Pichegru, who were entirely devoted to the Bourbon party,
came into France secretly, and concerted with Moreau, whose wish was
to rid France of the first consul, but not to deprive the French
nation of its right to choose that form of government by which it
desired to be ruled. Pichegru wished to have a conversation with
General Bernadotte, who refused it, being dissatisfied with the
manner in which the enterprise was conducted, and desiring first of
all, to have a guarantee for the constitutional freedom of France.
Moreau, whose moral character is most excellent, whose military
talent is unquestionable, and whose understanding is just and
enlightened, allowed himself in conversation, to go too great
lengths in blaming the first consul, before he could be at all
certain of overthrowing him. It is a defect very natural to a
generous mind to express its opinion, even inconsiderately; but
General Moreau attracted too much the notice of Bonaparte, not to
make such conduct the cause of his destruction. A pretext was
wanting to justify the arrest of a man who had gained so many
battles, and this pretext was found in his conversation, if it could
not be in his actions.

Republican forms were still in existence; people called each other
citizen, whilst the most terrible inequality, that which liberates
some from the yoke of the law, while others are under the dominion
of despotism, reigned over all France. The days of the week were
still reckoned according to the republican calendar; boasts were
made of being at peace with the whole of continental Europe; reports
were, (as they still continue to be,) continually presenting upon
the making of roads and canals, the building of bridges and
fountains; the benefits of the government were extolled to the
skies; in short, there was not the least apparent reason for
endeavouring to change a state of things, with which the nation was
said to be so perfectly satisfied. A plot therefore, in which the
English, and the Bourbons should be named, was a most desirable
event to the government, in order to stir up once more the
revolutionary elements of the nation, and to turn those elements to
the establishment of an ultra-monarchical power, under the pretence
of preventing the return of the ancient regime. The secret of this
combination, which appears very complicated, is in fact very
simple: it was necessary to alarm the revolutionists as to the
danger to which their interests would be expo