the allies of unjustly and unnecessarily "robbing" them of all the "public monuments, the tokens of their former glory. They seize the monuments of arts, which alone remain to us after twenty years of conquest." They" ravage" the provinces, "dissipate" the funds, "devour" the provisions, and "carry off the magazines of arms, the ammunition of war, and the cannon from the ramparts of our cities. The white flag floats only on ruins. France contains two nations contending against each other. The French humiliated and discontented are ready to proceed to the last extremity." The allies have "presented a treaty which would consummate the ruin of the nation, and which would cover it with eternal shame." Therefore the ministers gave up their places and refused their assent to that treaty, because by acting otherwise they would have rendered themselves "culpable to the nation." This was their affair, not the business of Europe. It was her safety, not their glory nor security, which she had to consult.

The accusations brought against the allies by the honest people of France, about robbing them of the pictures and monuments of art, the fruits of their conquests and the remembrancers of their glory, tended only to excite in Europe feelings of indignation and contempt. These the different nations were determined to remove, and did remove. Italy, Germany, Prussia, the Netherlands, Holland, and Spain, had each their valuable property thus restored; and brought back from Paris, that great storehouse of plundered goods. In this, as in every thing else, the French nation wished to act, and did act, with their wonted insincerity and duplicity. They wished to have it inserted in the capitulation of Paris, that these things should be considered as their property. This was instantly objected to by the allied chiefs, and particularly by Blucher; who peremptorily declared, that he was resolved to take every thing to which Prussia had any claim. The fate of these valuable treasures was, therefore, reserved to be determined by the decision of the Sovereigns of Europe; and they very justly and very wisely directed that these should be restored to their original owners. Because, however, no claim was inserted in the articles concerning the capitulation of the Capital, the French nation held that these things belonged to them by a right

conferred from the treaty of 1814. They argued strongly that it would be most injurious to the arts, to scatter these things again over different countries; when they could thus be seen in a collected manner, by every admirer of them, in their comfortable and elegant habitation in the Louvre. Had this argument been attended to, it would have been a very convenient thing for every one who was stronger than his neighbour; first to compel the latter to erect an elegant mansion, or adorn and enlarge it with the fruits of his labour, and then tell him that he can set off all his best articles of furniture in it, better than he could in his humbler dwelling; and that, therefore, these must be forthwith placed there. In vain the owner would remonstrate, that the possession of them was all his wealth, and their value all that he had to adorn his country or support his family; the other who could not and would not occupy his time in producing such pieces, must have them to enrich himself, adorn his dwelling, and support bis extravagant and unprincipled family. Similar were the arguments; similar were the views of France; but which were most justly spurned by indignant Europe. No intention, however, was shewn by France, to restore any part of this property. In consequence of which, Blucher, without any ceremony, set about packing up, and sending off what formerly belonged to Prussia. This inflexible veteran paid no attention to either their sorrow or their anger, but took what was his own, in person superintending their departure; and when the catalogues could not be found. being kept up or mislaid on purpose, his memory and the memory of others, enabled him to be no loser by French obstinacy. "As my conduct," said that resolute chief, has "been publicly animadverted upon for not having allowed the property plundered from Prussia, by a banditti, to remain in the museum of the Louvre; I have only to remark, that ably supported by the illustrious Wellington, I pursued the thieves, who have despoiled many of the nations of Europe of their inestimable monuments of the fine arts; I attacked and dispersed them, and restored to my country the plunder they had unjustly taken; spurning the idea of negotiating with the French commissioners on this subject: they may now thank Providence for our not following their base example" Cer

⚫ Blucher's letter to Count Muflling, Paris, October 19th..

tainly they might do so, for had the Prussians demanded some of their own, as interest for the use of theirs, they were justly entitled to it. Other nations followed the example of Blucher. The King of the Netherlands, through his General the Duke of Wellington, demanded what belonged to the countries under his sway. Application was accordingly made. Talleyrand shifted the business to the shoulders of Denon, their keeper, and he shouldered it back to Talleyrand; till wearied with chicanery and delay, the articles were directed to be taken by force, if opposition was made thereto. None, however was made, though French ingenuity contrived it so, that the thing was done in a manner, that in their opinion threw every possible odium upon the allies, and the British commander. Against him a severe outcry was accordingly raised, which he, however, victoriously silenced by a complete exposition of the conduct of all parties in this affair; wherein, as usual, French duplicity and insincerity were very conspicuous. Paris was quickly stripped of her ill-gotten ornaments, and of these articles, each, in some measure got his own; though many of the paintings were piltered by the French keepers, and then pretended to have been lost. The quantity and variety of articles now carried off was incredible, and shewed that the iniquitous system so long pursued by France, had been carried to a length much greater than the public had generally conceived, or had reason, great as it was, to believe. The exasperated population of Europe, also stripped their former oppressors of all the ornaments which had been been raised, and acquired at the expense of bleeding nations. From every pillar, from every post, from every hall, from every temple in Paris, all the memorials of their former defeats and disgrace brought upon them, as these were by French bad faith and domestic treason, were completely obliterated. France had set then the example, and they here only in justice visited her with her own maxims, Grievous and humiliating, no doubt, to French vanity was all this. As their conduct for haughtiness in the days of their prosperity, had been unequalled; so their humiliation was deeper than that of any nation on record, and yet still mercy compared to their deserts. If the allies had assumed the bare and unquestionable rights of conquerors, and appro

priated the whole collected store of paintings, statues, &c. of which France had plundered other countries; and if closely imitating her conduct, they had taken all that were her own to divide amongst themselves, there was no law could blame them; because victory in a just cause, had given them the right. Such a proceeding would have been sufficiently severe and humiliating. But when, instead of this, they touched none of hers; none of these belonging to others, they thereby upbraided her for her immoral conduct; and by restoring to each what had been unjustly taken from them, they thereby marked in characters, stronger than language can express, their detestation of the conduct of France, and which they would not tarnish their fame by imitating. This moral lesson must have sunk deep into many reflecting minds in France; though upon others, it had only the effect of rendering them more furious and distracted in their hatred, and desire of revenge against the nations of Europe. This, however, she fearlessly told them, she wholly disregarded, and was determined to repel. She feared not their anger; she despised their hate; and continued to do what was just and what was politic; and mark with her united anger, in a manner very positive and very solemn, the odious light in which she viewed the conduct of France, as exercised over others.

If their pride, however, was hurt, and vanity humbled at the destruction of these monuments which their ambition had raised, and the restoration of those ornaments which their injustice had collected; their feelings were still more acutely touched by the glorious system which they had so long pursued with unfeeling hands, of making "war support war;" and for the doing of which, their former Emperor was idolized and extolled, beyond all the warriors of ancient or of modern days.* Military governors from whose decisions there was no appeal, according to her own system, now directed these measures. The resolution of all the allies to live at the expense of France, was no where concealed. Foremost in the ranks of those who treated France after her own manner, in these things, were the Prussians. None had suffered so much as those people had done; none were so eager to repay their treatment upon the heads of their oppressors. They acted to France in some de Moniteur, October 18th, 1815, See former Narrative.

gree, as France had acted to Prussia; and as far as they were able, wisely and justly singled out for this purpose, their former oppressors, their friends, or their relations. From these they took possession of their elegant mansions; drove their owners from their best apartments to their garrets, perhaps to their offices without doors; and then with the best of every thing which was in or about the dwelling, regaled them selves and their friends, making their landlord serve them. When this was done, they made their astonished host judge himself, (as Nathan did David), in condemning the conduct of the Prussians as barbarous and oppressive in the extreme; by informing their respective hosts that, similar to that conduct which they had thus seen followed for one day by the Prussians in France, had been the conduct of their fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, and countrymen, for days-for months-for years, in unfortunate Prussia. But here the gallant Prussian stopt. He carried his resentment no farther. He polluted not the borders of the Seine with such crimes as were committed on the banks of the Oder. He acted with severity; but he acted with justice: he neither courted their smiles, nor regarded their anger. To all complaints and murmurings his invariable reply was, go into Prussia, see what you have there done; see our wasted fields, our plundered homes, and our wretched families; and then complain if you dare. Similar indeed, was the conduct of all Europe. In the same manner they had been treated, and similar was their reply. Injustice was thus taught in his den, that his conduct was oppression: and the people of France were most justly taught, what the miseries of war were, when conducted in the smallest degree after their own fashion. Blucher expressly declared that the Prussian army, rather than draw money from their impoverished country, to enrich that" detested" country France, "would suffer every privation, and serve without any thing, but what was necessary for the wounded."* The conduct of the Prussians, however, in particular, and of the allies in general, in France, was held up by the latter and her advocates, as unjust and impolitic in the extreme. They were reminded that nations never die; and, as if the allies had been equal, the only, and the first

Blucher's letter to the King, Chartres, August 12th, 1815.