Such activity, of course, could not pass unnoticed. The new government
had been constituted without disturbance, the Directory chosen, and
the legislature installed. Of the five directors--Barras, Rewbell,
Carnot, Letourneaux de la Manche, and Larévellière-Lépeaux,--all had
voted for the death of Louis XVI, and were so-called regicides; but,
while varying widely in character and ability, they were all,
excepting Barras, true to their convictions. They scarcely understood
how strong the revulsion of popular feeling had been, and, utterly
ignoring the impossibility of harmonious action among themselves,
hoped to exercise their power with such moderation as to win all
classes to the new constitution. They were extremely disturbed by the
course of the general commanding their army in seeking intimacy with
men of all opinions, but were unwilling to interpret it aright. Under
the Convention, the Army of the Interior had been a tool, its
commander a mere puppet; now the executive was confronted by an
independence which threatened a reversal of rôles. This situation was
the more disquieting because Buonaparte was a capable and not
unwilling police officer. Among many other invaluable services to the
government, he closed in person the great club of the Panthéon, which
was the rallying-point of the disaffected.[55] Throughout another
winter of famine there was not a single dangerous outbreak. At the
same time there were frequent manifestations of jealousy in lower
circles, especially among those who knew the origin and career of
their young master.
[Footnote 55: This important exploit has been
questioned. But see the American edition of Martin's
History of France, II, 16. Baboeuf reopened at the
Panthéon the club which had been closed at the Évêché by
the Convention and reorganized a secret society in
connection with it. This Panthéon club was shut by
Napoleon in person on February 26, 1796. See likewise
the Mémorial, II, 257, 258.]
Toward the close of the year the bearing and behavior of the general
became constrained, reserved, and awkward. Various reasons were
assigned for this demeanor. Many thought it was due to a consciousness
of social deficiency, and his detractors still declare that Paris life
was too fierce for even his self-assurance, pointing to the change in
his handwriting and grammar, to his alternate silence and loquacity,
as proof of mental uneasiness; to his sullen musings and coarse
threats as a theatrical affectation to hide wounded pride; and to his
coming marriage as a desperate shift to secure a social dignity
proportionate to the career he saw opening before him in politics and
war. In a common man not subjected to a microscopic examination, such
conduct would be attributed to his being in love; the wedding would
ordinarily be regarded as the natural and beautiful consequence of a
great passion.