their flagstaffs surmounted by some shreds, riddled by balls and
blackened by powder, passed before him, he raised his hat and inclined
his head in token of respect. Every homage thus paid by a great captain
to standards which had been mutilated on the field of battle was saluted
by a thousand acclamations. When the troops had finished defiling before
him, the First Consul, with a firm step, ascended the stairs of the
Tuileries.

The General's part being finished for the day, that of the Chief of the
State began; and indeed it might already be said that the First Consul
was the whole Consulate. At the risk of interrupting my narrative of
what occurred on our arrival at the Tuileries, by a digression, which may
be thought out of place, I will relate a fact which had no little weight
in hastening Bonaparte's determination to assume a superiority over his
colleagues. It may be remembered that when Roger Ducos and Sieyes bore
the title of Consuls the three members of the Consular commission were
equal, if not in fact at least in right. But when Cambaceres and Lebrun
took their places, Talleyrand; who had at the same time been appointed to
succeed M. Reinhart as Minister of Foreign Affairs, obtained a private
audience of the First Consul in his cabinet, to which I was admitted.
The observations of Talleyrand on this occasion were highly agreeable to
Bonaparte, and they made too deep an impression on my mind to allow me to
forget them.

"Citizen Consul," said he to him, "you have confided to me the office of
Minister for Foreign Affairs, and I will justify your confidence; but I
must declare to you that from this moment, I will not transact business
with any but yourself. This determination does not proceed from any vain
pride on my part, but is induced, by a desire to serve France. In order
that France may be well governed, in order that there may be a unity of