FRANCE. 
892 
tions, “ that the heroic ages were effaced from the an¬ 
nals of fame, and that the fabulous ages had become*their 
own hiftory.” Shortly after, to draw them into a diftant 
expedition^ Bonaparte calls them “ the great nation;” 
and immediately tlie great nation over-runs Egypt. Again, 
before he lands, this new St. Louis, knowing that the 
very name of Chriftian may, in his projedled inctirfions 
into Alia, preclude him from running the career of Jen- 
gifkahn, has his, new profefiion of faith ready, and imme¬ 
diately claims the merit of having deftroyed in Europe the 
“ enemies of Iflamifm, and thrown down the crofs.”— 
“ Nations of Egypt,” lays he, on his arrival, “ I refpedf, 
more than the Mamalukes, God, his prophet, and the 
Koran.” He foon perceives, however, that the Egyp¬ 
tians are diftruftful of his Iflamifm, and prefer to his, the 
yoke of their Mamaluke legion of honour: but having al¬ 
ready difeovered, that fuperftition forms the balls and ge¬ 
netic character of both the governors and the governed, 
inftead of any longer profeffing his refpedt for Mahomet, 
he aflumes the prophet himfelf.—“Since the world is the 
world, it was vvriiten, that I fhould come from the ex¬ 
tremity of the weft, to fulfil the falk that is impofed on 
me. 1 might call every one of you to an account for the 
moft fecret thoughts of his heart; for I know all, even 
what you have not fpoken to any one. But the day will 
come, when all the world will clearly fee, that I am con¬ 
duced by orders from above, and that all human efforts 
are unavailing againft me. ... It is wel' for you to know, 
that all I undertake muft fucceed.” Too wife, however, 
to perfift in his defperate enterprife, no fooner does he fee 
the fatal crifts approaching, than he fecretly returns to 
Europe But to prevent his companions in arms, whom 
he has left behind, from finking under the difeouragement 
with which he had juft been feized himfelf; his firft: care 
is to write to them, that “ the day, when they fhall re¬ 
turn victorious to the facred land, will be a day of joy 
and of glory for the whole nation I” Soon af^er this, the 
Englifh, fleet takes them prifoners, and brings them back 
to him. No matter ; he conliders his prediction accom- 
plifhed, and even reminds them of it, at the fame time 
thanking them for having “ left in Egypt immortal re¬ 
membrances,” and congratulating them, that they return 
to the facred land “ with the glory due to four years of 
labour and of bravery.” As to general Menou, to con- 
fole him for his defeat, he takes him alide, and acknow¬ 
ledges with him, that “ the fate of battles is uncertain.” 
When word was brought him at St. Cloud, that the council 
of five hundred are renewing their oath to the conftitution 
of the year 3, and that this oath is reftoring to them their 
loft courage, he prefents himfelf in themidftof them, and 
exclaims, “ Remember, that I always march accompa¬ 
nied by the god of war and the god of fortune!” He 
fpeaks, the council of five hundred difperfe, all the re¬ 
publicans believe him, and fubmit. The royalifts, how¬ 
ever, and the priefts of La Vendee, (till relift; but, in 
order to embroil them with England, the very man, who 
in Turkey, had made a merit of having “ deftroyed the 
crofs and the pope,” does not helitate to denounce the 
Englifh as wicked heretics. Again, at the opening of 
the campaign of 1800, wifhing to induce the confcripts 
to refort in mafs to Dijon, and affemble beneath his ban¬ 
ners, he accompliflies his ptirpofe by affuring them, that 
“ the effort he afks of them will be unnecelfary, if they 
appear but ready to make it.” Is it important to him to 
bring back the captain-general Tonflaint to the bofom of 
the republic, or is he apprehenfive left his remorfe for 
what the planters call the ufurpation of that negro, fhould 
drive him to adfs of defperation ? The man of the 18th of 
Brumaire, thinks himfelf better qualified than any one to 
apply the fpunge of abfolution. He writes to him, that 
41 it is by his talents, and by the force of circumftances, 
that he is the firft man of his colour who has arrived at 
fo high a degree of power in St. Domingo, and holds there 
the firft command.” But he does not ftop here ; for, 
knowing that ToulTaint has the name of the Deity con- 
flantly in his mouth, lie’ thanks him above all, “ for 
having again brought into honour religion, and the wor- 
fhip of that God, from whom every thing emanates.” 
Knowing alfo, that this African is bound, by all that is 
moft dear to man, to prevent the negroes from being again 
brought under the yoke of flavery, from which France 
herfelf had emancipated them, he writes to him, “ You 
defire their liberty ; you know, that, in all countries 
where we have been, we have given it to nations that 
pofTelied it no.t. Whatever be the origin and the colour 
of the inhabitants of St. Domingo, they are all Frenchmen, 
all free before God and before the republic.” Obferve, 
however, that the very fame week, in which he figned 
his difpatch to pacify the blacks of Sr. Domingo, h? en¬ 
deavoured to quiet the alarmsof the whites of Martinico, 
and of the I lies of France and Reunion, by declaring to 
them, that they no longer had caule to fear that the mo¬ 
ther country would “ eftablilh the flavery of the whites, 
by giving liberty to the blacks.” This he enforced by 
the murder of ToufTaint. Obferve alfo, that he was at 
this very "time lilently preparing the projet of a law, which, 
the better to enable thofe principles to triumph which 
began the revolution, has re-eftablilhed the Have trade ; 
that is to fay, the buyingand felling thofe wretched Afri¬ 
cans, who are “ all free before God and before the re¬ 
public!” At home, does lie wifh again to attach the 
royalifts to his car? He has difeovered their predominant 
pallion alfo, and contents himfelf with faying, “ France 
has acquired more confideration abroad, than the mo¬ 
narchy ever enjoyed.” Or is it needful to diftipate the 
alarms of certain republicans, who ftill adhere to the con- 
ftitution and the “ grand principles ?” He (lops their 
mouth by fervently invoking, like them, the facred name 
of the people, and adds thefe very fignificaht words, “ the 
fovereign of 11s all.” But of all the numerous foul ftains 
which fully the reputation of the prefent ruler of France, 
his conduct fo the brave and noble-minded negro com¬ 
mander ToufTaint, forms one of the deepeft.” 
The next writer vvho profefles impartially to (ketch the 
charad’tef of the emperor Napoleon, is an Englijhman in 
Paris, Mr. Thomas Holcroft, who married a FYench lady, 
and refided a confiderable time on the fpot. His delinea¬ 
tions in many refpedts befpeak the hand of a mafter; and 
where his colouring is defedtive, it may be attributed to 
the difficulty of pourtraying fo extraordinary a prince 
with claflical precifion. He firft enumerates the vices, 
and then the virtues, of his hero : 
“ It is the turn and concurrence of circumftances that 
give the powers of man their direction, (lamp his charac¬ 
ter, and reconcile him to courfes of adtion ; fuch, even, 
as he may have once held in abhorrence. In all the ar¬ 
dour of youth, when the intemperate imagination knew 
not where to reft, before principles had been fixed by ex¬ 
perience, yet not till after a burning third of fame had 
been excited in him, Bonaparte found that dangerous 
engine, that implement of human mifery, an army, at his 
command, and prompt to effedt whatever purpofe his rapid 
genius fhould conceive. He foon difeovered the necellity 
there was to give that colouring to events that might 
produce the effedts intended : to conceal, to deceive, to 
fix the attention on falfe points, to fla'ter peafants, to 
fpeak to princes in the lofty tone of menace, to fpur the 
foldier to attack by the hopes of plunder, to hang him 
afterwards for the crime, to promife friendfhip to the 
vanquifhed, and then to raife contributions, and drip 
them of all they efteemed moft precious ; thefe foon be¬ 
came the daily occurrences of his adtive warfare! Oh, 
had his genius received another diredtion, had he been 
impelled with no lefs force into the paths of wifdom and 
benevolence, what a bleffing to the world would he have 
been ! 
“ In Egypt he found a race much more ignorant, more 
depraved, and therefore ftill more addidfed to the arts of 
deceit, than in Italy ; and he bent all his^towers to the 
talk of overcoming them, in every manner. Could the^ 
fight ? 
