Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/597

 The Career of Napoleon Bonaparte 453 battle of the Pyramids (July i, 1798) and then made an unsuc- cessful expedition into Syria. Here he received news from Europe which led him to desert the army in Egypt and hasten back with a few of his best officers. He reached France in October, 1799. 789. Bonaparte overthrows the Directory (November, 1799). The Directory, one of the most corrupt and inefficient bodies the world has ever seen, had completely disgraced itself at home and become involved again in a new war with Austria. Bona- parte enjoyed sufficient support to overthrow the Directory a month after his return and have himself chosen First Consul. This coup d'etat, or "stroke of state" as the French called it, put Bonaparte at the head of the government. He had a new con- stitution drawn up which was ratified by a vote of the nation. 790. Bonaparte Acceptable as First Consul. The accession of the popular young general to power was undoubtedly grateful to the majority of citizens, who longed above all for a stable govern- ment. The Swedish envoy wrote just after the coup d'etat : " A legitimate monarch has perhaps never found a people more ready to do his bidding than Bonaparte, and it would be inexcusable if this talented general did not take advantage of this to introduce a better form of government upon a firmer basis. It is literally true that France will perform impossibilities in order to aid him in this. The people (with the exception of a despicable horde of anarchists) are so sick and weary of revolutionary horrors and folly that they believe that any change cannot fail to be for the better. . . . Even the royalists, whatever their views may be, are sin- cerely devoted to Bonaparte, for they attribute to him the inten- tion of gradually restoring the old order of things. The indifferent element cling to him as the one most likely to give France peace. The enlightened republicans, although they tremble for their form of. government, prefer to see a single man of talent possess him- self of the power than a club of intriguers." 791. Necessity of renewing the War. Upon becoming First Consul, General Bonaparte found France at war with England, Russia, Austria, Turkey, and Naples. These powers had formed a coalition in December, 1798, had defeated the armies that the