to serve, principles were out of the question, and he shaped his
conduct accordingly. But as he is a man of transcendant
understanding in matters of revolution, he had already laid it down
as a system to do the least evil possible, the necessity of the
object admitted. His preceding conduct certainly exhibited little
feeling of morality, and he was frequently in the habit of talking
of virtue as an old woman's story. A remarkable sagacity, however,
always led him to choose the good as a reasonable thing, and his
intelligence made him occasionally do what conscience would have
dictated to others. He advised me to go into the country, and
assured me, that in a few days, all would be quieted. But at my
return, I was very far from finding it so.




CHAPTER 3

System of Fusion adopted by Bonaparte--Publication of my work
on Literature.


While we have seen the Christian kings take two confessors to
examine their consciences more narrowly, Bonaparte chose two
ministers one of the old and the other of the new regime, whose
business it was to place at his disposal the Machiavelian means of
two opposite systems. In all his nominations, Bonaparte followed
nearly the same rule, of taking, as it may be said, now from the
right, and now from the left, that is to say, choosing alternately
his officers among the aristocrats, and among the jacobins: the