XXIII. 1796. Abortive at CHAP, hope that the troops in the camp at Grenelle, who had so firmly resisted the seductions of the democratic, might be more inclined to aid the exertions of the monarchical, party. Their conspiracy, however, destitute of any aid in the legislative bodies, though numerously supported by the population of Paris, proved abortive. Its leaders were Brotier, an old counsellor in Parliament, Lavillehournois, and Dutempt of the nau. They made advances to Malo, the captain of dragoons who had resisted the seductions of the Jacobins, but he was equally inaccessible to the offers of the Royalists, and delivered up their leaders to the Directory. They were handed over to the civil tribunal, who, being unwilling to renew the reign of blood, humanely suffered them to escape with a short imprisonment.' Royalists. Mig. ii. 416. Th. ix. 28. Singular manners of this period The manners of 1795 and 1796 were different from any which had yet prevailed in France, and exhibited a singular specimen of the love of order in France. and the spirit of elegance, regaining their ascendant over a nation which had lost its nobility, its religion, and its morals. The total destruction of fortunes of every description during the Revolution, and the complete ruin of paper money, reduced every one to the necessity of doing something for himself, and restored commerce to its pristine form of barter. The saloons of fashion were converted into magazines of stuffs, where ladies of the highest rank engaged, during the day, in the drudgery of trade, to maintain their families or relations, while in the evening the reign of pleasure and amusement was resumed. In the midst of the wreck of ancient opulence, modern wealth began to display its luxury; the Fauxbourg St Antoine, the seat of manufactures, the Fauxbourg St Germain, the abode of rank, remained deserted, but in the quarter of the Chaussée d'An XXIII. 1796. tin, and in the Boulevard Italien, the riches of the CHAP. bankers, and of those who had made fortunes in the Revolution, began to shine with unprecedented lustre. Splendid hotels, sumptuously furnished in the Grecian taste, which had now become the fashion, were embellished by magnificent fétes, where all that was left of elegance in France by the Revolution assembled, to indulge the new-born passion for enjoyment. The dresses of the women were carried to extravagance, in the Grecian style; and the excessive nudity which they exhibited, while it proved fatal to many persons of youth and beauty, contributed, by the novel aspect of the charms which were presented to the public eye, to increase the general enchantment. The assemblies of Barras, in particular, were remarkable for their magnificence; but, in the general confusion of ranks and characters which they presented, afforded too clear an indica- 1 Th. viii. tion of the universal destruction of the ancient land- 180. Lac. marks in morals, as well as society, which the Revo- D'Abr. ii lution had effected. 1 In these assemblies were to be seen the elements out of which the Imperial court was afterwards formed The young officers who had risen to eminence in the Republican armies, began here to break through the rigid circle of aristocratic etiquette; and the mixture of characters and ideas which the Revolution had produced, rendered the style of conversation incomparably more varied and animating than any thing which had been known under the ancient régime. In a few years the world had lived through centuries of knowledge. There was to be seen Hoche, not yet twenty-seven years of age, who had recently extinguished the war in La Vendée, and whose handsome figure, brilliant xiii. 34, 35. 44, 64. XXIII. 1796. CHAP. talents, and rising glory, rendered him the idol of women even of aristocratic habits; while the thoughtful air, energetic conversation, and eagle eye of Napoleon, already, to persons of discernment, foretold no ordinary destinies. The beauty of Madame Tallien was still in its zenith; while the grace of Madame Beauharnois, and the genius of Madame de Staël, threw a lustre over the reviving society of the capital, which had been unknown since the fall of the monarchy. The illustrious men of the age, for the most part, at this period selected their partners for life from the brilliant circle by which they were surrounded; and never did such destinies depend on the decision or caprice of the moment. Madame Permon, a lady of rank and singular attractions, from Corsica, in whose family Napoleon had from infancy been intimate, and whose daughter afterwards became Duchess of Abrantes, refused in one morning the hand of Napoleon for herself, that of his brother Joseph for her daughter, and that of his sister Pauline for her son. She little thought that she was 1 D'Abr. ii. declining for herself the throne of Charlemagne ; 44, 48. Th. for her daughter, that of Charles V., and for her son, the most beautiful princess in Europe.' viii. 181, 182. elections is preparing a catastrophe. But the passions raised were too violent, the But the re. Wounds inflicted too profound, for society to relapse, sult of the without farther convulsions, into a state of repose, and France was again destined to undergo the horrors of Jacobin rule, before she settled down under the despotism of the sword. The Directory was essentially democratic; but the first elections having taken place during the excitement produced by the suppression of the revolt of the sections at Paris, and two-thirds of the councils being composed of the members of the old Convention, the legislature was, XXIII. 1797. in the new elections. in that respect, in harmony with the executive. But CHAP. the elections of the year 1797, when one-third of both were changed, produced a total alteration in the balance of parties in the state. These elec- May, 1797. The Royaltions, for the most part, turned out favourable to ists prevail the Royalist interest; and so far did the members of that party carry hostility to the Jacobins, that they questioned all the candidates in many of the provinces as to whether they were holders of the national domains, or had ever been engaged in the Revolution, or in any of the public journals, and instantly rejected all who answered affirmatively to any of these questions. The reaction against the Revolution was soon extremely powerful over the whole departments. The Royalists, perceiving, from the turn of the elections, that they would acquire a majority, soon gained the energy of victory. The multitude, ever ready to follow the victorious party, ranged themselves on their side, while an hundred journals thundered forth their declamations against the government, without its venturing to invoke the aid of the sanguinary law, which affixed the punishment of death against all offences tending towards a restoration of royalty. The avowed corruption, profligacy, and unmeasured ambition of Barras, and the majority of the Directory, strongly contributed to increase the reaction throughout the country. The result of the elections was such that a great majority in both Councils was in the Royal- 421, 422. ist or anti-conventional interest; and the strength 16. Nap. iv. of the Republican party lay solely in the Directory 36 D'Abr. and the army.' The first act of the new Assembly, or rather of the assembly with its new third of members, was to choose a successor to the director, Letourneur, upon whom 1 Mign. ii. Lac. xiv. 216. Th. ix. ii. 120. CHAP. 1797. is chosen a lieu of Le the lot had fallen of retiring from the government. The choice fell on Barthelemy, the minister who had concluded the peace with Prussia and Spain; a reBarthelemy spectable man, of Royalist principles. Pichegru, Director in deputy of the Jura, was, amidst loud acclamations, tourneur, appointed president of the Council of Five Hundred: Barbe Marbois, also a Royalist, president of the Council of the Ancients. Almost all the ministry were changed, and the Directory was openly divided into two parties; the majority, consisting of Rewbell, Barras, and Lariveillere; the minority of Barthelemy and Carnot.1 and joins Carnot. 1 Th. ix. 165. Nap. iv. 216. Club of Clichy. Club of Republi cans. The chief strength of the Royalist party lay in the Club of Clichy, which acquired as preponderating an influence at this epoch as that of the Jacobins had done at an earlier stage of the Revolution. Few among their number were in direct communication with the Royalists, but they were all animated with hatred at the Jacobins, and an anxious desire to prevent their regaining their ascendency in the government. The opposite side assembled at the Salm of the Club of Salm, where was arrayed the strength of the Republicans, the Directory, and the army. Carnot, though a steady Republican, was inclined to join the Royalist party from his love of freedom, and his rooted aversion to violent measures. Steadily pursuing what he conceived to be the public good, he had, during the crisis of the Reign of Terror, supported the dictatorial, and now, when the danger to freedom was over, he strove to regain the legal régime. The opposite factions soon became so exasperated, Mign. ii. that they mutually aimed at supplanting each other 425, Nap. by means of a revolution; a neutral party, headed Th. by Thibaudeau, strove to prevent matters coming to extremities; but, as usual in such circumstances, iv. 217, 218. ix. 165, 166. |