se, say that Aubry gave the order for his removal from the
list. Aubry, himself a brigadier-general of artillery, did not
belong to the 'Comite de Salut Public' at the time Bonaparte was
removed from the south; and he had left the Comite early is August,
that is, before the order striking Bonaparte off was given. Aubry
was, however, on the Comite in June 1795, and signed the order,
which probably may have originated from him, for the transfer of
Bonaparte to the infantry. It will be seen that, in the ordinary
military sense of the term, Napoleon was only in Paris without
employment from the 15th of September to the 4th or 6th of October
1796; all the rest of the time in Paris he had a command which he
did not choose to take up. The distress under which Napoleon is
said to have laboured in pecuniary matters was probably shared by
most officers at that time; see 'Erreurs', tome i. p. 32. This
period is fully described in Iung, tome ii. p. 476, and tome iii.
pp. 1-93.]--

Deeply mortified at this unexpected stroke, Bonaparte retired into
private life, and found himself doomed to an inactivity very uncongenial
with his ardent character. He lodged in the Rue du Mail, in an hotel
near the Place des Victoires, and we recommenced the sort of life we had
led in 1792, before his departure for Corsica. It was not without a
struggle that he determined to await patiently the removal of the
prejudices which were cherished against him by men in power; and he hoped
that, in the perpetual changes which were taking place, those men might
be superseded by others more favourable to him. He frequently dined and
spent the evening with me and my elder brother; and his pleasant
conversation and manners made the hours pass away very agreeably. I
called on him almost every morning, and I met at his lodgings several
persons who were distinguished at the time; among others Salicetti, with
whom he used to maintain very animated conversations, and who would often
solicit a private interview with him. On one occasion Salicetti paid him
three thousand francs, in assignats, as the price of his carriage, which
his straitened circumstances obliged him to dispose of.

--[Of Napoleon's poverty at this time Madame Junot says, "On
Bonaparte's return to Paris, after the misfortunes of which he
accused Salicetti of being the cause, he was in very destitute
circumstances. His family, who were banished fr