dans leurs foyers."

But where were they to find a Frenchman who would take upon him the
execution of so barbarous an order? One of the meeting mentioned
Bonaparte, and his well-known character determined the directors in
their choice. He was ordered to Paris, and the hand of Madame
Beauharnois, and the command of the army of Italy, held out to him as
the reward of his services, provided he succeeded in _dissipating_ the
royalists. It is well known that he did succeed to his utmost wish; the
streets of Paris were strewed with dead bodies, and the power of the
Directory was proclaimed by peals of artillery.

Shortly after this, Bonaparte commenced that campaign in Italy, in which
he so highly signalised himself as a great general and a brave soldier.
It is the general opinion of the French that this was the only campaign
in which Napoleon shewed personal courage; others allege, that he
continued to display the greatest bravery till the siege of Acre. To
reconcile the different opinions with respect to the character of
Napoleon in this point, is a matter of much difficulty. After having
heard the subject repeatedly discussed by officers who had accompanied
him in many of his campaigns; after having read all the pamphlets of the
day, I am inclined to think that the character given of him in that
work, perhaps erroneously believed to be written by his valet, is the
most just. This book certainly contains much exaggeration, but it is by
no means considered, by the French whom I have met, as a forgery. The
author must, from his style, be a man of some education; and he asserts
that he was with him in all his battles, from the battle of Marengo to
the campaign of Paris. He declares, that Napoleon was _courageous only
in success, brave only when victorious_; that the slightest reverse made
him a coward. His conduct in Egypt, in abandoning his army, his
barbarous and unfeeling flight from Moscow, and his last scene at
Fontainbleau, are sufficient proofs of this.

The battle of Marengo is generally instanced as the one in which
Napoleon shewed the greatest personal courage; but this statement
neither agrees with the account given in the above work, nor by Monsieur
Gaillais. From the work of the last mentioned gentleman, entitled
"Histoire de Dix huit Brumaire," I shall extract a few lines on the
subject of this battle.[20] "A la pointe du jour les Autrichiens
commencerent l'attaque, dabord assez lentement, plus vivement ensuit