nt and of
the two legislative bodies, expected the victorious negotiator; and when
he appeared, followed by his staff, and surrounded on all hands with the
trophies of his glorious campaign, the enthusiasm of the mighty
multitude, to the far greater part of which his person was, up to the
moment, entirely unknown, outleaped all bounds, and filled the already
jealous hearts of the directors with dark presentiments. They well knew
that the soldiery, returning from Italy, had sung and said through every
village that it was high time to get rid of the lawyers, and make the
"little corporal" king. With uneasy hearts did they hear what seemed too
like an echo of this cry, from the assembled leaders of opinion in Paris
and in France. Anxious curiosity and mutual distrust were written in
every face. The voice of Napoleon was for the first time heard in an
energetic speech, ascribing all the glories that had been achieved to
the zeal of the French soldiery--for "the glorious constitution of the
year THREE"--the same glorious constitution which, in the year _eight_,
was to receive the _coup de grace_ from his own hand; and Barras, as
presiding director, answering, that "Nature had exhausted all her powers
in the creation of a Buonaparte," awoke a new thunder of unwelcome
applauses.

Carnot had been exiled after the 18th Fructidor, and was at this time
actually believed to be dead. The institute nominated Buonaparte to fill
his place; and he was received by this learned body with enthusiasm not
inferior to that of the Luxembourg. He thenceforth adopted, on all
public occasions, the costume of this academy; and, laying aside as far
as was possible, the insignia of his military rank, seemed to desire
only the distinction of being classed with those whose scientific
attainments had done honour to their country. In all this he acted on
calculation. "I well knew," said he at St. Helena, "that there was not a
drummer in the army, but would respect me the more for believing me to
be not a mere soldier."

Some time before he left Italy, a motion had been made in one of the
chambers for rewarding him with a grant of the estate of Chambord, and
lost owing solely to the jealousy of the Directory. This opposition was
on their part unjust and unwise, and extremely unpopular also; for it
was known to all men that the general might easily have enriched himself
during his wonderful campaigns, and it was almost as generally believed
that he had