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be prohtably replaced by General Beau
fort
at was pointed out to Carnot that he
had made happier military selections.
Beaufort was admitted to be the most i'm
moral and incapable man in the army.
opposed this improper choice by saying,
AS for myself, propose the selection of
my chief of staff, Bonaparte' He had been
nothing more than my aid-de-camp, and
in investing him with this high function,
for which he certainly held no brevet,
was seeking to enhance his position and
pave the way, so to speak, for transition
to the highest rank. Hardly had pro-
posed this when heard whispered about
ma IT'S one of his henchmen.' left the
committee 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, l felt the desire and need OF
surrendering the fasces by handing in my
resignation. l introduced to the conven-
ton as my successor my first aid-de-camp,
who had acted as my chief Of staff, Bona
parte, and praised his military talents.
The convention, to whom the very name Of
the man l was proposing 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 representative of the people
with the army. The convention assented
by large majority to my two PROPOSE
tions. The title Of general in chief of the
Army of the Interior was therefore re.
tanned by me. So it came to pass that
Bonaparte, by decree of the 18th
Vendemiaire, was appointed general Sec
ond in command of the Army of the In
terror in spite of the committees He
moved respectfully toward me in an atti-
tude expressive of gratitude, saying, You
overwhelm me; all my family were already
loaded with your benefits Later on will
be seen what the gratitude Of Bonaparte
and his family was worth"
Concerning Josephine.
1t is unquestionably true that, if any
man can be said to have made Napoleon,
it was Barras. Not only did the Jacobin
noble give the young Corsican his first
noteworthy opportunities at Toulon and
on the 18th Vendemiaire and see to it that
he was properly rewarded for his services
on those occasions, but he it was who gave
to Bonaparte the command of the army OF
Italy as the marriage portion of Nine. de
Beauharnais. An account of the latter in.
cident will be found in the second of these
volumes, and while it reflects the utmost
discredit on the author it cannot be passed
over, especially because it was, to some ex-
tent confirmed by Josephine herself when
she was DESTROYS of proving that she owed
nothing to Bonaparte, but that, on the
contrary, he owed her everything.
J2orroc hnoipC bic rooDrd Of J2nponor to,c
relations with Josephine by recalling that
the young officer had heard him say: "Wo-
men have their uses in this world. They
are more obliging than men," Bonaparte
had noticed among the ladies who called
most frequently on Barras at the Luxem-
bourg palace the Widow Beauharnais, who
is here described as "a woman of rather
gentle manners, most kindly, and who &C.
casionally conversed with me in more pri.
vate fashion than did others. Nine. de
Beauharnais was reputed to have some in
6uence with me. Some there were who
believed she had been my mistress. Others
that she still was. What is however, Ger.
tain is that she had been the patient mis-.
tress, in the sight and with the knowledge
of the whole world, of General Hoche,
di tutti quaint"
Barras proceeds to explain the slur con-
veyed in the Italian words by admitting
that it is not to be inferred that she did
not love General Hoche more than the
Others. "From motives Of ambition rather
than love, since she deceived him like the
rest, Mime. Beauharnais had pushed her
pretensions on Hoche so far as to wish
that he should secure divorce in order
that she might marry him, but a feeling
of tender esteem bound HOche to his
young and virtuous spouse; he had per-
haps neglected her connubially, but he had
not forsaken and forgotten her for the sake
of passing gallantry due to chance
meeting with Nine. Beauharnais in prison.
He had, consequently, repulsed with hor-
ror the suggestion of divorce" although,
as he told Barras, Mime. Beauharnais in
order to win him over, had spoken of inter
ests of fortune and in1uepN assuring him
that she could give him sure support with
the new government particularly with ono
lover whom, she added, she had a great
ascendancy." 1t is likewise asserted in
these memoirs that long before these dis
cussions Ik)che had discovered that Nine.
Beauharnais "did not even respect the
sentiment with which she seemed most
penetrated, and that passion did not pre-
vent her from entering into all sorts Of
calculations, while, at the same time, not
operating as a bar to any of the diversions
of infldelity." According to Barras,
Hoche had repeatedly acquired the certain
ty of this, and in particular, from one of
his aids-de-camp, who, ON the occasion of
his being the bearer of a letter from him
to Nine. de Beauharnais, had been tempt
ed by her just as Joseph was by Mrs Poti-
phar; but unlike Joseph, he had not left
his garment in her hands.
EapoleOn's LovemalSing.
After this Introductory reference to Jo-
sephine the author digresses, to compare
her with Nine. Tallien, who, since the 9th
Thermidor, had been the feminine dictator
of republican society in Paris. 1t was, we
are assured, impossible for Mime. de Beau
harnais to enter into competition with
Nine. Tallien in the matter of physical
charms.
Barras declares that Bonaparte was one
of the most assiduous frequenters of the
Luxembourg. Whether it was that Nine.
Talliens beauty had captivated him, or
whether he believed the report that she
possessed greater influence than Nine.
Beauharnais, it was to the former that in
the first place he addressed his VOWS and
attentions. These were soon followed by
a declaration Of what he called his uncon-
querable passion. We are assured that
Nine. Tallien replied to "the little enam-