When congratulated by Bourrienne on some noisy demonstration of popular favor, he answered in the words of Cromwell; "Bah! they would crowd as eagerly about me if I were on my way to the scaffold!"
Wherever he went he was still the Bonaparte of Lodi, Arcola and Rivoli.
Meanwhile the government gave him no adequate reward for his important services in Italy. He had not when he returned to France, three hundred thousand francs in his possession, though he had transmitted fifty millions to the State. "I might easily," he said to Las Casas, "have brought back ten or twelve millions; I never made out any accounts, nor was I ever asked for any." On the eve of his departure for Egypt he became possessed of Malmaison and there deposited nearly all his property. He purchased it in the name of his wife, older than himself, and consequently, in case of his surviving her, he must have forfeited all right to the same. The fact, as stated by himself, was, that he never had a taste or desire for the acquirement of riches.
He willingly accepted the new appointment now pressed upon him by the government, who seemed anxious that he should not remain in Paris to take part in the civil business of the State. In this latter direction he had no desire for continued service. In Napoleon's own language, "the pear was not yet ripe," and, like Cæsar, he would have preferred being first in a village to being second in Rome. The first scheme of the French Directory was to make a descent upon England and to place Napoleon at the head of the invading army, but their counsels continually fluctuated between this project and the Egyptian expedition. Napoleon said to Bourrienne on the 29th of January: "Bourrienne, I shall remain here no longer; they (the Directory) do not want me; there is no good to be done; they will not listen to me. I see, if I loiter here, I am done for quickly. Here everything grows flat; my glory is already on the wane. This little Europe of yours cannot supply the demand. We must move to the East. All great reputations come from that quarter. But I will first take a turn round the coast to assure myself what can be done. If the success of a descent upon England appears doubtful, as I fear, the army of England shall become the army of the East, and I am off for Egypt." He at length resolved to bring the question of the invasion to a decision by a personal survey of the coast opposite England. While there he busied himself for a time in suggesting improvements in fortifications and in selecting the best points for embarking an invading force. Many local improvements of great importance, long afterwards effected, were first suggested by him at this period; but the time had not come for invading England.
Napoleon had suggested to Talleyrand, minister of foreign affairs, some months before, the propriety of making an effort against England in another quarter of the globe; i. e., of seizing Malta, proceeding to Egypt, and therein gaining at once a territory capable of supplying to France the loss of her West Indian colonies, and the means of annoying Great Britain in her Indian trade and empire.
The East presented to him a field of conquest and glory, and to this he now again recurred. "Europe is but a mole hill," he said; "All the great glories have come from Asia where there are six hundred millions of men." He soon returned to Paris and made his views known to the Directory, declaring that an invasion of England was a wild chimera. To Bourrienne, his school companion, who asked him concerning his contemplated invasion after he had been on the coast a week he said: "The risk is too great; I sha'n't venture it. I don't want to trifle with the fate of France."
The temptation of the Directory was great, and as it would find employment for Napoleon at a distance from France, the Egyptian expedition was finally determined upon; but kept a great secret.
While the attention of Great Britain was now riveted on the coast, it was on the borders of the Mediterranean that his ships and the troops really destined for action, were assembling. Everyone wished to accompany Napoleon to the East—civilians, scholars, engineers, artists, all wished to make the journey. Napoleon selected and equipped the army, raised money and collected ships. He was employed night and day in the organization of the armament which was to be under his command absolutely.
In April and May 1798 the various squadrons of the French fleet were assembled at Toulon, and everything was soon in readiness. The main body was assembled at Toulon but the embarkment was to take place at Civita Vecchia. When asked if he should remain long in Egypt, Napoleon replied: "A few months, or six years; it all depends upon circumstances."
When all was in readiness Bonaparte called his vast army together and in sight of the ships which were to carry them from the shores of France, said to his followers: "Rome fought Carthage on sea as well as on the land; England is the Carthage of France. I have come to lead you, in the name of the Divinity of Liberty, across mighty seas, and into distant regions, where your valor may achieve such life and glory as will never await you beneath the cold skies of the West. Prepare yourselves, soldiers, to embark under the tri-color for achievements far more glorious than you have won for your country on the blushing plains of Italy."