The history of the northern war; commencing in 1812, to the Congress at Vienna in 1815

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Page 580 - Grand, gloomy, and peculiar, he sat upon the throne, a sceptred hermit, wrapt in the solitude of his own originality. A mind bold, independent, and decisive — a will, despotic in its dictates — an energy...
Page 580 - A mind, bold, independent, and decisive — a will, despotic in its dictates — an energy that distanced expedition, and a conscience pliable to every touch of interest, marked the outline of this extraordinary character — the most extraordinary, perhaps, that, in the annals of this world, ever rose, or reigned, or fell.
Page 581 - ... despotism. A professed catholic, he imprisoned the pope ; a pretended patriot, he impoverished the country ; and, in the name of Brutus, he grasped without remorse, and wore without shame, the diadem of the Caesars ! Through this pantomime of policy, fortune played the clown to his caprices. At his touch, crowns...
Page 581 - Nature had no obstacles that he did not surmount ; space no opposition that he did not spurn : and whether amid Alpine rocks, Arabian sands, or polar snows, he seemed proof against peril, and empowered with ubiquity! The whole continent of Europe trembled at beholding the audacity of his designs, and the miracle of their execution.
Page 581 - ... promulgate; in the hope of a dynasty, he upheld the crescent; for the sake of a divorce, he bowed before the Cross; the orphan of St. Louis, he became the adopted child of the Republic...
Page 583 - His fall, like his life, baffled all speculation. In short, his whole history was like a dream to the world, and no man can tell how or why he was awakened from the reverie.
Page 518 - That convention, however, may be terminated with twelve months' notice, at the option of either party. A treaty of amity, navigation, and commerce, between the United States and his majesty the emperor of Austria, king of Hungary and Bohemia...
Page 580 - Subsidiary to this, there was no creed that he did not profess — there was no opinion that he did not promulgate ; in the hope of a dynasty, he upheld the crescent; for the sake of a divorce, he bowed before the cross ; the orphan of St.
Page 582 - Such a medley of contradictions, and, at the same time, such an individual consistency, were never united in the same character. A royalist, a republican, and an emperor; a Mohammedan, a Catholic...
Page 581 - Scepticism bowed to the prodigies of his performance ; romance assumed the air of history ; nor was there aught too incredible for belief, or too fanciful for expectation, when the world saw a subaltern of Corsica waving his imperial flag over her most ancient capitals.

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