XXIV.

1797.

CHAP. Treaty of Campo Formio ratified by the Emperor.* As soon as the happiness of France is secured by the best organic laws, the whole of Europe will be free." The Directory, by the voice of Barras, returned an inflated reply, in which they invited him to strive for the acquisition of fresh laurels, and pointed to the 368. Nap. shores of Great Britain as the place where they were to be gathered.'

Th. ix.

iv. 283,

284.

On this occasion, General Joubert, and the chief of the staff, Andreossi, bore the magnificent standard which the Directory had given to the Army of Italy, and which contained an enumeration of triumphs so wonderful, that it would have passed for fabulous in any other age. It was sufficient to intoxicate all the youth of France with the passion for military glory. This fête was followed by others,

* Napoleon had added these words in this place :-" That peace secures the liberty, the prosperity, and glory of the Republic;" but these words were struck out by order of the Directory: a sufficient proof of their disapproval of his conduct in signing it, and one of the many inducements which led him to turn his face to the East.-See HARD. v. 74.

† It bore these words :--" The Army of Italy has made 150,000 prisoners; it has taken 170 standards, 500 pieces of heavy artillery, 600 field-pieces; 5 pontoon trains, 9 ships of the line, 12 frigates, 12 corvettes, 18 galleys. Armistice with the Kings of Sardinia, Naples, the Dukes of Parma, Modena, and the Pope. Preliminaries of Leoben, Convention of Montebello with Genoa. Treaty of Tolentino. Treaty of Campo- Formio. It has given freedom to the people of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Massa-Carrara, Romagna, Lombardy, Brescia, Bergamo, Mantua, Cremona, a part of the Veronese, Chiavenna, Bormio, and the Valteline; to the people of Genoa, the Imperial Fiefs, Cor Cyra, and Ithaca. Sent to Paris the chefs-d'auvres of Michael Angelo, Guercino, Titian, Paul Veronese, Correggio, Albano, the Carraccis, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, &c. Triumphed in 18 pitched battles; Montenotte, Millessimo, Mondovi, Lodi; Borghetto, Lonato, Castiglione, Roveredo, Bassano, St George's, Fontana Viva, Caldiero, Arcola, Rivoli, La Favorite, the Tagliamento, Tarwis, Newmarkt; and then followed the names of 67 combats or lesser engagements." The legions of Cæsar had not, in so short a time, so splendid a roll of achievements to exhibit.

2

XXIV.

1797.

given by the legislative body and the minister of foreign affairs. Napoleon appeared at all these, but they were foreign to his disposition; and he retired, as soon as politeness would permit, to his own house. At that given by M. Talleyrand, which was distinguished by the good taste and elegance which prevailed, he was asked by Madame de Staël, in presence of a numerous circle, who was, in his opinion, the greatest woman that ever existed?“ She,” he replied, "who has had the greatest number of children;" an answer very different from what she anticipated, and singularly characteristic of his opinions on female influence. At the Institute, he was to be seen always seated between Lagrange and Laplace, wholly occupied in appearance with the abstract sciences. To a deputation of that learned body, he returned an answer:-"I am highly honoured with the approbation of the distinguished men who compose the Institute. I know well that I must long be their scholar before I become their equal. The true conquests, the only ones which do not cause a tear, are those which are gained over ignorance. The most honourable, as well as the most useful, occupation of men is, to contribute to the extension of ideas. The true power of the French Republic should henceforth consist in this, that not a single new idea should exist which does not owe its birth to their exertions." But it was only for the approbation of these illustrious men that he appeared solicitous; he was never seen in the streets; went only to a concealed box in the opera; and when he assumed the reins of power, Nap. iv. after his return from Egypt, his appearance was still 285, 286. unknown to the greater part of the inhabitants of 32. Bour. Paris.1

But Napoleon's was not a disposition to remain satisfied with past glory: the future, yet higher,

Savary, i.

ii. 33.

XXIV.

1797.

private

gard to his

future life.

CHAP. achievements filled his mind. He knew well the ephemeral nature of popular applause, and how necessary mystery, or a succession of great actions, is Napoleon's to prolong its transports. They do not long previews in re- serve at Paris," said he to his intimate friends, "the remembrance of any thing. If I remain long unemployed, I am undone. The renown of one in this great Babylon speedily supplants that of another. If I am seen three times at the opera, I will no longer be an object of curiosity. You need not talk of the desire of the citizens to see me: crowds at least as great would go to see me led out to the scaffold." He made an effort to obtain a dispensation of the law which required the age of forty for one of the Directory; but failing in that attempt, his whole thoughts and passions centered in the East, the original theatre of his visions of glory. "Bourrienne," said he, " I am determined not to remain in Paris; there is nothing here to be done. It is impossible to fix the attention of the people. If I remain longer inactive, I am undone. Every thing here passes away; my glory is already declining; this little corner of Europe is too small to supply it. We must go to the East; all the great men of the world have there acquired their celebrity. Nevertheless, I am willing to make a tour to the coasts with yourself, Lannes, and Solkowsky. Should the expedition to Britain prove, as I much fear it will, too hazardous, the Army of England will become the Army of the East, and we will go to Egypt." These words give a just idea of the character of Napoleon. Glory was his ruling passion; nothing appeared impossible where it was to be won. The great names of Alexander, Cæsar, and Hannibal, haunted his imagination; disregarding the lapse of 2000 years, he fixed his rivalry on those classical heroes, whose exploits

CHAP.
XXIV.

1797.

have shed a lustre over the annals of antiquity. While thus sustaining his reputation, and inscribing his name on the eternal monuments of Egyptian grandeur, he hoped to be still within reach of the march of events in Europe, and ready to assume that despotic command, which he already foresaw would be soon called for by the incapacity of the Directory Bour. ii. and the never-ending distractions of democratic in- Lac. xiv. stitutions.'

32, 35.

139.

of the Di

to get quit

Prepara

England.

In truth, the Directory, secretly alarmed at the reputation of the Conqueror of Italy, eagerly sought, Secret views under the splendid colouring of a descent on Eng- rectory. land, an opportunity of ridding themselves of so for- Their desire midable a rival. An extraordinary degree of acti- of Napoleon. vity prevailed in all the harbours, not only of France tions for a and Holland, but of Spain and Italy; the fleets at descent on Cadiz and Toulon were soon in a condition to put to sea; that at Brest, only awaited, to all appearance, their arrival to issue forth, and form a preponderating force in the Channel, where the utmost exertions were making to construct and equip flat-bottomed boats for the conveyance of the land-troops. Means were soon collected in the northern harbours for the transport of 60,000 men. Meanwhile great part of the armies of the Rhine were brought down to the maritime districts, and lined the shores of France and Holland, from Brest to the Texel nearly 150,000 men were stationed on these coasts, under the name of the Army of England. This immense force might have occasioned great disquietude to the British government, had it been supported by a powerful navy; but the battles of St Vincents and Camperdown relieved them of all apprehensions of a descent by these numerous enemies. It does not appear that the Directory then entertained any serious thoughts of carrying the invasion

;

XXIV.

1797.

38. Lac.

xiv. 138,

ii. 165.

Pompous speech of Barras on giving him the command of the Army of

into early execution; although the troops were encamped in the maritime departments, no immediate preparation for embarkation had been made. However, their language breathed nothing but menaces: Napoleon was appointed commander-inchief of the Army of England, and he was despatched on a mission to the coasts to superintend the com1 Bour. ii. pletion of the armament.' "Crown," said Barras, "so illustrious a life, by a conquest, which the great 139. Nap. nation owes to its outraged dignity. Go, and by the punishment of the cabinet of London, strike terror into the hearts of all who would miscalculate the powers of a free people. Let the conquerors of the Po, the Rhine, and the Tiber march under your banners; the ocean will be proud to bear them; it is a slave still England. indignant, who blushes for his fetters. He invokes, in a voice of thunder, the wrath of the earth against the oppressor of the waves. Pompey did not esteem it beneath him to wield the power of Rome against the pirates: Go and chain the monster who presses on the seas; go and punish in London the injured rights of humanity. Hardly will the tricolor standard wave on the blood-stained shores of the Thames, ere a unanimous cry will bless your arrival, and that generous nation, perceiving the dawn of its felicity, will receive you as liberators, who come not to combat and enslave, but to put a period to its calamities." Under these high-sounding declamations, Real views however, all parties concealed different intentions. Immense preparations were made in Italy and the south of France, the whole naval resources of the Mediterranean were put in requisition, the élite of the army of Italy moved to Toulon, Genoa, and Civita Vecchia. The Directory were more desirous to see Napoleon engulfed in the sands of Lybia, than conquering on the banks of the Thames ;

of both par

ties.

very