es of that revolutionary time that later, virtual
deserter as he had been, it was actually paid and he was restored to
his place. He sought and obtained from the military authorities of the
island certificates of his regular standing and leave to present them
in Paris if needed to maintain his rank as a French officer, but in
the final event there was no necessity for their use. No one was more
adroit than Buonaparte in taking advantage of possibilities. He was a
pluralist without conscience. A French regular if the emergency should
demand it, he was likewise a Corsican patriot and commander in the
volunteer guard of the island, fully equipped for another move.
Perhaps, at last, he could assume with success the liberator's role of
Sampiero. But an opportunity must occur or be created. One was easily
arranged.

Ajaccio had gradually become a resort for many ardent Roman Catholics
who had refused to accept the new order. The town authorities,
although there were some extreme radicals among them, were, on the
whole, in sympathy with these conservatives. Through the devices of
his friends in the city government, Buonaparte's battalion, the
second, was on one pretext or another assembled in and around the
town. Thereupon, following the most probable account, which, too, is
supported by Buonaparte's own story, a demand was made that according
to the recent ecclesiastical legislation of the National Assembly, the
Capuchin monks, who had been so far undisturbed, should evacuate their
friary. Feeling ran so high that the other volunteer companies were
summoned; they arrived on April first. At once the public order was
jeopardized: on one extreme were the religious fanatics, on the other
the political agitators, both of whom were loud with threats and ready
for violence. In the middle, between two fires, was the mass of the
people, who sympathized with the ecclesiastics, but wanted peace at
any hazard. Quarreling began first between individuals of the various
factions, but it soon resulted in conflicts between civilians and the
volunteer guard. The first step taken by the military was to seize and
occupy the cloister, which lay just below the citadel, the final goal
of their leader, whoever he was, and the townsfolk believed it was
Buonaparte. Once inside the citadel walls, the Corsicans in the
regular French service would, it was hoped, fraternize with their kin;
with such a beginning, all the garrison might in time be won over.