rseilles or Lyons, and invited the support of the
English and Spanish squadrons. The Committee of Public Safety
resolved to subdue the city; and Bonaparte, even at that time a
brigadier-general, with the command of the artillery at the siege,
recommended a course which led to the capture of that important place.

For his distinguished services and talents, he was appointed second in
command, by the National Convention, when that body was threatened and
overawed by the rebellious National Guard. He saved the state and
defended the constitutional authorities, for which service he was
appointed second in command of the great army of the interior, and
then general-in-chief in the place of Barras, who found his new office
as director incompatible with the duties of a general.

The other directors who now enjoyed the supreme command were Reubel,
Lareveillere-Lepeaux, Le Tourneur, and Carnot. Sieyes, a man of great
genius, had been elected, but had declined. Among these five men,
Carnot was the only man of genius, and it was through his exertions
that France, under the Committee of Public Safety, had been saved from
the torrent of invasion. But Barras, though inferior to Carnot in
genius, had even greater influence, and it was through his favor that
Bonaparte received his appointments. That a young man of twenty-five
should have the command of the army of the interior, is as remarkable
as the victories which subsequently showed that his elevation was not
the work of chance, but of a providential hand.

The acknowledged favorite of Barras was a young widow, by birth a
Creole of the West Indies, whose husband, a general in the army of the
Rhine, had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror. Her name was
Josephine Beauharnois; and, as a woman of sense, of warm affections,
and of rare accomplishments, she won the heart of Bonaparte, and was
married to him, March 9, 1796. Her dowry was the command of the army
of Italy, which, through her influence, the young general received.

Then commenced his brilliant military career. United with Josephine,
whom he loved, he rose in rank and power.

The army which Bonaparte commanded was composed of forty-two thousand
men, while the forces of the Italian states numbered one hundred and
sixty thousand, and could with ease be increased to three hundred
thousand. But Italian soldiers had never been able to contend with
either Austrian or French, and Bonaparte felt sure of victory. His
sold