16] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



throw himself into his arms,and de- 

 mand from him vengeance, justice, 

 and protection. In order to be 

 invested with arbitrary power, it 

 would then be only necessary for 

 him to accept it." 



The general on the night between 

 the eighth and ninth,sent a consider- 

 able force to the palace of the el- 

 ders, wliile he himself, with a great 

 number of staff officers, repaired to 

 the Thuilleries, all the avenues of 

 which were shut up from the public. 

 A strong detachment of cavalry was 

 stationed near the hall of the coun- 

 cil of five hundred. These diiferent 

 bodies were reinforced in the morn- 

 ing by additional troops, and parti- 

 cularly by cavalry and artillery. 



Of the five directors, Sieyes alone 

 was privy all along to what was 

 going forward. Ducos was admitted 

 into the secret afterwards. Barras 

 was infonned of the change that 

 had taken place early on the morn- 

 ing of the ninth, and invited to give 

 in his resignation. He hesitated for 

 some time, but at length sent in his 

 resigTiation into the hands of gene- 

 ral Buonaparte, who had come to 

 theThuUleries, at eleven, by Bottot, 

 about twelve o'clock. The gene- 

 ral, when Bottot arrived, had just 

 gone out to harangue the officers, 

 soldiers, and citizens, in some of the 

 adjoining courts, and garden. — 

 Bottot whispered to the general the 

 object of his mission. Buonaparte 

 with his left hand took hold of Bot- 

 tot's arm, and placed him a little 

 behind, and then began his speech 

 to the troops, the exordium of which 

 was " The army has cordially 

 united with me, as I cordially act 

 with the legislative body." Some 

 sentences in this harangue, reflect- 

 ing on the conduct of administra- 

 tion, were afterwards misrepresent- 



ed as addressed to Bottot,and point- 

 ed particularly ag?inst Barras. But 

 the fact has been fully ascertained 

 to have been otherv/ise. W^hen this 

 speech, which was followed by re- 

 peated acclamations of vive la Re- 

 public ! vive Buonaparte ! was 

 finished, Buonaparte took Bottot 

 aside and desired him to tell BaiTas 

 that he was in\'iolably attached to 

 him, and would protect him against 

 the violence ot his enemies. 



Gohier, who did not rise from 

 bed till late in the morning, was 

 surprised to find on his table the 

 decree of the council of elders for 

 changing the residence of the legis- 

 lature. He repaired to the councU- 

 room of the directory, where he met 

 Moulins as much surprised and per- 

 plexed as himself. Their perplexity 

 was increased when they discovered 

 that Sieyes and Ducos, in conse- 

 quence of a message from the ci- 

 ders had repaired to theThuilleries. 

 The secretary was called to write 

 their orders, but it was observed 

 that two members did not fonn a 

 majority. They repeatedly sent for 

 Barras, who positively refused to 

 join in their deliberations. As the 

 only resource that now remained 

 was that of military force, they sent 

 orders to general Lefebre, who 

 commanded the 17th division, to 

 surround the house of Buonaparte, 

 with a strong party of the directo- 

 rial guard. But general Lefebre 

 sent for an answer, that he was then 

 under the orders of Buonaparte, on 

 whom the chief command of all tlie 

 troops, in and near Paris, had been 

 conferred, b)' the council of elders. 

 And it was quickly discovered that 

 the directorial guard had gone over 

 to the side of tlie general, and had 

 joined a large body of other troops, 

 in the garden of the Thuilleries. 



