Sometimes, when Josephine formed a party of ladies for _vingt-et-un_, he would withdraw to a corner and indulge in the game of _goose_; and bystanders noted with amusement that his love of success led him to play tricks and cheat in order not to "fall into the pit." At other times, if the conversation languished, he proposed that each person should tell a story; and when no Boccaccio-like facility inspired the company, he sometimes launched out into one of those eerie and thrilling recitals, such as he must often have heard from the _improvisatori_ of his native island.

Bourrienne states that Bonaparte's realism required darkness and daggers for the full display of his gifts, and that the climax of his dramatic monologue was not seldom enhanced by the screams of the ladies, a consummation which gratified rather than perturbed the accomplished actor.
A survey of Bonaparte's multifarious activity in Italy enables the reader to realize something of the wonder and awe excited by his achievements.

Like an Athena he leaped forth from the Revolution, fully armed for every kind of contest.

His mental superiority impressed diplomats as his strategy baffled the Imperialist generals; and now he was to give further proofs of his astuteness by intervening in the internal affairs of France.
In order to understand Bonaparte's share in the _coup d'etat_ of Fructidor, we must briefly review the course of political events at Paris.

At the time of the installation of the Directory the hope was widely cherished that the Revolution was now entirely a thing of the past.