Napoleon in Egypt Read Online Free PDF

this wise, avuncular figure during their travels together in Corsica. In no time he became obsessed with the idea of mounting an expedition to Egypt. According to his secretary Bourrienne “he spoke of it daily when conversing with his generals.” On August 16 he even went so far as to write to the Directory, revealing to them his plan: “The time is not far off . . . when it will be necessary for us to take Egypt.” 11 But the Directory ignored this: indeed, all the evidence suggests that the letter may even have remained unread.
    But Napoleon was not to be put off. In November he dispatched Citizen Poussielgue, the civilian financial administrator of the Army of Italy, on what was described as a tour of inspection of the ports of the Levant. It was in fact a mission to spy out the defenses of Malta, an island whose strategic importance would be vital to any French invasion of Egypt. By now the Directory had appointed Talleyrand as the new foreign minister. Unaware that Talleyrand had gained office by proposing the colonization of Egypt, Napoleon now wrote to him outlining his own plans for an invasion of the country. A publicly floated idea and a private obsession became one.
    The following month, on December 5, 1797, Napoleon returned to Paris, where he received a rapturous welcome. Grand balls were thrown to mark his return, and he was showered with honors. The upheavals of the Revolution and its bloody aftermath, followed by the vicious and muddled rule of the Directory, had left France in need of a hero: here was someone of whom its citizens could be proud, a leader who had achieved great victories and planted the ideals of the Revolution in Italy. “ Vive le libérateur de l’Italie! ” was on everyone’s lips. When Napoleon took up residence at Josephine’s house in Rue Chantereine, crowds gathered outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man of the moment, and in his honor the Parisian authorities renamed the street Rue de la Victoire.
    However, precisely because of his popularity these were dangerous times for Napoleon, and he went in very real fear of his life. A number of powerful cliques were covertly scheming to take power; meanwhile, Barras was doing his utmost to protect the shaky rule of the Directory. Several sources remark on the fact that during this time Napoleon never removed his spurs, and he is said to have kept a horse permanently saddled and ready in the stable at the back of 6 Rue de la Victoire. His faithful old schoolfriend Bourrienne, who had accompanied him to Italy as his secretary, recorded receiving a note from a woman warning Napoleon that he was to be poisoned. When the woman was traced, she was found with her throat cut. After this, when Napoleon appeared at public functions he employed someone to taste his food. The finger of suspicion points to the Directory.
    Napoleon now turned to the one person he felt he could trust:Talleyrand. During the course of his regular correspondence from Italy, he had established a deep rapport with the new foreign minister. He was soon revealing in confidence what sort of government he thought France should have, and he quickly made it plain that he despised the Directory, describing them contemptuously as “just blatherers and lawyers.”
    Talleyrand, for his part, exercised his supreme diplomatic skills, which quickly enabled him to gain an insight into Napoleon’s difficult character. It was mostly through Talleyrand’s influence that Napoleon was elected to the prestigious Institute of France, whose elite membership was limited to the country’s top intellectuals and scientists. This honor, which purported to recognize Napoleon’s intellect rather than his military or political skill, pleased him above all the others he received at this time. He even began placing it above his military rank, and from now on took to signing himself “Bonaparte, Member of the Institute of France and General-in-Chief.” Talleyrand understood the real way to