68 CARNOT. 



came the victims of it, would not have been any better 

 guide. I should have seen Hoche march at one moment 

 against his constant and zealous protector, against him 

 "who had saved his life under the rule of Robespierre, and 

 who, in 1793, transformed the trimmings of the young 

 sergeant into the epaulettes of a full general. I should 

 have found Bonaparte contributing by his delegate Auge- 

 reau, to the upsetting, and to the proscription of the only 

 Director with whom he had continued intimately con- 

 nected during the campaign of Italy. I should have 

 seen him on his journey to Geneva have the banker 

 Bontemps arrested, under pretext that he had favour- 

 ed the escape of that same Carnot to whom a few 

 months before, he, Bonaparte, wrote from Plaisance 

 (20th of Floreal, year IV.), from Milan (the 20th of 

 Prairial, the same year), from Verona (the 9th of Plu- 

 viose, year V.) : " I owe you special thanks for the at- 

 tention that you kindly show to my wife ; I recommend 

 her to you ; she is a sincere patriot, and I love her to 

 madness .... I will deserve your esteem ; I beg of 



you to continue your friendship for me The 



sweetest recompense for the fatigues, the dangers, the 

 chances of this profession, is the approbation of the small 



number of men whom we ajipreciate I have 



alw^ays had to rejoice in the marks of friendship that you 

 have shown to me and mine, and I shall always be truly 



grateful to you for them The esteem of a small 



number of persons like yourself, that of my brother 

 officers, of the soldier, interest me deeply." 



Of the two sincere Republicans included in the execu- 

 tive Directory, I should have met one among the Fruc- 

 tidorisants, the other among the Fructidorises ; the 

 satrap Barras — of whom it might have been said, with- 



