the First
Consul traversed the city in a gallop, and, followed by some lancers,
went to the spot where he was to be attacked, halted about half an hour,
ate some Abbeville cakes, and set out. The assassins were deceived.
They had not expected his arrival until the next day.

The First Consul and Madame Bonaparte continued their journey through
Picardy, Flanders, and the Low Countries. Each day the First Consul
received offers of vessels of war from the different council-generals,
the citizens continued to offer him addresses, and the mayors to present
him with the keys of the cities, as if he exercised royal power. Amiens,
Dunkirk, Lille, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Liege, and Namur distinguished
themselves by the brilliant receptions they gave to the illustrious
travelers. The inhabitants of Antwerp presented the First Consul with
six magnificent bay horses. Everywhere also, the First Consul left
valuable souvenirs of his journey; and by his orders, works were
immediately commenced to deepen and improve the port of Amiens. He
visited in that city, and in all the others where he stopped, the
exposition of the products of industry, encouraging manufacturers by his
advice, and favoring them in his decrees. At Liege, he put at the
disposal of the prefect of the Our the the sum of three hundred thousand
francs to repair the houses burned by the Austrians, in that department,
during the early years of the Revolution. Antwerp owes to him the inner
port, a basin, and the building of carpenter-shops. At Brussels, he
ordered that the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt should be connected by
a canal. He gave to Givet a stone bridge over the Meuse, and at Sedan
the widow Madame Rousseau received from him the sum of sixty thousand
francs for the re-establishment of the factory destroyed by fire.
Indeed, I cannot begin to enumerate all the benefits, both public and
private, which the First Consul and Madame Bonaparte scattered along
their route.

A little while after our return to Saint-Cloud, the First Consul, while
riding in the park with his wife and Cambaceres, took a fancy to drive
the four horses attached to the carriage which had been given him by the
inhabitants of Antwerp. He took his place on the driver's seat, and took
the reins from the hands of Caesar, his coachman, who got up behind the
carriage. At that instant they were in the horse-shoe alley, which leads
to the road of the Pavilion Breteuil, and of Ville d'Avray. It