January 12d, Paris:

I am working to determine the line along which a water-way can be run to join the Nile and the Red Sea. This waterway once existed, for I have found traces of it at several points.

8th, Cairo:
(Order.) Citoyen Boyer, surgeon, who has been so cowardly as to refuse help to some wounded because they were supposed to be infected, is unworthy of being a French citizen. He is to be dressed in women's clothes, and paraded through the streets of Alexandria on a donkey, with a board on his back, on which shall be written: Unworthy of being a French citizen -- he fears death. After which he is to be placed in prison, and sent back to France by the first ship.

25th. (To Tippoo Sahib.) You have already learned of my arrival on the shores of the Red Sea with an innumerable and invincible army, anxious to free you from the iron yoke of England.

I take the first opportunity of letting you know that I am anxious that you should send me information through Moka and Muscat as to your political situation. I hope you can send to Suez or to Cairo, some able and trustworthy person with whom I can discuss matters.

28th. (To General Marmont.) I can't understand Commissary Michaud's obstinacy in remaining in a house when the plague is in it; why doesn't he go into camp out towards Pompey's column? Put the 75th in the grove where you camped so long with the 4th light infantry; it can be barracked there, and all communication with Alexandria cut off. As to the unlucky demi-brigade of light infantry, have the men strip and take sea-baths; they must be rubbed from head to heel; they must wash their clothes and keep themselves clean. Give orders to have the men wash their feet, their hands, their faces, every day.

February 5th. I have just heard of the arrival at Alexandria of a merchantman from Ragusa with a cargo of wine, and with letters for me from Genoa and from Ancona; it is the first news from Europe since eight months.

The troops are now on the march across the desert.

(To Kléber.) At last we have news from France. Jourdan has left the Legislative Assembly and is in command of the army of the Rhine. Joubert has the army of Italy. Steps have been taken to recruit the armies; it appears that all young men of eighteen years of age are called on, and are known as conscripts. Europe is arming on all sides.

10th. I have observed the Ramadan, which began yesterday, with the greatest ceremony; I carried out the duties which formerly devolved on the Pasha.

(To the Directoire.) When you read this letter I may be standing among the ruins of the temple of Solomon. Djezzar Pasha, an old man 70 years of age, is a ferocious person, who has unbounded hatred of the French. He has treated with disdain the friendly advances which I made.

On the 29th of Brumaire I sent him a letter; he had the messenger's head chopped off. Egypt was inundated with firmans that revealed Djezzar's hostile intentions and announced his arrival. His advance guard occupied El Arych, where there are a few good wells and a fort in the desert.

There was therefore no choice. I was challenged; I promptly decided to carry the war into the enemy's country.

17th, in front of El Arych:

The divisions of the army started from different points to meet at El Arych, where we have now established contact with the enemy. The Mameluks, supported by a body of Djezzar Pasha's troops, were there. Régnier's division came up and immediately attacked the Mameluks, killed about 400, and now holds the rest blockaded in the fort.

You are not my friend! -- The women! -- Josephine! -- If you were my friend, you would long ago have told me what I have just learned from Junot, -- there is a true friend. Josephine! -- and I am six hundred leagues away -- you ought to have told me! -- Josephine! -- to deceive me in such a fashion! -- she! -- Let them beware! I will wipe out these dandies and exquisites! -- As for her -- a divorce. Yes, a divorce, publicly, scandalously! I must write, I know everything! -- It's your fault, you ought to have told me!

My reputation? Eh! I don't know what I wouldn't give if only what Junot has told me were not true -- I love that woman so! If Josephine is guilty, a divorce must separate us forever. I will not be the laughing-stock of all the wastrels of Paris! I will write to Joseph, he will get me a divorce.

18th. The artillery is having great difficulties owing to the quicksands, and the army is so placed that the least delay may be fatal.

The capture of El Arych makes a good beginning for the campaign.

26th, Gaza:

We are in water and mud up to our knees; the cold and weather are just what we get at Paris at this season. The country is finer than we supposed, and we have unexpectedly found stores of provisions and war material, including many cannon-balls of European make.

(To General Marmont.) Send the three ships to Jaffa; their cargoes may help us in besieging St. John of Acre.

(To General Menou.) I have learned with pleasure that you have been attending worship in the mosque.

27th. We crossed 70 leagues of desert with much fatigue; the water was brackish, when there was any. We eat dogs, donkeys, and camels.

March 6th, in front of Jaffa:

At eight o'clock to-morrow morning Delignette's battery will open. General Bon will support the mortar battery. General Lannes will place six companies of grenadiers at the breaching battery before daylight. When the firing between the town and our light infantry is well developed, two columns, each of three companies of grenadiers, will move on the breach and carry it. Battalions will be pushed up successively in support of the grenadiers and light infantry.

7th. (To Abdallah-Aga, commandant of Jaffa.) God is merciful and longsuffering!

Bonaparte, general-in-chief, informs you that he is in Palestine for no other purpose than to drive out the troops of Djezzar Pasha. Jaffa is completely blockaded, and in two hours our batteries will break down your walls and shatter your fortifications. His heart is touched by the suffering that would result to the city were it captured by assault. He offers his safeguard to the garrison and protection to the city, and will therefore delay opening fire until seven o'clock this morning.

8th. At dawn, I summoned the governor to surrender: he had my messenger's head cut off, and made no reply. At seven, we opened fire; at one, I judged the breach to be practicable. General Lannes made the arrangements for the attack; Adjutant Netherwood with ten riflemen led the way. At five, we were in possession of the city, which was sacked for twenty-four hours and given up to all the horrors of war, which never appeared more hideous.

9th. (To General Berthier.) Summon the artillery colonel, get from him the names of the twenty principal artillery officers; have him take them with him to the village where the battalion is that is going to Cairo. There they are to be placed in the fort until further orders. When they have started for the village, order the adjutant-general on duty to take the artillerymen down to the coast, and to have them all shot, taking every precaution to prevent their escaping.

18th, Mount Carmel:
Captain Smith, with two English men-of-war has arrived at St. John of Acre from Alexandria. Acre will be surrounded to-night.

23d, in front of Acre:
(To Sidney Smith.) Do not doubt my desire of showing you every courtesy and of making myself useful to any of your compatriots who may be victims of the mischance of war.

29th. Since our arrival in front of Acre, plenty reigns in our camp. We have opened trenches against the city, and the work is being pushed on energetically. We have established a breaching battery, and have opened fire on the wall; we hope to carry the place very quickly.

April 4th. (Order.) All soldiers who in the course of to-day and to-morrow bring in cannon-balls found in the open will receive 20 sous for each cannon-ball.

5th. We are very short of cannon-balls. Commodore Smith with his two ships, the Theseus and the Tiger, has just returned after being away ten days.

8th. We have now been a fortnight in front of Acre, where we hold Djezzar Pasha blockaded. The great quantity of artillery which the English have thrown into the town, with a reinforcement of gunners and officers, together with our own lack of guns, has delayed its capture. But yesterday the two English men-of-war got annoyed with us, and fired more than 2000 shot, which has given us a good supply.

14th. The siege progresses. We have run a gallery beyond the counterscarp, 30 feet below the ditch, which is now only 18 feet from the wall. We have not fired a shot for two weeks; the enemy blaze away like mad; and we merely pick up their cannon-balls humbly, pay 20 sous for them, and pile them up so that we already have about 4000. That will be enough to pour in a hot fire for twenty-four hours, and to batter a fine breach. I am waiting before giving the signal for the sappers to be ready to blow up the counterscarp at the end of a double sap that runs straight to a tower; we are still 50 feet from the counterscarp, which is a matter of a couple of nights. There are many French émigrés and English in the town; we are dying to get at them; the chances are it will be on the 21^st.

18th. The Janissaries of Damascus, with the cavalry of Djezzar, the Arabs, and the Mameluks of Ibrahim Bey, crossed the Jordan to relieve Acre; they have been completely defeated in engagements at Nazareth, Safed, and Cana, and in the battle of Mount Thabor.

19th. (To citoyen Fourier.) Tell the Divan that when this letter reaches you, Acre will be ours, and that I shall be on my way to Cairo. I am as anxious to be there as you are to see me. One of the first things I shall do will be to convene the Institute and to see whether we cannot do something to extend the bounds of human knowledge.

21st. Mr. Smith is firing away hot and heavy.

(Order.) The general-in-chief, as a mark of his great satisfaction with the 300 brave men commanded by Brigadier-General Junot, who, in the engagement at Nazareth, held in check 5000 cavalry, captured 5 flags, and covered the battlefield with dead, orders:--

A medal worth 500 louis is offered for the best picture representing the battle of Nazareth.

In this picture the French shall be shown in the uniforms of the 2d light infantry and 14th dragoons.

The staff will have sketched by our artists in Egypt, dresses of the Mameluks, of the Janissaries of Damascus, of the Arabs, and will send them to the Minister of the Interior at Paris so that copies may be made and sent to the best artists of Paris, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples, and that a day may be set and judges chosen for the competition.

This order shall be communicated to the communes of all the brave soldiers present at the battle of Nazareth.

23d. (To General Lannes.) The mine can be fired at the moment when our guns have silenced the enemy's; the general-in-chief will give the order himself.

As soon as the mine is fired, the breach is to be stormed. Have a band placed in the 1st parallel, and have it strike up the instant our men have got into the breach. I am ordering all the grenadiers to report at your quarters before 4 o'clock in the morning.

25th. More than 300 men were blown up by the mine. It did not (however) produce all the effect the engineers expected; part of the earthworks caved in; the ditch was completely filled for twenty feet on either side.

Several burning barrels of gunpowder which the enemy threw into the breach demoralized the thirty grenadiers we had lodged there, and we had to abandon our lodgment before morning. General Caffarelli is dead.

May 2d. Our 18-pounders have been at work these last two days. The tower is now a ruin. The enemy have only one gun left with which they can fire; realizing that they cannot defend their walls much longer, they are crowning their glacis with parapets. The day after tomorrow we shall get our 24-pounders up so as to make a breach, and as soon as it is practicable we shall deliver a general assault en masse.

8th. Last night at ten o'clock we captured the breach tower.

9th. This wretched clump of hovels has cost me many lives and much time. But things have gone so far that we must make a last attempt. If I succeed, as I hope and believe, I shall raise and arm all Syria. I shall march on Damascus and Aleppo. As I advance, I shall swell my ranks with all the discontented; I shall announce the end of slavery and of the tyrannous rule of the pashas. I shall reach Constantinople at the head of an armed multitude. I shall establish in the East a new and great Empire. If I fail in the last assault I mean to deliver, I shall leave at once, as time is pressing. I cannot reach Cairo before the middle of June.

As Kléber's division is on the point of arriving, the intention of the general-in-chief is that as soon as this division is rested it shall move to the breach to attack and capture the city.

Night:
The troops will leave camp at two o'clock in the morning and march to the positions allotted to them in the plan of attack.

10th. We have carried the principal parts of the wall, (but) the enemy have built a second wall abutting on Djezzar's palace. We should have to sap through the town, to open trenches before every house, and to lose more lives than I am willing to lose. In any case, the season is too far spent. My object is accomplished; Egypt calls me.

I am planting a battery of 24-pounders to raze Djezzar's palace and the principal buildings of the town; I shall blaze away about a thousand shells, which, in so small a space, will do considerable damage. With Acre reduced to a heap of stones, I shall recross the desert, so as to be ready for any European or Turkish army that attempts to disembark in Egypt in July or August.

16th. We have razed the palace of Djezzar and crushed the city under our shell fire.

17th. Soldiers! With the swiftness of an Arab host you have crossed the desert that separates Africa from Asia. The army that was marching to invade Egypt is destroyed; you have captured its general, its material, its waterskins, and its camels. On the battlefield of Mount Thabor, you dispersed a horde that had gathered from the extreme parts of Asia for the pillage of Egypt.

A few days more and you hoped to capture the pasha himself in his palace; but at this season of the year the citadel of Acre is not worth the loss of even a few days; the brave lives its capture would cost are needed for more important operations.

20th. (To the Divisional Generals.) The assembly will be beaten at seven o'clock at night by one drum only for each company. General Murat with all the cavalry will not start until eleven o'clock at night.

I have been through some trying moments. I allowed my imagination to interfere with my practice; but I think St. John of Acre has killed it. I shall take good care not to let it run away with my judgment again!

27th, Jaffa:
We reached Jaffa on the 25th. Detachments have been starting on the march to Egypt these last two days. I shall stay here a few more days to have the fortifications blown up.

28th, Jaffa:
There were fourteen or sixteen ill of the plague. I assembled a medical board, -- they said the sick would die in twenty-four hours. I determined to wait that time rather than leave them to the Turks, who would cut off their noses and ears. At the end of the time only one or two were alive, and they were dying when my army marched.

June 9th, Salheyeh:
We got over the desert pretty well. The English commodore who has summoned Damietta to surrender is a lunatic. As he has always been in command of fireships, he has no notion of the manners that are called for in an important command. The allied army of which he speaks was destroyed in Acre.

15th, Cairo:
My entry took place in the midst of an immense throng that lined the streets, of all the muftis riding on their mules, because the Prophet had a preference for riding these beasts, of all the bodies of Janissaries, of the agas of police, of the descendants of Abou Bekr, of Fatima, and of the descendants of many saints revered by true believers. The chief merchants walked in front, as well as the Coptic Patriarch; the procession was closed by the Greek auxiliaries.

(To General Desaix.) I am here with part of the army. We have reached the season when a landing is possible. I shall lose not one hour in making ready.

Why don't you wear a flannel vest? It's the only way to protect yourself against eye-trouble.

19th. Still no news from France.

28th. The French army has lost 5,344 men since its arrival in Egypt. Next season we shall be reduced to 15,000 effectives, from which deduct 2,000 in hospital, 500 veterans, 500 artificers who don't go into action, and we have 12,000 left.

29th. (To citoyen Poussielgue.) Kindly let me know the ages of the three male slaves that have just come in from Upper Egypt; I want to buy them.

July 15th. On the 13th a Turkish fleet made up of 5 ships of the line, 3 frigates, 50 or 60 transports, anchored in the bay of Aboukir.

20th, El Ramanyeh:
(To General Kléber.) We have reached El Ramanyeh. Adjutant-General Jullien informs me that your advance guard has reached Rosetta, and that you are close up with the rest of your division.

It appears certain that the enemy have landed at Aboukir. My line of front will be Alexandria, Birket, and Rosetta. I shall hold Birket in person with the main body. General Marmont will be at Alexandria, you at Rosetta, each with about the same number of troops; so that you are my right, General Marmont my left. If the enemy are in force, I shall fight them on good ground, bringing either my right or my left in to me. I shall hope that the wing that is not with me can get up fast enough to act as my reserve. Birket is one league off the parallel of Leloha, and one league from Besentonay. Get all the information you need, and try to place yourself so that instantly on my order you can march rapidly on Edkou or Birket; and as it is quite likely that communications will be cut, get plenty of men out reconnoitring so as to know what I am doing and where I am; and should circumstances point to a movement that you are free to make, and you think it likely from your information that I would have ordered you to make it, you can go ahead.

2lst. (To the Divan of Cairo.) They are beginning to disembark at Aboukir; I am not interfering with them. There are Russians on the fleet, people who hold in horror those who believe in the unity of God because, according to their lies, they believe that there are three Gods.

22d. The enemy's fleet has been reinforced by 30 ships. Their army is in position in front of Aboukir; I am starting in two hours to reconnoitre.

24th. At the well between Alexandria and Aboukir.
(To General Murat.) Take command of all the cavalry. The advance guard will march on the enemy at two o'clock in the morning; no drums will be beaten.

25th, near Aboukir:
At seven o'clock we were in presence of the enemy, who were in position one league in front of the fort of Aboukir. We attacked them, completely defeated them, captured their redoubts, intrenchments, and camp. The enemy ran into the sea in an attempt to reach their ships three quarters of a league away. They were all drowned, -- the most horrible sight I ever witnessed. We have captured the general-in-chief who is wounded, his name is Mustafa Pasha; I shall take him to Cairo with me. We had 100 killed and 400 wounded, among the latter General Murat. The battle of Aboukir is one of the most successful I have seen. Of the army which the enemy disembarked, not a man has escaped. This victory, which will have so much influence on the fortunes of the Republic, is due chiefly to General Murat.

27th. (Order.) The general-in-chief, as a mark of his satisfaction with General Murat's cavalry brigade, which covered itself with glory at the battle of Aboukir, directs the commanding officer of the artillery to hand over to this brigade the two English fieldpieces which had been sent by the Court of London as a present to Constantinople, and that were captured in the battle.

The names of each of the three regiments of this brigade, the 7th hussars, the 3d and 4th dragoons, and the names of General Murat and of Adjutant-General Roize, shall be engraved on each gun; on the breach shall be inscribed: Battle of Aboukir.

August 11th, Cairo:

I have English gazettes to the 10th of June. France declared war against the Emperor on the 13th of March. Jourdan has been defeated at Feldkirch and has withdrawn across the Rhine. Scherer, who had been given the army of Italy, has been beaten at Rivoli, and is back across the Mincio. Mantua is blockaded.

If ever I have the luck to set foot in France again, the reign of chatter is over.

16th. (Order.) The commandants of provinces will make known by a circular in Arabic sent to all villages, the pomp with which the festival of the Prophet has been observed in Cairo. All the army, carrying a great number of torches, proceeded to the house of Sheik El Bekry; the general-in-chief had dined with him, as had Mustafa Pasha and the principal officers made prisoners at the battle of Aboukir. The general-in-chief was present at the reading of various Arabic poems in honour of the Prophet, after which, surrounded by the principal sheiks, he attended worship and ordered the genealogy of the Prophet to be read. The Pasha and the Turkish prisoners could not overcome their surprise at seeing the respect professed by the French for Islam and the law of the most holy of Prophets.

19th, Menouf:
(To General Kléber.) I am convinced that there is no hostile fleet of any size in the Mediterranean. Please start for Rosetta at once. I have to confer with you on matters of extreme importance.

22d, Alexandria:
I leave to-night for France.

(To General Kléber.) You will find herewith an order for assuming command of the army. I am taking with me Generals Berthier, Lannes, Murat, Andréossy, and Marmont, citoyens Monge and Berthollet.

I inclose you the English papers to the 10th of June. You will see that we have lost Italy; that Mantua, Turin, and Tortona are besieged. I have reason to expect that the first named fortress will hold out until the end of November. I hope, if fate is propitious, to reach Europe before the beginning of October.

Accustomed as I am to view the good opinion of posterity as the fit reward for the pains and labours of life, I leave Egypt with the deepest regret. The interests of our country, her destiny, my duty, the extraordinary events that are occurring, have decided me to pass through the enemy's fleets to return to Europe. In mind and in heart I shall be with you; I will value your successes as highly as if I were still among you, and I shall reckon ill-employed every day on which I do nothing to help the army I place under your orders. The army I am leaving you is made up of my children, who have at all times, even in the greatest affliction, given me constantly tokens of their affection; maintain them in these sentiments; it is your duty because of the esteem and affection I have for you, and because of my real attachment to them.

(To General Junot.) When you receive this letter I shall be far away from Egypt. I regretted not being able to take you with me; you were too far from our startingpoint. I have left orders with Kléber to send you off in October. In any case, wherever and however we may be situated, believe in the continuance of my devoted friendship.

October 7th, Ajaccio:
At Ajaccio we got news of our continued reverses in Italy, the capture of Mantua, the battles of Novi and La Trebbia, the landing of the Anglo-Russians in Holland, and the events of Prairial.

8th, Frejus:
At nightfall we sighted the French coast. Universal enthusiasm broke out on its becoming known that General Bonaparte was on board the frigates. As in Corsica the two ships were at once invaded by a crowd, notwithstanding repeated and pressing warnings of the danger of not observing the laws of quarantine.

9th. The quarantine officers gave us a clean bill, and at noon we went ashore, the forty-seventh day since our departure from Alexandria.

On the same day General Bonaparte started for Paris; on his way he was received with demonstrations of joy that showed the political effect of his unexpected return.

10th, Aix:
Citoyens Directeurs: Since leaving France I have received only one dispatch from you; it found me in front of Acre, and from that moment I judged that I could not remain absent from France much longer. I obtained copies of the English gazettes to the 6th of June, and from them learned of the defeats of Jourdan in Germany and of Scherer in Italy. I started immediately, that very hour, with the frigates La Muiron and La Carrère, although both slow sailers. I did not stop to reckon the risk; my duty was to proceed wherever I might be most useful. That being my view, I would have wrapped myself in my cloak and started in an open boat, if I had had no frigates. I have made my way through the English cruisers. I have landed at Fréjus safely. I shall be in Paris nearly as soon as my letter.

15th. Arrival in Paris, rue de la Victoire.
No further relations between us! She shall not set foot in my house! What do I care what people will say? They will gossip for one or two days, and talk of something else the third. Forgive her? Never!

Well! well! She is here! Don't believe that I have forgiven her; -- never while I live. I wanted to doubt! -- Her truthfulness! I drove her out when I arrived. And that fool Joseph who was here!

But what could I do? As she came down the staircase in tears, I saw Eugène, Hortense, who were following her sobbing. I was not given a heart for nothing, and I cannot remain unmoved when I see tears flowing. Eugène followed me to Egypt; I have accustomed myself to look on him as my adopted son; he is so brave, he is such a good boy! Hortense is just coming out; all who know her speak highly of her. I confess, I was deeply moved, I couldn't resist the sobs of those two poor children; I said to myself: Are they to be the victims of their mother's ill conduct? I stopped Eugène. Hortense turned back with her mother; I said nothing. How could I help it? Every man is weak!

17th. So you believe that the thing can be done?

22d. I have already learned a good deal: but we shall see. I think I shall have Bernadotte and Moreau against me. I am not afraid of Moreau; he is soft, has no energy. But Bernadotte! He has Moorish blood in his veins; he is bold and enterprising; he is related by marriage to my brothers; he dislikes me; I am pretty sure he will be against me. Well, we have only just arrived, we'll see.

24th. Patience! The pear is nearly ripe.

November 1st. Well, Bourrienne, I'll bet that you can't guess with whom I breakfasted to-day, eh? With Bernadotte, and the joke is that I invited myself. Yes. You would have seen the whole business if you had come to the Théâtre Français with me last night. I ran right into Bernadotte as we were coming out, and upon my word, not knowing what on earth to say to him on the spur of the moment, I asked him if he would join our party to-day. He replied that he would, and as we were then in front of his house in the rue Cisalpine, I plain asked him for a cup of coffee and said I should be delighted to have some talk with him. He made himself quite pleasant to me. What do you think of it, Bourrienne? No, no, I was right, you may be sure; it will compromise him with (the Directeur) Gohier. Remember one thing: always take the first step towards your enemies and put on a good countenance, otherwise they think you are afraid and are encouraged.

6th. (Brumaire 15.)
To subvert a representative form of government is a criminal proposal in this century of enlightenment and liberty. (Vive Bonaparte! Peace! Peace!) I raise my glass to the union of all Frenchmen!

7th. (Brumaire 16.)
Well, general, what is your opinion as to the state of the Republic?

(Jourdan: Unless some more stable order can be evolved we shall have to despair of saving the country.)

We need a stronger government. Don't be uneasy; all will be done in the interests of the Republic.

8th. (Brumaire 17.)
When it comes to conspiracy, everything is permissible.

I have accepted an invitation to dine with Gohier to-morrow: but you may be sure I shan't go. I regret his obstinacy, however. To reassure him a little my wife is inviting him to breakfast. I have seen Barras this morning, and he was in a state of great anxiety when I left him. He begged me to call this evening: I promised him I would, but I don't want to; to-morrow it will all be over. That's not a great while to gain. Come, good-night; be here at seven o'clock in the morning.

9th. (Brumaire 18.)
The army has come to me, and I have come to the legislative body.

What have you done with France which I left in your hands so prosperous? I left you peace, I find war! I left you victories, I find defeats! I left you millions, I find beggary! This state of things must cease.

Citoyens Représentants: The Republic was perishing, you perceived it, and your decree has saved it. Let those who seek to foment disorder beware! I will arrest them with the help of my companions in arms. Your wisdom has framed this decree; our arms will carry it out. We want a Republic founded on real liberty, on civil liberty, on national representation; we will succeed, we swear it.

(To the Army.) Soldiers! The extraordinary decree of the Council of Ancients has placed me in command of the city and army. For two years past the Republic has been badly governed. You had hoped that my return would bring our afflictions to an end; you have hailed it with an unanimity that imposes on me the obligation I am now fulfilling; you will fulfil yours and support your general with energy and firmness, and with that same confidence which I have always reposed in you.

Liberty, victory, and peace will restore to the French Republic the rank she formerly held in Europe, and that only ineptitude or treason could make her lose. Vive la République!

Night:
It is peace we have conquered: that is what must be said in every newspaper, every theatre; what must be repeated in prose, in verse, even in ballads.

Things went pretty well to-day. We'll see to-morrow.

10th. (Brumaire 19.) The two Councils meet at Saint Cloud.

9 a. m., Place de la Concorde:
To-morrow we shall sleep in the Luxembourg, or finish here.

2 p. m., Saint Cloud:
The wine is drawn, we must drink it. Augereau, remember Arcola!

(To the Council of Ancients.) Citoyens Représentants: The existing circumstances are extraordinary; you are on a volcano. Yesterday I was living quietly in Paris when you charged me to carry out your decree for transferring (the session of the Legislature to Saint Cloud). I immediately called together my comrades, and we flew to your help. Well, to-day, I am already overwhelmed with calumny. Caesar, Cromwell, a military government, are spoken of. Had I aimed at a military government, would I have lent my support to the national representatives? The Republic is without a government. The Council of Five Hundred is divided against itself. There is only the Council of Ancients. It is from that Council I derive my powers: it is for you to take steps, -- speak, I am here to carry out your measures. Let us save liberty; let us save equality!

(A voice: And what about the Constitution?)

The Constitution? You yourselves have torn it up. You broke it on the 18th of Fructidor; you broke it on the 22d of Floréal; you broke it on the 30th of Prairial. Not a soul respects it any longer. I will speak out. Since my return, I have been surrounded with intrigues. Every faction has approached me. And men who arrogantly describe themselves as the only patriots have urged me to thrust the Constitution aside.

(Several voices: Names! names!)

Outspokenness of a soldier -- agitation -- (increasing confusion and noise) victories -- Constitution broken -- Cæsar, Cromwell, tyrant -- that's all I have to say to you. -- Liberty! Equality! -- You forget the Constitution! -- Hypocrites, intriguers -- I am not -- I will abdicate from power the instant the Republic is free from danger. -- The God of War and the God of Fortune is with me!

(Bourrienne: Come away, general: you don't know what you are saying.)

My friends will follow me!

And you, brave grenadiers, if any speaker dares to apply the word outlaw to your general, let the thunders of war crush him instantly.

So I talked a lot of nonsense, did I?

(Well, yes, general.)

I had rather talk to soldiers than to lawyers. Those . . . made me nervous. I am not accustomed to assemblies; it may come in time.

4 p. m.:
I entered the Council of Five Hundred, alone, unarmed. The daggers of the deputies are at once raised against their liberator. Twenty assassins rush at me.

(Down with the tyrant! Dictator! Dictator! Outlaw him!)

4.30 p. m.:
To arms! My horse! Soldiers! can I trust you? I will bring them to reason!

(Murat: Grenadiers, forward! Vive la République! Vive Bonaparte!)

5 p. m.:
The Council of Five Hundred is cleared by the troops.

11 p. m.:
I have tried not to be the man of a party. Conservative, paternal, liberal ideas have been restored to their rightful place among us.

(Proclamation.) On my return to Paris I found the Government divided, and all men agreed on this truth, that the Constitution was half ruined and could not save the cause of liberty. All parties came to me, told me their plans, revealed their secrets, and asked for my support: I refused to be the tool of any party.

The Council of Ancients summoned me; I answered its appeal. I thought it my duty to my fellow citizens, to the soldiers who are dying with our armies, to the national glory purchased with their blood, to accept the command. The Councils met at Saint Cloud; the troops guaranteed the maintenance of order outside, but inside a gang of assassins establish terror. Several deputies of the Council of Five Hundred, armed with daggers and firearms, uttered threats of death. I laid my complaints before the Council of Ancients; I called on it to insure the execution of its beneficent decrees; it joined me by renewed demonstrations of its unaltered resolve. I entered the Council of Five Hundred, alone, unarmed, my head uncovered. Daggers are at once raised against me; twenty assassins fly at me and strike at my breast. The grenadiers of the legislative body, whom I had left at the door, rush in to interpose between the assassins and me. They drag me out. At the same moment cries of Outlaw are raised against the protector of the law. They crowd around the president (Lucien Bonaparte) with threats in their mouths, and arms in their hands; they call on him for a declaration of outlawry; word is sent out to me; I give orders to have him saved from their rage, and six grenadiers bring him out. Immediately after this the grenadiers of the legislative body charge into the hall and clear it. Alarmed, the factions disperse and go away.

People of France, you will doubtless recognize in my conduct the zeal of a soldier of liberty, of a citizen devoted to the Republic.

11th, Paris:
Have you no muster rolls at the war office? At all events, you must have an account of the pay, which will give us the same result? -- An account of the stores? Of the clothing ?

You have worked a long time in the Ministry of Finance?

(Gaudin: Twenty years, general.)
We need your help. Come, take the oath, we are in a hurry.

12th. People of France: Swear with us to be true to the Republic one and indivisible, founded on equality, liberty, and the representative system.

The Consuls of the Republic:
Bonaparte, Roger Ducos, Sieyès.

15th. Every day must be marked by one step forward in the creation of a general system of finance.

24th. (To General Jourdan.) I have received your letter of the 20th. You were vexed at the events of the 10th. But the worst is over now, and I am more than anxious to see the victor of Fleurus remain in the path that will lead us to organization, true liberty, and happiness.

You must rally to the mass of citizens. Is not the plain designation French citizen equal to that of royalist, of Clichien, of Jacobin, of Feuillant, and of those thousand and one denominations born of a factious spirit that for ten years past have threatened to plunge the nation into an abyss from which it is time it should be drawn forever.

Sieyès thinks that he alone can arrive at truth; when an objection is raised, he replies as though he were inspired, and there's an end to the matter.

(Sieyès: Do you want to be king, then?)

December 1st. The Minister of War will take steps for having at least 100 fieldpieces of the army of Italy horsed and made ready for active service as rapidly as possible.

Have a plan drawn up for placing all flags captured from the enemy under the dome of the Invalides; have the chronology of the victories of the Republic engraved on marble tablets.

4th. The Minis ter of War will send for Generals Moreau and Clarke to draw up a plan of operations for the new army of the Rhine. It will be reinforced.

5th. Concentrate at Lyons the remnants of the demi-brigades of the 8th military division that were formerly with the army of Italy, and reorganize them so that in three or four months we can form an army of reserve.

6th. If Sieyès goes to the country, draw up the plan of a constitution quickly; I will push it through.

7th. Inform General Moreau that the Consuls think there is urgent need he should join the army.

14th. The Constitution is being drawn up.

Citoyen Daunou, Sit down there, (and write.)

The decision of the First Consul shall be sufficient! (Sieyès: my only wish is to retire.)

15th. A constitution should be short and obscure.

(To the People of France.) A constitution is submitted to you. It will bring to an end the uncertainties which attended the provisional government in all its dealings, exterior, military, and interior.

The Constitution is based on the true principles of representative government, on the sacred rights of property, of equality, of liberty.

The powers it provides for are strong and stable, as they should be to guarantee the rights of citizens and the interests of the State.

Citizens, the Revolution is now anchored to the principles which gave it birth. The Revolution is finished.

Bonaparte, Roger Ducos, Sieyès.

18th. I trust that the ensuing campaign will be more honourable to the French arms than the last.

21st. The object of the Republic in prosecuting the war is to bring about a peace. It is on the army comanded by General Moreau that rests the Republic's chief hope of peace for the moment. The Government has absolute confidence in the zeal and military capacity of General Moreau.

22d. Considering the present condition of the army of Italy, the Consuls of the Republic declare: that General Masséna is intrusted with extraordinary powers. He may suspend and dismiss any general who has lost his confidence. He may disband corps and cashier officers for insubordination.

25th. (To His Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland.) Called by the wishes of the French nation to the first magistracy of the Republic, I think it proper, on taking up my duties, to notify Your Majesty of the fact in person.

Is the war that for eight years past has devastated the four quarters of the world to be eternal? Is there no possibility of coming to an agreement? How can the two most enlightened nations of Europe, both more powerful than is needed to secure their safety and independence, sacrifice to some vague notion of superiority the interests of commerce, internal prosperity, and the happiness of families? How can they fail to see that peace is the first of necessities and the greatest of glories?

Your Majesty must see in this overture nothing but my sincere desire by prompt action to contribute efficaciously for the second time to a general pacification.

(To His Majesty the Emperor, King of Hungary and of Bohemia.) Once more in Europe after an absence of eighteen months, I find war raging between the French Republic and Your Majesty. The French nation has summoned me to its chief magistracy. Far as I am from any sentiments of vainglory, my greatest desire is to prevent the effusion of the blood that is about to flow. Your Majesty's reputation leaves me no doubt as to your most heartfelt desire. If that sentiment is given its course, I do not doubt that we can conciliate the interests of the two countries.

(To the army of Italy.) Soldiers! The circumstances that have placed me at the head of the Government prevent me from being in your midst.

Soldiers! Several corps have abandoned their positions, have refused to listen to the voice of their officers. The 17th light infantry is one of them. Are the brave soldiers of Castiglione and of Rivoli all dead, then? They would have perished rather than abandon their flags.

Soldiers of Italy! A new general commands you. He was always in the front rank in the days of your glory. Give him your confidence; he will bring victory back to your standards.

I shall have a daily account rendered me of the conduct of all the corps, especially of the 17th light infantry and of the 63d of the line. Let them remember how I once trusted them!

26th. (To Lucien Bonaparte, Minister of the Interior.)

If war were not a necessity, my first care would be to found the prosperity of France on the communes. It is a much simpler matter, when reconstructing a nation, to deal with one thousand of its inhabitants at a time instead of striving romantically for the individual happiness of every one. In France a commune stands for 1000 inhabitants. To work at the prosperity of the 36,000 communes is to work at the prosperity of the 36,000,000 inhabitants, while simplifying the question, and reducing the difficulty by the proportion that exists between 36,000 and 36,000,000.

The Minister of the Interior will carefully consider the following ideas:

Before the Revolution the commune belonged to the lord and to the priests; the vassal and the parishioner had no right to the roads; no ditches, nor fields for pasturing their cows or their sheep. Since 1790, when, suddenly and righteously, these common rights of communication and pasturage were snatched from the hands of the feudal lord, each municipality has, under the protection of the laws, become a real person, having the right to hold, to acquire, and to sell property, and to perform every deed known to our law for the benefit of the municipal community. France was therefore suddenly divided into 36,000 individualities, each one of which was subject to all the instincts of the proprietor, which are to increase his possessions, to improve his products, to swell his revenue. The root of the prosperity of France, therefore, lay at that point.

The reason why nothing has grown from this root is this: that an individual proprietor is always alive to his interests, while a community is, on the contrary, sleepy and sterile; the interests of an individual are a matter of simple instinct; those of a commune demand virtue, and virtue is rare. Since 1790 the 36,000 communes are but 36,000 orphans, heiresses of the old feudal privileges, neglected or plundered these ten years by the municipal tutors of the Convention and of the Directoire. They have stolen from the roads, from the pathways, from the trees, from the churches. What would become of the communes if this went on another ten years? The first duty of a Minister of the Interior is to stop an evil which will otherwise infect these 36,000 members of the social body.

The first condition, when dealing with a great evil, is to diagnose carefully its gravity and its incidents. The Minister of the Interior will therefore begin by drawing up a general schedule of the situation of the 36,000 communes of France. We have never had such a schedule. Here are the principal heads to be set down.

There will be three classes: Communes that are in debt; communes whose accounts balance; communes with assets. The last two classes are not numerous, and their case is not pressing. The real question is how to clear the communes that are in debt.

The Schedule will show:

1^o. Details of property accruing to the commune after the division of communal property.
2^o. Details of the loans, of outstanding debts, and of dates of payment.
3^o. Valuation of revenues under specified heads, as rents, leases, etc.
4^o. Charges other than those that are strictly communal, as payments to hospitals, charities, etc.
5^o. Details of the roads with a general indication of those that are useful and those that might be sold.
6^o. Condition of the rectories, churches, and annexes.
7^o. Details of rebates to be got from owners of foreshore who have plundered the commune.
8^o. Timber, and of what kind, that might profitably be sold.
9^o. Whether leases, rights of fishery and of pasturing might be made more remunerative.

When this schedule is drawn up, the prefect will be notified that the whole effort of the administration must be brought to bear on the communes that are in debt, and that the mayors who do not come into line with these ideas of communal improvement must be removed. The prefect is to visit these communes at least twice a year, and the sub-prefect four times a year, under penalty of removal from office. A monthly report shall be sent to the minister of what is being done and of what remains to be done in these communes.

Suggestions may be sent in to me for a prize to be awarded to mayors who free their communes from debt within two years, and the Government will appoint a special Commissioner to administer every commune that is not free in five years.

In five years, therefore, there will be only two classes of communes in France: Communes with assets; communes whose accounts balance. Having reached this first levelling up, the efforts of the minister and of the communes will be directed towards bringing up the communes whose accounts balance into the class of the communes with assets, so that in ten years France will have none but the latter class. Then the trend towards prosperity resulting from 36,000,000 individual efforts will be intensified by the power of 36,000 communal entities, all acting under the guidance of Government in the line of greater and greater improvement.

Every year the fifty mayors who have done most to free their communes, or to increase their resources, shall be brought to Paris at the expense of the State and presented ceremonially to the three Consuls. A column erected at the expense of the Government at the principal entrance of the city or village will hand the name of the mayor down to posterity. On it shall be inscribed: "A grateful country to the guardian of his commune!"

29th. (To General Berthier.) You will find herewith a proclamation and several decrees of the Government relating to the Vendée. You will note that the inhabitants are free to practise their religion; that unsold churches are handed over to the communes; that the priests are to be asked for no other oath than that of fidelity to the Constitution; and that the priests are at liberty to celebrate mass whenever they wish.