ls were some whom
he had known and even despised at Brienne--Sergeant Pichegru, for
instance. Ideas which he had momentarily entertained,--enlistment in
the Russian army,[37] service with England, a career in the Indies,
the return of the nabob,--all such visions were set aside forever, and
an application was sent for a transfer from the Army of Italy to that
of the Rhine. The suppression of the southern revolt would soon be
accomplished, and inactivity ensue; but on the frontier of the north
there was a warfare worthy of his powers, in which, if he could only
attract the attention of the authorities, long service, rapid
advancement, and lasting glory might all be secured.

[Footnote 37: The Archive Russe for 1866 states that in
1788 Napoleon Buonaparte applied for an engagement to
Zaborowski, Potemkin's lieutenant, who was then with a
Russian fleet in the Mediterranean. The statement may be
true, and probably is, but there is no corroborative
evidence to sustain it.]

But what must be the first step to secure notoriety here and now? How
could that end be gained? The old instinct of authorship returned
irresistibly, and in the long intervals of easy duty at Avignon,
where, as is most probable, he remained to complete the task assigned
to him, Buonaparte wrote the "Supper of Beaucaire," his first literary
work of real ability. As if by magic his style is utterly changed,
being now concise, correct, and lucid. The reader would be tempted to
think it had enjoyed a thorough revision from some capable hand. But
this is improbable when we note that it is the permanent style of the
future. Moreover, the opinions expressed are quite as thoroughly
transformed, and display not only a clear political judgment, but an
almost startling military insight. The setting of this notable repast
is possibly, though by no means certainly, based on an actual
experience, and is as follows: Five wayfarers--a native of Nimes, a
manufacturer from Montpellier, two merchants of Marseilles, and a
soldier from Avignon--find themselves accidentally thrown together as
table companions at an inn of Beaucaire, a little city round about
which the civil war is raging. The conversation at supper turns on the
events occurring in the neighborhood. The soldier explains the
circumstances connected with the recent capture of Avignon,
attributing the flight of the insurgents to