CHAPTER V.
THE EIGHTEENTH BRUMAIRE.
By eight o'clock on the morning of the 18th Brumaire, year VIII(November 9, 1799), the Council of Ancients were assembled in theirhall. Several members of the republican minority, which had not beennotified of the session, had nevertheless come to the Assembly, warnedby public rumor of something unusual in the wind. These latter gatheredin a group about the tribunal, engaged in animated conversation.
Lemercier, presiding officer of the Council, sounded his bell; silencefell upon the assembly, and the members took their seats.
"Messieurs, our colleague Cornet, chairman of the Committee ofInspectors, has the floor," he said.
Cornet mounted the tribunal and began: "Representatives of thepeople:--The confidence you have reposed in your Committee of Inspectorshas laid it under the obligation of watching over your individualsafety, with which the public safety is so closely bound up. For, whenthe representatives of a nation are menaced in their persons, so thatthey do not enjoy in their deliberations the most absolute independence,it is no longer a Republic. Your Committee of Inspectors knows thatconspirators are pouring into Paris in swarms; that those who arealready here do but await the signal to bare their poniards against therepresentatives of the nation, against the highest authorities andmembers of the Republic. In presence of the danger which encompassesyou, Representatives of the people, your committee felt it incumbentupon it to call you together in special session to inform you thereon;it felt it to be its duty to spur the deliberations of the Council on indeciding what part it was to play in these circumstances. The Council ofAncients holds in its hands the means of saving the country and liberty;it would be doubting its prudence, it would be doubting its wisdom, tothink that it will not grapple the problem with its accustomed courageand energy."
"It is inconceivable that neither I nor several of my colleaguesreceived notice of this convocation of the Assembly. Thisomission--voluntary or involuntary--must be explained," interposedMontmayon, a member of the minority.
"You have not been given the floor!" yelled President Lemercier. "Yourmotion is out of order. I give the floor to Monsieur Regnier."
"Representatives of the people," declared the latter when he in turn hadclimbed up to the tribunal, "where is the man so stupid as still todoubt the dangers which encompass us? The proofs have been only too wellmultiplied. But this is not the time to unroll their lamentable length.Time presses! The least delay may prove so fatal that it would then nolonger lie in your power to deliberate on remedies. God forbid that Ishould so insult the citizens of Paris as to believe them capable ofassaulting the national representation! On the contrary, I doubt notbut they would protect it with their own bodies, if need were; but thisimmense city is nursing within its bosom a horde of brigands, of boldand desperate scoundrels. They only await, with ferocious impatience,our first unguarded moment to strike us, and, consequently, to strike atthe heart of the Republic itself."
Great cries of feigned indignation burst from the conspirators. Tumultrose in the hall. Aside to himself Hubert muttered--"Forward, withFouche's Septembrists!"
"If there exists a conspiracy against the Republic--unmask it!" cried amember of the minority. "Your assertions are without bottom. Let's havethe proofs!"
"You have not got the floor!" again declared President Lemercier.
Regnier continued: "I propose, gentlemen, according to the precise termsof the Constitution, the following motion and irrevocable decree; and Ipropose it to you with all the more confidence that a large number ofour colleagues, honored by our confidence, share my views:
"The Council of Ancients, in virtue of Articles 102, 103, and 104 of the Constitution, decrees the following:
"Article 1.--The legislative body is transferred to the Commune of St. Cloud. The two Councils, the Five Hundred and the Ancients, shall there sit in the two wings of the palace.
"Article 2.--They shall have moved by to-morrow, the 19th Brumaire, at noon. All continuation of functions and deliberations elsewhere before that time is forbidden.
"Article 3.--General Bonaparte is commissioned to execute the present decree. He will take all measures necessary for the safety of the national representation. All the troops are placed under the command of General Bonaparte; he will be called into the Council to receive the announcement of the present decree and to take the oath. He shall act in concert with the Committee of Inspectors of the two Councils.
"Article 5.--The present decree shall at once be transmitted by messenger to the Council of Five Hundred and to the executive Directorate."
The reading of the decree, acclaimed though it was by the intriguingmajority, elicited the most energetic disapproval from the memberspresent of the republican minority.
Cornudet followed Regnier on the tribunal: "Representatives of thepeople, I move the adoption of this address to the French:
"Frenchmen--The Council of Ancients uses its right, delegated to it by Article 102 of the Constitution, to change the seat of the legislative body.
"The common safety, the common prosperity, are alone the object of this constitutional measure. They shall be attained.
"And you, inhabitants of Paris, be calm. In a few days the presence of the legislative body will be restored to you.
"Frenchmen, the results of this day will soon make it evident whether the legislative body is worthy of establishing your happiness, and if worthy, whether it can.
"Long live the people, by whom, and of whom, the Republic has its existence."
The intriguers rose in mass to adopt this address to the French. In vainthe minority struggled to make their protests heard. They were drownedout by the clamor raised by the conspirators.
"Ushers, lead General Bonaparte to the bar," ordered PresidentLemercier.
Bonaparte was introduced by the ushers. He was clad in the severeuniform of the generals of the Republic, a blue coat with large lapels,a scarf tricolored, like the plume in his hat, tight trousers of whitecloth, and high yellow boots coming up to the middle of his calf. Thesickly and bilious complexion of the Corsican general brought outremarkably the leanness of his countenance, which was furthermorestrongly accentuated by its frame of straight black hair. His look wasinscrutable; it disclosed at once pride and dissimulation, astutenessand energy. A smile, which varied between insidiousness, mockery andhaughtiness, completed his physiognomy. Generals Berthier, Lefebvre,Moreau, Macdonald, Murat, Moncey, Beurnonville, Marmont, and severalaides-de-camp, among whom strode Colonel Oliver, escorted Bonaparte.Their air was one of jauntiness and triumph, and the clatter of theirtrailing sabers and their spurred boots on the flagstones of the hallrang out harshly. Then a profound silence fell upon the Assembly.
"General," quoth President Lemercier, "the Council of Ancients hassummoned you to its bar to impart to you its instructions."
In a voice that was clear and shrill, and marked by a curt and haughtyaccent, General Bonaparte answered: "Representatives of the people, theRepublic was perishing. You perceived its plight; your decree has savedit. Unhappy they who would trouble or disturb it! I shall arrest them,with the aid of General Lefebvre, General Berthier, and all mycompanions in arms. Woe to the seditious!"
Immoderate applause, echoing "Bravos!" on the part of the majority,greeted this speech. Cries of "Long live General Bonaparte!" were heard.
President Lemercier interrupted the tumult. "General," he said, "theCouncil of Ancients receives your oaths. It entertains no doubt of theirsincerity and your zeal to fulfil them. He who never promised theRepublic victories in vain can not but execute with devotion his newengagement to serve her in all faith and loyalty."
Followed by his staff, General Bonaparte strode from the hall. Thetraitor majority rose to its feet with the foresworn cry upon its lips:
"Long live the Republic!"