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Page 42
"I told him, without any ceremony, that I should be happy to come and take
a cup of coffee with him in the morning. He seemed pleased. What do you
think of that, Bourrienne?"--"Why, General, I hope you may have reason on
your part to be pleased with him."--" Never fear, never fear. I know
what I am about. This will compromise him with Gohier. Remember, you
must always meet your enemies with a bold face, otherwise they think they
are feared, and that gives them confidence."
Bonaparte stepped into the carriage with Josephine, who was always ready
when she had to go out with him, for he did not like to wait. They
proceeded first to Bernadotte's to breakfast, and from thence to
Mortfontaine. On his return Bonaparte told me very little about what had
passed during the day, and I could see that he was not in the best of
humours. I afterwards learned that Bonaparte had conversed a good deal
with Bernadotte, and that he had made every effort to render himself
agreeable, which he very well knew how to do when he chose! but that, in
spite of all his conversational talent; and supported as he was by the
presence of his three brothers, and Regnault de St. Jean d'Angely, he
could not withstand the republican firmness of Bernadotte. However, the
number of his partisans daily augmented; for all had not the
uncompromising spirit of Bernadotte; and it will soon be seen that Moreau
himself undertook charge of the Directors who were made prisoners on the
18th Brumaire.
Bernadotte's shrewd penetration made him one of the first to see clearly
into Bonaparte's designs. He was well convinced of his determination to
overthrow the constitution and possess himself of power. He saw the
Directory divided into two parties; the one duped by the promises and
assurances of Bonaparte, and the other conniving with him for the
accomplishment of his plans. In these circumstances Bernadotte offered
his services to all persons connected with the Government who, like
himself, were averse to the change which he saw good reason to apprehend.
But Bonaparte was not the man to be outdone in cunning or activity; and
every moment swelled the ranks of his adherents.
On the 16th Brumaire I dined in the Rue de la Victoire. Bernadotte was
present, and I believe General Jourdan also. While the grand conspiracy
was hastening to its accomplishment Madame Bonaparte and I had contrived
a little plot of a more innocent kind. We let no one into our secret,
and our 16th Brumaire was crowned with complete success. We had agreed
to be on the alert to prevent any fresh exchange of angry words. All
succeeded to the utmost of our wishes. The conversation languished
during dinner; but it was not dulness that we were afraid of. It turned
on the subject of war, and in that vast field Bonaparte's superiority
over his interlocutors was undeniable.
When we retired to the drawing-rooms a great number of evening visitors
poured in, and the conversation then became animated, and even gay.
Bonaparte was in high spirits. He said to some one, smiling, and
pointing to Bernadotte, "You are not aware that the General yonder is a
Chouan."--"A Chouan?" repeated Bernadotte, also in a tone of pleasantry.
"Ah! General you contradict yourself. Only the other day you taxed me
with favouring the violence of the friends of the Republic, and now you
accuse me of protecting the Chouans.
--[The "Chouans," so called from their use of the cry of the
screech-owl (chathouan) as a signal, were the revolted peasants of
Brittany and of Maine.]--
"You should at least be consistent." A few moments after, availing
himself of the confusion occasioned by the throng of visitors, Bernadotte
slipped off.
As a mark of respect to Bonaparte the Council of the Five Hundred
appointed Lucien its president. The event proved how important this
nomination was to Napoleon. Up to the 19th Brumaire, and especially on
that day, Lucien evinced a degree of activity, intelligence, courage, and
presence of mind which are rarely found united in one individual I have
no hesitation in stating that to Lucien's nomination and exertions must
be attributed the success of the 19th Brumaire.
The General had laid down a plan of conduct from which he never deviated
during the twenty-three days which intervened between his arrival in
Paris and the 18th Brumaire. He refused almost all private invitations,
in order to avoid indiscreet questions, unacceptable offers, and answers
which might compromise him.
It was not without some degree of hesitation that he yielded to a project
started by Lucien, who, by all sorts of manoeuvring, had succeeded in
prevailing on a great number of his colleagues to be present at a grand
subscription dinner to be given to Bonaparte by the Council of the
Ancients.
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