The Sultan's Daughter (70 page)

Instead Roger had performed many useful services for Bonaparte and, for the past month, had done his utmost to aid him in a conspiracy which might, sooner or later, lead to his wielding supreme power. Chance had given Roger the opportunity to bring in Fouché, but that was incidental. Fouché took his own decisions and, his views being as they were, Talleyrand would later have been certain to secure his co-operation. In any case, Roger had been only swimming
with the tide. Had he endeavoured to thwart the conspiracy, Fouché would soon have learned of his activities through one of Réal's thousand spies and would have pounced. So Roger would have found himself in prison or, worse, been in his grave. But now, simply by refraining from going upstairs, he could undo all that Talleyrand had striven for with such ardour, patience and skill.

There lay the rub. If he betrayed Bonaparte he would also be betraying Talleyrand, and he had unshakable faith in Talleyrand. He knew that Mr. Pitt disliked and despised Talleyrand even more than he did Bonaparte. But in that Roger had always felt that the shy, cold, passionless Prime Minister erred greatly in confusing morals with interests. Both Bonaparte and Talleyrand stood condemned on their personal records: the one for trickery and theft, the other for corruption and licentiousness. But Bonaparte had a genius for bringing order out of disorder; he had started as a revolutionary, but he had matured into a man of sound Liberal views who at least showed respect for religion and wished to see real liberty and justice restored to his countrymen; while Talleyrand was the man of great vision. All his life he had maintained that only when Britain and France reached an understanding could permanent peace and prosperity come to Europe. He was the man of Peace. With Bonaparte in power, his influence would be enormous. And everywhere that Bonaparte now went, the people in the streets called to him, ‘Peace! Give us Peace.' If he won this desperate gamble, how could he ignore both Talleyrand and the Will of the People?

Sweat had broken out on Roger's forehead. He was now facing ‘The Great Risk' that he had always dreaded might some day be forced upon him. If he once again went against Mr. Pitt's judgment, Bonaparte, as Commander of all France's Armies, might decide to carve out for himself in Europe the Empire that he had failed to carve out in the East. If that happened, it would mean the shedding of tears by a million women and the shedding of blood by a million men. The burden of such a decision was almost too great for any one man's shoulders. But Roger took it. He put one foot on the lowest stair. Then he began to run.

As he burst into the room where Bonaparte had spent most of the day he saw that he was slumped in a chair, his features haggard, his hair in disorder, mopping the blood from a cut on his face. Next moment Roger had seized him by the arm, pulled him to his feet and was shouting:

‘Quick! You have not a moment to lose! In the Five Hundred they are murdering your brother and are about to outlaw you! Do you understand? To outlaw you! Order the troops to clear the Orangerie. Talleyrand sent me. It is your only chance. It is now their lives or yours. Fail to act and tomorrow they will send you in an iron cage to Cayenne.'

Bonaparte shook Roger off. But, as though he had received an electric shock, his old vitality returned to him. His dark eyes flashed, he strode to the window and out on to the balcony. Drawing his sword he cried in his harsh Italian accent to the troops lined up below:

‘Soldiers! I will stand for no more. I have observed the laws, but the Five Hundred is filled with traitors. I went among them to plead for an end to the measures that have brought France to ruin. They insulted and reviled me. They attacked me with daggers. They are about to murder my brother. The peace must be kept. I order you to go in and rescue him.'

His mind had cleared and had seized upon a feature in the situation by which he might later whitewash himself. He had not ordered the troops to put an end arbitrarily to the session, but simply to rescue his brother.

Murat took off his feathered hat, waved it and ordered the troops to fix bayonets. A great cheer went up. With Murat at their head, holding high his sabre, they charged into the Orangerie.

Roger, utterly spent by the mental ordeal he had been through, sank down in the chair from which he had pulled Bonaparte. Later he heard about the final scene in the drama. When Murat burst into the Orangerie, Lucien had again got possession of the rostrum but was spreadeagled and clinging to it. At the sight of the bayonets and busbies the Deputies had scattered. In terror of their lives, most of them jumped out of the windows. Some made their way back to Paris;
others, fearing arrest and execution, spent the night wandering miserably about the park and forest.

In spite of the rough handling he had received Lucien, when escorted outside, mounted a horse, grabbed a sword and, pointing it at the General, who had come down to meet him, cried, ‘Should my brother ever attempt anything against our liberties, I will plunge this into his heart.' This theatrical gesture brought cheers from even the soldiers of the Legislative Guard, who had previously shown some doubt about where their duty lay.

Proceeding to the
Anciens
Lucien reported to them, with tears streaming down his cheeks, how Deputies of the Five Hundred had drawn their daggers on his brother, how, mercifully, he had been spared, and then how, fearful of being called to account for their act, the Deputies had dispersed of their own accord.

Having expressed their horror at the attacks, the
Anciens
passed a decree appointing Bonaparte, Sieyès and Ducos Provisional Consuls, formed an interim Legislative Committee from among themselves and adjourned the Councils until February 20th.

But the decrees of the
Anciens
still required ratification by the Five Hundred to make them fully legal. By then the majority of its members were lost in the damp mists of the November night: hungry, scared out of their wits and tearing their red robes as they hunted for hiding places among thickets of thorn bushes. But a handful of Bonaparte's supporters had known flight to be unnecessary, so were still hanging about. The indefatigable Lucien gathered together some twenty-five of them. Then, by the dim light of three candles, they ratified the decrees and also decreed the expulsion of the sixty Jacobin members. At one o'clock in the morning the three Provisional Consuls took the oath before both Chambers and formally assumed office.

The day was Bonaparte's, but only owing to the courage and tenacity displayed by his brother Lucien.

Meanwhile Talleyrand, accompanied by Röederer, de Montrond and Roger, had driven the few miles to Melun. He had had the foresight to arrange with a Madame Simons, a charming ex-actress who had married well and was an
ex-mistress of his, to provide them with dinner at her pretty little house there. It had been a long and trying day. While others still argued about formalities in the chilly corridors at St. Cloud or wandered disconsolate in the woods, the arch-conspirators warm and cosy in the soft candlelight, with fine wine, well-chosen dishes and a pretty woman for hostess, proceeded to enjoy themselves.

•     •     •     •     •

The coup of 18th
Brumaire
had infinitely more far-reaching results than any of the conspirators intended. Their aim had been to overthrow the Directory and make certain adjustments to the existing Legislature. Not only did it result in the abolition of the Directory but of the two Chambers as well. That fact was not immediately understood but, even had it been, all the best elements of the French nation would have approved. They were utterly weary of being ruled by Assemblies composed mainly of soapbox orators and cunning lawyers, with temperaments that ranged from those of incompetent idealists to tyrannical murderers. They wanted a strong and stable Government, led by a practical man; and now they had it. Even had they known that for the next fifteen years the ‘Will of the People', to establish which the Revolution had been brought about, was to be ignored by a Dictator, it is probable that the bulk of the nation would still have been prepared to accept that as the price for the restoration of a reasonable degree of freedom and religious toleration, the protection of private property, justice in the Courts and a stable financial situation.

Owing to the coup having been spaced over forty-eight hours it had been within an ace of failure, but once accomplished it was accounted a triumph. No blood had been spilt and all the actions taken had at least a semblance of legality, By the adjournment of the Chambers until February 20th, which was followed by the arrest of fifty-seven prominent Jacobin Deputies, all opposition had been crushed and the rejoicing throughout Paris was almost universal.

On the day following the coup the three Provisional Consuls occupied the apartments at the Luxembourg vacated
by the Directors. For the time being they enjoyed equal powers; but it was soon agreed that Bonaparte should handle all administrative matters, with the assistance of two Committees each of twenty-five members elected from the two Chambers, while Sieyès drafted the new Constitution. Fouché was, of course, retained as Minister of Police. Berthier took over the War Office and Gaudin, a Deputy who had spent most of his life in the Treasury and was a highly competent man, was made Minister of Finance. For the time being, Talleyrand remained in the background but was in constant touch with Bonaparte.

During the remainder of November and the first three weeks of December Bonaparte and Sieyès met daily to discuss the many articles in the proposed Constitution. Fundamentally their ideas on the subject had little in common; but the General was clever enough to continue to flatter the ex-Abbé, and so succeeded in getting included the clauses he considered essential. The most important of these was that, instead of appointing a Grand Elector as the Head of State, as Siéyés's wished, one of the three Consuls should act in that capacity with very extensive powers, while the other two would be little more than his advisers.

Meanwhile, they added considerably to their popularity by annulling the terrible Law of Hostages; sending General Hedouville, who had assisted Hoche to pacify the Vendée, back there to pacify it again; authorising the return to France of every proscribed person who had been condemned to transportation without trial, and repealing laws which imposed crippling burdens of taxation.

Throughout these weeks Roger continued his duties as one of Bonaparte's aides-de-camp with as much patience as he could muster. For better or for worse, he had made his contribution to the present state of things; but as yet there was no point in his slipping off to London and confessing to Mr. Pitt that he had flagrantly disobeyed his orders. The fact that the Directory had been overthrown would have reached the Prime Minister within a few days of its happening. What he would want to know was what changes in French foreign policy, if any, were likely to result from it, and whether the new Constitution was likely to restore France to stability.
Roger could make no assessment of that until it was known who was to wield almost dictatorial powers by being appointed First Consul, and that still hung in the balance.

It was not until December 22nd that the notables assembled in the Luxembourg to vote on this momentous issue. Puffed up with vanity, Sieyès had all along visualised himself in the role of First Consul, and it was that which had caused him to agree that the other two should have no power of veto and be virtual nonentities.

Feeling quite sure of himself Sieyès opened the meeting with an address in which he dwelt on the evils of military Dictatorships and how dangerous it would be to appoint a soldier as First Consul. But Bonaparte had devised a clever trick to outwit him. Before the meeting the wily Corsican had told his supporters not to form a group, but to scatter themselves about the hall. Then, when he took Sieyés's hand, they were to give a loud cry of ‘Bonaparte!'

As Sieyès brought his address to an end, Bonaparte stepped up to him with a smile and said, ‘Let us have no difference of opinion, my friend. ‘I vote for you. For whom do you vote?'

Sieyès, thinking that Bonaparte's vote put his own election beyond all question, replied, out of politeness, ‘I vote for you.'

Bonaparte put out his hand, Sieyès took it. Instantly, from all parts of the hall, there were loud cries of ‘Bonaparte! Bonaparte!' The General's scattered supporters infected their neighbours and in another minute everyone was crying ‘
Vive Bonaparte!
' Thus the wretched Sieyès was discomfited and the Corsican elected First Consul by acclamation.

Sieyès, almost speechless and half out of his mind with rage, refused the honourable post of Second Consul: so the Committees elected Cambacérès in this capacity and Lebrun as Third Consul. On the following day Bonaparte, whose word had now become, for all practical purposes, law, sent Reinhard as Ambassador to the Helvetic Republic and handed the portfolio of Foreign Minister back to Talleyrand.

Had Sieyès become First Consul, Bonaparte might well have decided, rather than remain as little more than a cipher in Paris, to take supreme command in the war against
Austria. Sieyès would gladly have got rid of him at that price. Then the Jacobins would have striven again to impose their rule of Terror and the Royalists plotted again to bring about a Restoration. Once more the future would have been in the melting pot; but with Bonaparte as Head of State, firmly supported by Talleyrand and Fouché, Roger could go back to England and report that the Revolution was over.

Now that the situation had clarified, his longing to get home became almost unbearable, and he saw no reason why he should not set out almost immediately. He had only to tell Bonaparte that the winter weather was again affecting his, mythically, weak chest to be given leave to go to his little chateau in the south of France. He could then set out in that direction, make a detour that would bring him to one of the Normandy ports and pay a smuggler well to run him across the Channel. As it was already the 23rd he could not get home for Christmas, but he should be able to do so well before the New Year.