ance. Such was, or had
recently been, the state of affairs when Buonaparte landed at Frejus,
and sent before him to Paris, to the inexpressible delight of a nation
of late accustomed to hear of nothing but military disasters, the
intelligence of that splendid victory which had just destroyed the great
Turkish armament at Aboukir. He arrived at a moment when all men, of all
parties, were satisfied that a new revolution was at hand; and when the
leaders of all the contending factions were equally desirous of invoking
arms to their support in the inevitable struggle. Napoleon's voyage had
been one of constant peril; for the Mediterranean was traversed in all
directions by English ships of war, in whose presence resistance would
have been hopeless. He occupied his time, during this period of general
anxiety, in very peaceful studies: he read the Bible, the Koran, Homer;
conversed with his _savans_ on the old times and manners of the East;
and solved problems in geometry. He also spent many hours in playing at
the game of _vingt-un_; and M. de Bourienne says, that he never
hesitated to play unfairly when it suited his purpose, though he always
returned whatever he had gained on rising from the table. On the 30th of
September they reached Ajaccio, and he was received with enthusiasm at
the place of his birth. But, according to his own phrase, "it rained
cousins:" he was wearied with solicitations, and as soon as the wind
proved favourable, on the 7th of October, the voyage was resumed.
Gantheaume, descrying an English squadron off the French coast, would
have persuaded him to take to the long-boat; but he refused, saying,
"that experiment may be reserved for the last extremity." His confidence
in fortune was not belied. They passed at midnight, unseen, through the
English ships, and on the morning of the 9th were moored in safety in
the bay of Frejus; and no sooner was it known that Buonaparte was at
hand, than, in spite of all the laws of quarantine, persons of every
description, including the chief functionaries, both civil and military,
repaired on board to welcome him. He had looked forward with the utmost
disgust to a long quarantine: this dread was dissipated in a moment; the
deck was crowded with persons, crying aloud, "We prefer the plague to
the Austrians!" His presence alone was considered as the pledge of
victory. The story of Aboukir gave new fuel to the flame of universal
enthusiasm; and he landed, not so much like