it was no perfunctory choice
which selected him for the place in the famous institute left vacant
by the exile of Carnot. The manner in which he now signed his orders
and proclamations--Member of the Institute, General in Chief of the
Army of the East--showed his determination to banish from the life of
France that affectation of boorish ignorance by which the Terrorists
had rendered themselves uniquely odious.

After long delays, caused by contrary winds, the armada set sail from
Toulon. Along with the convoys from Marseilles, Genoa, and Civita
Vecchia, it finally reached the grand total of 13 ships of the line, 7
frigates, several gunboats, and nearly 300 transports of various
sizes, conveying 35,000 troops. Admiral Brueys was the admiral, but
acting under Bonaparte. Of the generals whom the commander-in-chief
took with him, the highest in command were the divisional generals
Kleber, Desaix, Bon, Menou, Reynier, for the infantry: under them
served 14 generals, a few of whom, as Marmont, were to achieve a wider
fame. The cavalry was commanded by the stalwart mulatto, General
Alexandre Dumas, under whom served Leclerc, the husband of Pauline
Bonaparte, along with two men destined to world-wide renown, Murat and
Davoust. The artillery was commanded by Dommartin, the engineers by
Caffarelli: and the heroic Lannes was quarter-master general.

The armada appeared off Malta without meeting with any incident. This
island was held by the Knights of St. John, the last of those
companies of Christian warriors who had once waged war on the infidels
in Palestine. Their courage had evaporated in luxurious ease, and
their discipline was a prey to intestine schisms and to the intrigues
carried on with the French Knights of the Order. A French fleet had
appeared off Valetta in the month of March in the hope of effecting a
surprise; but the admiral, Brueys, judging the effort too hazardous,
sent an awkward explanation, which only served to throw the knights
into the arms of Russia. One of the chivalrous dreams of the Czar Paul
was that of spreading his influence in the Mediterranean by a treaty
with this Order. It gratified his crusading ardour and promised to
Russia a naval base for the partition of Turkey which was then being
discussed with Austria: to secure the control of the island, Russia
was about to expend 400,000 roubles, when Bonaparte anticipated
Muscovite designs by a prompt seizure.[98] An excuse was easily found
for a