by Napoleon with great dexterity
as a means of placing them under personal obligation to him for
restoring this species of property. See Thiers tome iii, p. 458,
livre xiv.]--

Napoleon referred to this matter at St. Helena. He himself says that he
"would have been able" (he should have said that he wished) to grant
everything, that for a moment he thought of doing so, and that it was a
mistake not to do so. "This limitation on my part," he adds, "destroyed
all the good effect of the return of the emigrants. The mistake was the
greater since I thought of doing it, but I was alone, surrounded by
oppositions and by spies: all were against your party, you cannot easily
picture the matter to yourself, but important affairs hurried me, time
pressed, and I was obliged to act differently." Afterwards he speaks of
a syndicate he wished to form, but I have never heard a word of that. I
have said how things really happened, and what has been just read
confirms this.

--[This was by no means the only time that Napoleon's wishes were
opposed successfully in his Council of State. On such occasions he
used to describe himself as "repulsed with losses." See the
interesting work of St. Hilaire, Napoleon au Conseil d'Etat.]--

The Royalists, dissatisfied with the state of political affairs, were not
better pleased with the illiberal conditions of the recall of the
emigrants. The friends of public liberty, on the other hand, were far
from being satisfied with the other acts of the First Consul, or with the
conduct of the different public authorities, who were always ready to
make concessions to him. Thus all parties were dissatisfied.

Bonaparte was much pleased with General Sebastiani's conduct when he was
sent to Constantinople, after the peace of Amiens, to induce the Grand
Seignior to renew amicable relations with France.

At the period here alluded to, namely, before the news of the evacuation
of Egypt, that country greatly occupied Bonaparte's attention. He
thought that to send a man like Sebastiani travelling through Northern
Africa, Egypt, and Syria might inspire the sovereigns of those countries
with a more favourable idea of France than they now entertained, and
might remove the ill impressions which England was endeavouring to
produce. On this mission Sebastiani was accordingly despatched. He
visited all the Barbary States, Egypt, Palestine, and the Ionian Isles.
Everywhere he drew a highly-coloured