some of the leading
persons of the democratic faction, to take the military command of their
partisans, he had asked them by way of reply, "Whether they supposed he
would tarnish the reputation he had acquired in the army, by taking
command of wretches like them?" Augereau, it may be remembered, was the
general who was sent by Buonaparte to Paris to act as military chief on
the part of the Directory in the revolution of the 18th Fructidor, in
which the soldiery had willingly followed him. Buonaparte was probably
well pleased to keep a man of his military reputation and resolved
character out of the combat if possible.--S.
[485] Thibaudeau, tom. i., p. 56; Lacretelle, tom. xv., p. 430; Thiers,
tom. x., p. 385; Montgaillard, tom. v., p. 271.
[486] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 97.
[487] "I have heard some of Arena's countrymen declare that he was
incapable of attempting so rash an act. The contrary opinion was,
however, so prevalent, that he was obliged to retire to Leghorn, where
he made an appeal to the justice of the first consul; who gave him no
reply: but I never heard him say that he had noticed the attitude
attributed to Arena."--SAVARY, tom. i., p. 154.
[488] "Metaphysicians have disputed, and will long dispute, whether we
did not violate the laws, and whether we were not criminal; but these
are mere abstractions, at best fit for books and tribunes, and which
ought to disappear before imperious necessity: one might as well blame a
sailor for waste and destruction, when he cuts away his masts to avoid
being overset. The fact is, that had it not been for us the country must
have been lost; and we saved it. The authors and chief agents of that
memorable state transaction may, and ought, instead of denials or
justifications, to answer their accusers proudly, like the Romans, 'We
protest that we have saved our country, come with us and return thanks
to the gods.'"--NAPOLEON, _Las Cases_, tom. iv., p. 331.
[489] "Siêyes, during the most critical moments, had remained in his
carriage at the gate of St. Cloud, ready to follow the march of the
troops. His conduct during the danger was becoming: he evinced coolness,
resolution, and intrepidity."--GOURGAUD, tom. i., p. 100.