[29] "They cut down the crops of men three times a-year."
[30] "It is only under a government as wise and as great as yours, that a simple soldier like me could have formed the project of carrying the war into Egypt.—Yes, Directors, scarcely shall I be master of Egypt, and of the solitudes of Palestine, than England will give you a first rate ship of the line for a sack of corn."
[31] "If I present myself with troops (said Napoleon) it is only to please my friends, for in truth, I have the greatest desire of appearing there as of old; Louis XIV. appeared in the Parliament in boots, and a whip in his hand."
[32] "I am one of those whom men kill, but whom they cannot dishonour; in three months we shall have peace—either the enemy shall be chased from our territory, or I shall be no more."
[33] "I have called you around me to do good; you have done ill. You have among you persons devoted to England, who correspond with the Prince Regent, by means of the Advocate Deseze. Eleven-twelfths of you are good; the rest are factious. Return to your departments;—I shall have my eye on you. I am one whom men may kill, but whom they cannot dishonour. Who is he among you who could support the load of government. It has crushed the Constituent Assembly, which dictated laws to a weak king. The Fauxbourg St Antoine would have assisted me, but it would soon have abandoned you. What are become of the Jacobins, the Girondins, the Vergniaus, the Guadets, and so many others? They are dead. You have sought to bespatter me in the eyes of France. This is a heinous crime;—besides, what is the throne? Four pieces of gilded wood covered with velvet. I had pointed out to you a Secret Committee; it is there that you should have established your griefs. It was in the family that our dirty linen should have been washed. I have a title; you have none. What are you in the Constitution? Nothing. You have no authority. The Throne is the Constitution. Every thing is in the throne, and in me. I repeat it to you, you have among you factious persons. Mr Lainè is a wicked man; the rest are factious. I know them, and I shall pursue them. I ask you, Was it while the enemy were among us that you ought to have done such things? Nature has endowed me with great courage, it can resist every thing. Much has it cost my pride, but I have sacrificed it. But I am above your miserable declamations. I had need of consolation,—and you have dishonoured me. But no; my victories crush your complaints. I am one of those who triumph or who die. Return to your departments.
[34] "One of his Ministers one day addressed him, presenting him a report which he had desired. The subject was a conspiracy against his person. I was present at that scene; I expected, I confess, to see him enter in a fury, thunder forth against the traitors, threaten the magistrates, and accuse them of negligence. Not at all; he ran over the paper without the least sign of agitation. Judge of my surprise, or rather what sweet emotion I felt, when he pronounced these touching and sublime words:—Count, the state has not suffered, the magistrates have not been insulted. It was only my person they aimed at; I pity them for not knowing that my every wish is for the good of France; but every man may go astray. Tell the ungrateful men that I pardon them." Now, I defy the most faithful royalist, who should have witnessed such an action, not to exclaim—If Heaven was to give an usurper to France, let us thank it for having given this one! But stop, unfortunate one: your eyes have indeed seen, your ears have heard; believe nothing, but be present at the levee of this hero, so magnanimous, so little desirous of revenging himself. The doors are opened—Behold him! The crowd of courtiers surround him—all fix their eyes on him—his face is changed—the muscles are violently contracted—his whole appearance is that of a ruffian; a death-like silence reigns in the assembly—the Prince has not yet spoken, but he surveys the group: He perceives the same officer, who, two days before, had presented him the report. "Count (said he), are these vile conspirators executed? Are their accomplices in chains? Have the executioners given a new example to the imitators of those who aim at my life?"
[35] "You wish to see us drawn on hurdles to the scaffold."
[36] These nutshells.
[37] Swords of honour—guns of honour.
[38] Saucepan of honour.