sure of the co-operation of the minister for war and of the general
commanding the 17th division.

President Sieyès then sought to win over Bernadotte and my father,
by having them sounded out by several deputies who were their friends
and also supporters of Sieyès's plans. I have learned since that my
father replied to the vague overtures which were put to him on behalf
of the crafty Sieyès by saying that he agreed that the country's
misfortunes demanded a drastic remedy, but that, having sworn to
maintain the constitution of year III, he would not use the authority
he had over his troops to lead them to its overthrow. He then went to
Sieyès and handed in his resignation as commander of the Paris
division, and requested a posting to a division on active service.
Sieyès hastened to fall in with his wishes, being only too glad to
get rid of a man whose devotion to what he saw as his duty, might
abort the projected coup. The minister, Bernadotte followed my
father's example, and was replaced by Dubois-Crance.

President Sieyès was, for some days, at a loss to find a successor
to my father. In the end, he gave the command to general Lefebvre,
who, having recently been wounded in the army of the Rhine, was at
that moment in the capital. Lefebvre was a former sergeant in the
Guards, a brave soldier, a good, workmanlike general, provided that
he was closely supervised, but credulous in the extreme, with no
understanding of the political situation in France. So, by careful
use of the words "Glory," "Motherland," and " Victory, " One could be
sure of making him do whatever one wished. This was just the sort of
commander that Sieyès was looking for. He did not even take the
trouble to win him over, or to warn him of what was about to happen,
so sure was he that on the day Lefebvre would not resist the