ItwassomewhatremarkableatthattimeMurat，notwithstandinghisnewly—
acquiredrank，toremainBonaparte’s’aidedecamp’，theregulationsnotallowingageneral—in—chiefan’aidedecamp’ofhigherrankthanchiefofbrigade，whichwasequaltothatofcolonel：Thisinsignificantactwas，therefore，ratherahastyanticipationoftheprerogativeseverywherereservedtoprincesandkings.
ItwasafterhavingdischargedthiscommissionthatMurat，onhisreturntoItaly，fellintodisfavourwiththeGeneral—inChief.Heindeedlookeduponhimwithasortofhostilefeeling，andplacedhiminReille’sdivision，andafterwardsBaragasyd’Hilliers’;consequently，whenwewenttoParis，afterthetreatyofCampo—Formio，Muratwasnotoftheparty.Butastheladies，withwhomhewasagreatfavourite，werenotdevoidofinfluencewiththeMinisterofWar，Muratwas，bytheirinterest，attachedtotheengineercorpsintheexpeditiontoEgypt.
OnboardtheOrientheremainedinthemostcompletedisgrace.Bonapartedidnotaddressawordtohimduringthepassage;andinEgypttheGeneral—in—Chiefalwaystreatedhimwithcoldness，andoftensenthimfromtheheadquartersondisagreeableservices.However，theGeneral—in—
ChiefhavingopposedhimtoMouradBey，MuratperformedsuchprodigiesofvalourineveryperilousencounterthatheeffacedthetransitorystainwhichamomentaryhesitationunderthewallsofMantuahadleftonhischaracter.Finally，MuratsopowerfullycontributedtothesuccessofthedayatAboukirthatBonaparte，gladtobeabletocarryanotherlaurelpluckedinEgypttoFrance，forgotthefaultwhichhadmadesounfavourableanimpression，andwasinclinedtoeffacefromhismemoryotherthingsthathehadheardtothedisadvantageofMurat;forIhavegoodreasonsforbelieving，thoughBonapartenever，toldmeso，thatMurat’sname，aswellasthatofCharles，escapedfromthelipsofJunotwhenhemadehisindiscreetcommunicationtoBonaparteatthewallsofMessoudiah.Thechargeofgrenadiers，commandedbyMuratonthe19thBrumaireinthehalloftheFiveHundred，dissipatedalltheremainingtracesofdislike;andinthosemomentswhenBonaparte’spoliticalviewssubduedeveryothersentimentofhismind，therivalofthePrinceSantaCrocereceivedthecommandoftheConsularGuard.