The sun., 1895-05-26
THE SUN, SUNDAY. MAY 2e, 1895.

boots. keeping himself at respectful distance
from the representatives of tho people, hat ever
| in hand, ms low rs the length OF his arms al
| lowed him to hold it," On this curious passage
| OF the memoirs the editor In his preface, makes
| the following comment: "Barrns has counted
| the holes in his coats but how could Barras have
dlvined and understandable heart beating under
the ragged garb 2"
| What part did Bonaparte play In the over
| throw of the Paris sections by the Convention
| According to Berras, "Bonaparte was neither
moro nor less than my aide-de-camp on the
18th vendcmnire. / was mounted; ho was
| nfoot, md could consequently not follow
mo wherever went. The only mission he re-
ccived from me was to go to the Pont Royal and
return and report TO me what was going on
there. He did not give, and had not the author
ity to give, any order on his own account; he
was never Mt any point Of attack except ut tho
Carrousel, whence he did not stir after once
going to II; Bruno was In command there.
have not omitted the trait, however which gave
indication Of n rather quick military perception,
when, pulling mo by the coat and drawing me q
few PAGES away from position exposing me to
outburst of vivacity born of the circumstances:
All would be lost were you killed; the drama
hinges on you alone; there is no one who could
take your place. What do you decdeT 1t was
then that ordered Brune to fire his cannon
and Bonnparte, pressing my hand, added: Tho
republic is saved 1t was during this talk that,
few shots having been fired In our direction,
Bruno at my order responded by volley OF can
non. scattering In the twinkling Of an eye those
49,
advancing by tho Rue Saint Honore Driven
back by the runaways they swelled the number
of the retreating force" 1t seems singular that
II the services of Bonaparte on the 18th Vende-
minire were so insignificant, he should have been
made Immediately afterward the virtual General
OF the Army of the Interior. 1t Is we'll known
that this occurred. How the appointment came
to be made is explained by Barras follows:
when appeared before the Committee of
Public Safety for the purpose Of rendering my
resignation OF the post of Commander Of tho
Army Of the Interior noticed that several OF
its members, notably Carnot, listened with satis-
faction to the intimntion of my intention. Re-
publican gratitude for services rendered 10 not
of long endurance any more than Is that Of
royalty when once the danger Is past. In spite
OF a certain amount of gratitude which Carnot
owed to the man styled the General Of the
18th Vendemiaire. ho felt no little embar-
rassment on seeing me. owing to the
opposite paths we had respectively followed
both before and after the 9th Thermidor, when
had como forward as hater and destroyer Of
the tyranncal system in which Carnot had
been participant. He was. therefore, the first
to open his lips, saying. Our colleague can be
proftably replaced by Gen. Beaufort 1t was
pointed out TO Carnot that he had made happier
military selections. Beaufort was admitted to
ha I ha mr. INN nd n M m n ia
army. l opposed this improper choice by say
ing, AS formyself, propose the selection of my
chief of staff, Bonaparte.' He had been nothing
more than my aide-de-camp. and in investing
him with this high function. for which he GER
tainly held no brevet, l was seeking to enhance
his position and pave the way to speak. for a
transition to the highest rank. Hardly had
proposed this. when heard whispered about
me. ''Tis ono of his henchmen.' left the COM
mittec. and at once returned to the Convention.
then in session. l began by announcing that
calm reigned once more in Paris; that. invested
with dangerous dictatorship felt the desire
and need of surrenderinR the fnsces by handing
In my resignation: introduced to the Conven.
ton as my successor my first aide-d de- camp. who
had acted Us my chief of staff Bonapnrte, and
praised his military talents. The Convention, to
whom the very name of the man was propos-
ing was unknown, hesitated. So / vouched
for him personally. at the same time
consenting not to sever my connection with
the armed force, but to continue as representa-
tive OF the people with the army. The Con-
vention assented by large majority to my two
propositions. The title of General-n- Chief OF
the Army OF the Interior was therefore retained
by me. So it came to pass that Bonaparte. by II
decree of the 18th Vendtmiaire, was appointed
General second in command of the Army OF the
Interior. in spite OF the committees. He moved
respectfully toward me in an attitude express
sive OF gratitude, saying, You overwhelm me;
all my family were already loaded with your
benctits.' Later on will be seen what the graft
tude OF Bonaparte and his family was WORTH"
The allusion made by Bonaparte to the assist
ance which Barras had enabled him to give his
relatives, leads the author to touch on the posi-
ton Of the Bonaparte family at this time. They
were then living in a state of great poverty We
proceed TO quote: Driven out OF Corsica for
reasons far less TO their credit than they have
since sought to allege. Mother Bonaparte. on
their first landing. fixed their residence at
Antilles, where they presented tho spectacle OF
the mos: distressing poverty, living solely on
borrowed money, hardly sufficient to provide
them with mattress they shared in common
and cauldron wherein to boil vegetables, and
out of which they all ate together. When the
Bonaparte family had exhausted such resources
as it had been able to obtain at Antilles. 1t
moved to the house of a respected landowner Of
Saint Zacharie, a few leagues distant from Mar
seiles. This gentlemen. by name NJ. Ito Cha
tesuneuf whose income was of the sma allcst, well
coined them all, lodged and fed them generous
ly, and with delicncy, during several months.
When they had exhausted Saint t-Zacharie. as
they had Antilles. they proceeded to MarseilleI,
where being still destitute of means. they pa-
raded AS Corsican refugees, prescribed for the
cause Of liberty, and as such. begged food and
lodging. They excited the humanity OF the
of the garrison. who considered
them rs relations Of soldiers. since one of them,
an artillery officer, was in the service. lie
caused to be given to them military ratons, con-
sisting OF bread, meat, vegetables. wood. and |
salt. This commander had written to me on the |
matter in order to obtain my permission. Not |