littering bayonets on which riders
and horses were impaled. But at last they weakened, and the French
charged in their turn and from an unexpected quarter. The battle was
over. Napoleon's keen eye had seen that the artillery of the Mamelukes
had no wheels and was moved with difficulty and he arranged his men
accordingly.

But while Napoleon succeeded on land he had been cut off from returning
to France, for the English admiral, Lord Nelson, had defeated the
French fleet. Napoleon fought and won battles against the Turks, but
his force was too small and the odds against him were too great for him
to succeed in an Eastern campaign, cut off as he was by the English.
And while he was in this difficult situation word was brought to him
that war had broken out again in Italy and all his work there had been
undone. It was imperative, if he wished to hold his power in France,
that he should make his way to Paris without delay.

So Napoleon left his men in the charge of one of his generals, and with
only a few followers embarked at Alexandria. His ship eluded the
English fleet which was cruising the Mediterranean Sea, and he made his
way to Paris with all speed.

France at this time was governed by a Directory and a Council of Five
Hundred. This was one of the forms of revolutionary government that had
been adopted after the French had dethroned and slain their king.

Napoleon believed that the time had come for him to seize the chief
position in the French Government, but he did not dare as yet openly to
have himself proclaimed as King. With his brother Lucien, and his
advisor Talleyrand--although Napoleon did not accept advice as a rule,
but was guided by his own bold, brilliant ideas,--he overthrew the
Council of Five Hundred and abolished the Directory. Then he
established what was called the Provisional Government which was headed
by a group of three men who were called Consuls. Naturally Napoleon was
the first and most important of these, and took care to see that the
bulk of the power wielded by the consuls should remain in his hands.
Clever, bold and brilliant, stopping at nothing, with the solid backing
of the army and a brain greater than any that has been known on this
earth in hundreds of years, it seemed as though this superman could
accomplish anything he desired.

After he had attained his ends in Paris he went again into the field to
meet his enemies. There was no immediate fear that France would be
invaded