came from furnaces operating in the city.
My father, at that time, occupied a fine mansion in the
Faubourg-St-Honoré road, number 87, on the corner with the little Rue
Vert. I arrived there at dinner time: all the family were gathered
there. It would be impossible for me to describe the joy which I
felt at seeing them all together! This was one of the happiest days
of my life!

We were now in the spring of 1799. The Republic still existed,
and the government was now composed of the Directorate of five
members, and two chambers, one of which was called the Council of
Elders, and the other the Council of Five Hundred

My father entertained many members of society. There I made the
acquaintance of his intimate friend, General Bernadotte, and some of
the outstanding men of the period, such as Joseph and Lucien
Bonaparte, and also Napper-Tandy, the Irish leader, who had taken
refuge in France. At my mother's house I frequently saw Madame
Bonaparte and sometimes Madame De Staël, already celebrated for her
literary works.

I had been in Paris for only about a month, when the term of the
legislature expired. It was necessary to hold new elections. My
father, fed up with the constant wrangling of political life, and
regretting that he was not taking any part in the army's
achievements, declared that he would no longer accept nomination as a
deputy, and that he wished to return to active service. Events
turned out in his favour. On the assembly of the new Chambers there
was a change of minister. General Bernadotte became minister for
war. He had promised my father that he would send him to the army of