On August fourth, 1791, the National Assembly at last decided to form a paid volunteer national guard of a hundred thousand men, and their decision became a law on August twelfth. The term of enlistment was a year; four battalions were to be raised in Corsica. Buonaparte heard of the decision on August tenth, and was convinced that the hour for realizing his long-cherished aspirations had finally struck. He could certainly have done much in Paris to secure office in a French-Corsican national guard, and with this in mind he immediately wrote a memorandum on the armament of the new force, addressing it, with characteristic assurance, to the minister of war. When, however, three weeks later, on August thirtieth, 1791, a leave of absence arrived, to which he was entitled in the course of routine, and which was not granted by the favor of any one, he had abandoned all idea of service under France in the Corsican guard. The disorder of the times was such that while retaining office in the French army he could test in an independent Corsican command the possibility of climbing to leadership there before abandoning his present subordinate place in France. In view, apparently, of this new venture, he had for some time been taking advances from the regimental paymaster, until he had now in hand a considerable sum--two hundred and ninety livres. A formal announcement to the authorities might have elicited embarrassing questions from them, so he and Louis quietly departed without explanations, leaving for the second time debts of considerable amount. They reached Ajaccio on September sixth, 1791. Napoleon was not actually a deserter, but he had in contemplation a step toward the defiance of French authority--the acceptance of service in a Corsican military force. CHAPTER XIII. Buonaparte the Corsican Jacobin. Buonaparte's Corsican Patriotism -- His Position in His Family -- The Situation of Joseph -- Corsican Politics -- Napoleon's Power in the Jacobin Club of Ajaccio -- His Failure as a Contestant for Literary Honors -- Appointed Adjutant-General -- His Attitude Toward France -- His New Ambitions -- Use of Violence -- Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers -- Politics in Ajaccio -- His First Experience of Street Warfare -- His Manifesto -- Dismissed to Paris -- His Plans -- The Position of Louis XVI -- Buonaparte's Delinquencies -- Disorganization in the Army -- Petition for Reinstatement -- The Marseillais -- Buonaparte a Spectator -- His Estimate of France -- His Presence at the Scenes of August Tenth -- State of Paris -- Flight of Lafayette. [Sidenote: 1791-92.]