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190 informed that Napoleon had arrived. Napoleon was supposed, at the time, to be in Egypt; as a matter of fact he was rushing to Paris in response to a summons from the Abbé Sieyès. The sights and scenes which he beheld at this period produced a lasting effect on Marbot, as they did on the mind of Daniel O'Connell, and made Marbot—as they made O'Connell—a confirmed enemy of revolutionary government. Marbot's description will, perhaps, enable one, even in the present day, to understand the sickness, the revolt, and the reaction which destroyed the Republic, and brought Napoleon and the Empire. The scene, which I am about to quote, is exquisite. It shows the father of Marbot meeting the man who was then but a brother-officer with that mixture of courtesy and distrust in which men all treat each other when from equality, the one is just rising to the higher position:

"The houses were all illuminated and beflagged; fireworks were being let off; our carriage could hardly make its way through the crowd. People were dancing in the open spaces, and the air rang with cries of 'Hurrah for Bonaparte! he will save the country!' This evidence was irresistible; we had to admit that Bonaparte was in Lyons. My father said, 'Of course I thought they would bring him, but I never suspected it would be so soon; they have played their game well. We shall see great events come to pass.