Perhaps this cry of "Vive Bonaparte!" did not satisfy him.

Was he already dreaming of "Vive Napoleon ?" He advanced in front of the troop, surrounded by his staff, and read the decree of the Five Hundred, which transferred the sessions of the Legislature to Saint-Cloud and gave him the command of the armed forces.
Then, either from memory, or offhand--Bonaparte never admitted any one to such secrets--instead of the proclamation he had dictated to Bourrienne two days earlier, he pronounced these words: "Soldiers--The Council of Ancients has given me the command of the city and the army.
"I have accepted it, to second the measures to be adopted for the good of the people.
"The Republic has been ill governed for two years.

You have hoped for my return to put an end to many evils.

You celebrated it with a unanimity which imposes obligations that I now fulfil.

Fulfil yours, and second your general with the vigor, firmness and strength I have always found in you.
"Liberty, victory, and peace will restore the French Republic to the rank it occupied in Europe, which ineptitude and treason alone caused her to lose!" The soldiers applauded frantically.