. Napoleon gloried in this
success, proposing to Rouget de Lisle, the writer of the
_Marseillaise_, that a battle-hymn should commemorate the coming of
peace with victory.

The Treaty of Luneville, 1801, settled Continental strife so
effectually that Napoleon was free to attend to the internal affairs of
the French Republic. The Catholic Church was restored by the
_Concordat_, but made to depend on the new ruler instead of the Bourbon
party. The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 provided for a truce to the
hostilities of France and England.

With the world at peace, the Consulate had leisured to reconstruct the
constitution. The capability of Napoleon ensured the successful
performance of this mighty task. He was bent on giving a firm
government to France since this would help him to reach the height of
his ambitions. He drew up the famous Civil Code on which the future
laws were based, and restored the ancient University of France.
Financial reforms led to the establishment of the Bank of France, and
Napoleon's belief that merit should be recognized publicly to the
enrolment of distinguished men in a Legion of Honour.

The remarkable vigour and intelligence of this military leader was
displayed in the reforms he made where all had been confusion. France
was weary of the republican government which had brought her to the
verge of bankruptcy and ruin, and inclined to look favourably on the
idea of a monarchy.

Napoleon determined that this should be the monarchy of a Buonaparte,
not that of a Bourbon. The Church had ceased to support the claims of
Louis XVI's brother. Napoleon had won the _noblesse_, too, {177} by
his feats of arms, and the peacemaker's decrees had reconciled the
foreign cabinets. It ended, as the prudent had foreseen, in the First
Consul choosing for himself the old military title of Emperor.

His coronation on December 2nd, 1804, was a ceremony of magnificence,
unequalled since the fall of the majestic Bourbons. Napoleon placed
the sacred diadem on his own head and then on the head of Josephine,
who knelt to receive it. His aspect was gloomy as he received this
symbol of successful ambition, for the mass of the people was silent
and he was uneasy at the usurpation of a privilege which was not his
birthright. The authority of the Pope had confirmed his audacious
action, but he was afraid of the attitude of his army. "The greatest
man in the world" Kleber had proclaimed him, after the crushing