the troops of the allies shall take on their march, in order that the means of subsistence thereon may he provided; and commissaries shall be appointed to regulate all the arrangements of detail, and accompany the troops, till the moment of their quitting the French territory.

In testimony whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.-Done at Paris, this 23d April, 1814.

(Here follow the signatures.) During these transactions at Paris, a consi

derable degree of curiosity was excited respecting a treaty which had been concluded on the 11th of April, between Napoleon and the allied powers, the terms of which sufficiently proved either his own remaining consequence in their opinion, or the powerful intercession that had been made in his favor. Indeed, subsequent events have proved, that his partizans were both numerous and powerful; and, that the army was entirely devoted to him. As the treaty is of peculiar importance, we shall here lay it before our readers.

Treaty between the Allied Powers and his

Majesty the Emperor Napoleon.

Art. 1. His majesty the Emperor Napoleon renounces for himself, his successors and descendants, as well as for all the members of his family, all right of sovereignty and dominion, as well to the French empire and the kingdom of Italy, as over every other country.

2. "Their majesties the Emperor Napoleon and Maria Louisa shall retain their titles and rank, to be enjoyed during their lives. The mother, the brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces, of the emperor, shall also retain, wherever they may reside, the titles of princes of his family.

3. "The Isle of Elba, adopted by his majesty the Emperor Napoleon as the place of his residence, shall form, during his life, a separate principality, which shall be possessed by him in full Sovereignty and property; there shall be besides granted, in full property to the Emperor Napoleon, an annual revenue of 2,000,000 francs, in rent-charge, in the great book of France, of which 1,000,000 shall be in reversion to the empress.

4. "The duchies of Parma, Placencia, and Guastalla, shall be granted, in full property and sovereignty, to her majesty the Empress Maria Louisa; they shall pass to her son, and to the descendants in the right line. The prince, her son, shall, from henceforth, take the title of Prince of Parma, Placencia, and Guastalla.

5. "All the powers engage to employ their good offices to cause to be respected, by the Bar

bary powers, the flag and the territory of the Isle BOOK XII. of Elba, for which purpose the relations with the Barbary powers shall be assimilated to those with France.

6. "There shall be reserved in the territories hereby renounced to his majesty the Emperor Napoleon, for himself and his family, domains or rent-charges in the great book of France, producing a revenue, clear of all deductions and charges, of 2,500,000 francs. These domains or rents shall belong, in full property, and to be disposed of as they shall think fit, to the princes

and princesses of his family, and shall be divided amongst them in such a manner that the revenue of each shall be in the following proportions,

viz:

Francs.

300,000

500,000

200,000

400,000

500,000

300,000

300,000

2,500,000

"The princes and princesses of the house of the Emperor Napoleon shall, besides, retain their property, moveable and immoveable, of whatever nature it may be, which they shall possess by individual and public right, and the rents of which they shall enjoy (also as individuals.)

7. "The annual pension of the Empress Josephine shall be reduced to 1,000,000, in domains, or in inscriptions in the great book of France; she shall continue to enjoy, in full property, moveable and immoveable, with power to dispose of it conformable to the French laws.

8. "There shall be granted to Prince Eugene, Viceroy of Italy, a suitable establishment out of France.

9. "The property which his majesty the Emperor Napoleon possesses in France, either as extraordinary domain, or as private domain, attached to the crown the funds placed by the emperor, either in the great book of France, in the Bank of France, in the Actions des Forets, or in any other manner, and which his majesty abandons to the crown, shall be reserved as a capital, which shall not exceed 2,000,000, to be expended in gratifications in favor of such persons, whose names shall be contained in a list to be signed by the Emperor Napoleon, and which shall be transmitted to the French government.

10. "All the crown-diamonds shall remain in France.

11. "His majesty the Emperor Napoleon shall return to the treasury, and to the other public chests, all the sums and effects that shall have

CHAP. I.

1814.

1814.

12. The debts of the household of his majesty the Emperor Napoleon, such as they were on the day of the signature of the present treaty, shall be immediately discharged out of the arrears due by the public treasury to the civil list, according to a list which shall be signed by a commissioner appointed for that purpose.

13. "The obligations of the Mont-Napoleon, of Milan, towards all the creditors, whether Frenchmen or foreigners, shall be exactly fulfilled, unless there shall be any change made in this respect.

14. "There shall be given all the necessary passports for the free-passage of his majesty the Emperor Napoleon, or of the empress, the princes and princesses, and all the persons of their suites who wish to accompany them, or to establish themselves out of France, as well as for the passage of all the equipages, horses, and effects belonging to them. The allied powers shall, in consequence, furnish officers and men for es

corts.

15. "The French imperial guards shall furnish a detachment of from 1,200 to 1,500 men, of all arms, to serve as an escort to the Emperor Napoleon to Saint Tropes, the place of his embarkation.

16. "There shall be furnished a corvette and the necessary transport-vessels to convey to the place of his destination his majesty the Emperor Napoleon and his household: and the corvette shall belong, in full property, to his majesty the emperor.

17. "The Emperor Napoleon shall be allowed to take with him, and retain as his guard, 400 men, volunteers, as well officers as sub-officers and soldiers.

18. "No Frenchman who shall have followed the Emperor Napoleon or his family, shall be held to have forfeited his rights as such by not returning to France within three years; at least they shall not be comprised in the exceptions which the French government reserves to itself to grant after the expiration of that term.

19. "The Polish troops of all arms, in the service of France, shall be at liberty to return home, and shall retain their arms and baggage, as a testimony of their honorable services. The officers, sub-officers, and soldiers, shall retain the decorations which have been granted to them, and the pensions annexed to those decorations.

20. The high allied powers guarantee the execution of all the articles of the present treaty, and engage to obtain that it shall be adopted and guaranteed by France.

21. "The present act shall be ratified, and the

(L. S.)

SELRODE.

CHAS. AUG. Baron DE HARDEN

BERG.

Marshal NEY.

(L. S.) CAULINCOURT."

After the allied powers had signed this treaty, they applied to the British government for their accession to it; but this was refused, except merely as far as regarded the arrangements for securing the duchies of Parma, &c. to MariaLouisa and her son, in perpetuity, and the Isle of Elba to Bonaparte for life; to these articles alone the signature of Lord Castlereagh was affixed.

Among the many curious anecdotes that have been related of Bonaparte before his downfal, we shall notice the following:-After the sanguinary reverses in Saxony, in 1813, he returned to Paris on the 9th of November: and on the 11th he held a council of state. Impatient to see what kind of face the emperor wore after his disasters, the members of the council crowded into the saloon adjoining the council-chamber. To avoid, in some measure, the embarrassment of a first interview, the emperor abruptly called for the governor of the bank, to whom he addressed a long discourse respecting that establishment. After speaking for about half-an-hour, during which the governor had not time to put in a single word, they passed into the council-room. The sitting was opened by the reading of a decree of finance, to be passed by imperial authority, without the sanction of the legislative body, which was, however, convoked for the 2d of December. The decree was for nothing less than to raise the taxes one half. It passed without any objection to the principle, and solely after a short accessory discussion, in which the emperor expressed various contradictory or absurd opinions. "Taxes," said he," have no limits-in general they present the idea of a fifth: but they may, according to circumstances, be raised to a quarter, third, half, &c. No-Taxes have no limits. If there be laws to say the contrary, they are laws badly made."

After this decree, the projet of a senatus consultum was read, to place at the disposal of the minister of war 300,000 men of the ancient conscriptions, solemnly liberated or exhausted. The most profound silence reigned in the assembly. The flatterers, when interrogated, remained silent for some time. A member, however, at

66

length said "Sire, the safety of the empire." Another blamed the expression in the projet of frontiers invaded, as being alarming. Why?" replied the emperor," it is better to tell the truth now. Is not Wellington in the South? The Russians in the North? Do not the Austrians and Bavarians menace the East? Wellington in France! What a shame! and they did not rise in a mass to drive him out!-The English will laugh at the simplicity of our peasants. But the English have no ships there, they cannot practice their naval manoeuvres; they are on our territory; we must beat them and drive them out. All my allies have abandoned me; the Bavarians have betrayed me: Cowards! they would place themselves in my rear; they pretended to cut off my retreat, but they were well-paid for it; they were mowed down and massacred: I killed Wrede and all his relations with him. No: no peace till I have burned Munich! A triumvirate is formed in the North, the same that divided Poland. No peace till it be broken. Vienna next year! We shall see! I demand 300,000 men. I will form a camp of 100,000 at Bordeaux, another at Lyons, and a third at Metz. With the former levy and what remains I shall have one million of men under arms; that will do for the moment. I demand 300,000 men; but I must have men, grown men. What are these young conscripts good for? to choak up the hospitals or die on the roads. The French are always brave-so are the Piedmontese and Italians; they fight well; but these men of the north (Germans) they are good for nothing-It is not blood but water that flows in their veins! I cannot really rely but on the inhabitants of ancient France."-" Sire, the Belgians," said one member-“Yes, the Belgians," replied the emperor," they love me perhaps. What signify all these addresses they make them send? It is the height of ridicule!"_" Sire,” said another member," ancient France must remain to us.""And Holland," said the emperor, turning short upon him," rather than give up Holland, I would bury it in the sea. As for Italy, if she be not under France she must be independent.

"Gentlemen, we must have an impulse: all must march. It may not come to that, but, in short, it should. M. Cambaceres, you too shall march, you shall be chief of a legion!

"Counsellors of state! you are fathers of families; you are the chiefs of the nation. It is you that should give this impulse. I know it-you are effeminate, cowardly. They speak of peace -peace! peace! I hear no other word than peace! whilst all should cry out for war!"

After this speech, the plan of senatus consultum was adopted. The emperor broke up the sitting, and every body withdrew, agitated by different sentiments.

CHAP. I.

1814.

Though his fall from the highest rank of so- BOOK XII. vereignty, and the real power of wielding the first sceptre in Europe, to the station of lord of a petty island, was one of the greatest that history records, yet the alleviation by which it was attended, might, in some degree, flatter his pride and support his ideas of self-consequence. He set out from Fontainbleau on the 20th of April. The circumstances of the parting scene deserves to be mentioned. To the officers and subalterns of the old guard, who were still with him, Napoleon spoke in nearly the following words:

"I bid you farewell. During the twenty years that we have acted together, I have been satisfied with you. I have always found you in the path of glory. All the powers of Europe have armed against me: a part of my generals have betrayed their duty: France itself has betrayed it. With your assistance, and that of the brave men who remained faithful to me, I have for three years preserved France from civil war. Be faithful to the new king whom France has chosen; be obedient to your commanders, and do not abandon your dear country, which too long has suffered. Pity not my fate: I shall be happy when I know that you are so likewise. I might have died: nothing would have been more easy for me: but I still wish to pursue the path of glory. What we have done I will write. I cannot embrace you all; but I will embrace your general-come, general. (He embraced him.) Let the eagle be brought to me, that I may also embrace it. (On embracing it, he said) Ah, dear eagle, may the kisses which I bestow on you resound to posterity! Adieu, my children! Adieu my brave companions! more encompass me."

Once

The staff, accompanied by the commissioners of the four allied powers, formed a circle round him, and Bonaparte got into his carriage, manifestly affected with the scene. He was followed by fourteen carriages, and his suite employed sixty post-horses. The four commissioners accompanied him, and the principal officers of his household were part of his suite. So great was the enthusiasm produced by this speech among the soldiers present, that it was received with shouts and cries of "Vive l'Empereur!"—" A Paris!"-" A Paris!" and when he departed under the custody of the allied commissioners the whole army wept; there was not a dry eye in the multitude who were assembled to witness his departure. Even the imperial guard, who had been trained in scenes of suffering from their first entry into the service, who had been inured, for a long course of years, to the daily sight of human misery, and had constantly made a sport of all the afflictions which are fitted to move the human heart, shared in the general grief; they seemed to forget the degradation in which their com

BOOK XII. mander was involved, the hardships to which they had been exposed, and the destruction which CHAP. I. he had brought upon their brethren in arms; they remembered him when he stood victorious on the 1814. field of Austerlitz, or passed in triumph through

the gates of Moscow, and shed over the fall of their emperor those tears of genuine sorrow which they denied to the deepest scenes of private suffering, or the most aggravated instances of individual distress.

THE deposition of Bonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbons, being the great crisis to which every other civil and military occurrence on the European continent was subordinate, we shall now bring up to that period the events which had been taking place in other parts.

In the great work of the liberation of France, and through it of Europe, no country had acted a more honorable and conspicuous part than Great Britain; for many years, indeed, her co-operation had been almost entirely confined to the supply of money; or, if she did send troops to the continent, their courage was rendered of no avail, by incapacity either in the plan or execution of the purpose for which they were sent. At last the campaign in the Peninsula commenced; and the British soldiers displayed what they were capable of doing when led on by a general worthy to command them, and taught the nations of Europe, that the generals and soldiers of France were not invincible.

We have already mentioned, in our tenth book, that Soult had retreated in the direction of Thoulouse after the battle of Orthies. To that city he was followed by Lord Wellington. Before, however, he attacked the enemy, Bonaparte had been overthrown, and intelligence of this event had been sent both to Lord Wellington and Soult; but the messengers being unaccountably detained on the road, hostilities between the two armies continued after peace was restored to the rest of France. Though Thoulouse was not naturally very strong, yet Soult had had time to prepare for its defence, by the continual falls of rain which impeded the advance of the allied army. This city is surrounded, on three sides, by the

Garonne and the celebrated canal of Languedoc; and part of an ancient wall still remains: the French engineers took advantage of these circumstances, and constructed têtes-du-pont commanding the approaches by the canal and the river, and supporting them by musketry and artillery from the wall. They had, besides, fortified a commanding height to the eastward with five redoubts; and as the roads had become impassable for artillery and cavalry, no alternative remained but to attack them in this formidable position.

On the 8th of April, part of Lord Wellington's army moved across the Garonne; and the cavalry of the enemy were driven from a village on a small river which falls into the Garonne below the town: between this river and canal of Languedoc were the fortified heights which formed the chief strength of the enemy's position. Lord Wellington therefore resolved, that while these heights were stormed in front, the enemy's right should be turned, and the tête-du-pont on the canal to the left should be threatened, and that these operations on the right of the Garonne should be supported by a simultaneous attack on the tête-du-pont formed by the suburb on the left of the river. The whole of the 9th was occupied in making preparations for these different attacks; and on the 10th they were carried into execution. Marshal Beresford carried the heights of Montblanc, and forced his way to the point, at which he turned the enemy's right, while a Spanish corps moved forward to the attack in front; but the French troops were so strongly posted, that they not only repulsed but pursued the assailants to some distance. At this time, the light divi

sion, under Sir Thomas Picton, was moved up to their assistance; they were formed again, and brought back to the attack.

In the mean time Marshal Beresford had succeeded in carrying the redoubt, which covered the extreme right of the enemy, and had established himself on the heights on which the four other redoubts were placed. As soon as the marshal's artillery could be brought up, and the Spaniards were formed again, the marshal continued his movement along the heights, and storined the two next redoubts, which covered the centre of the enemy; who, after being driven from them, made a desperate effort to regain them. There now remained only the two redoubts on the enemy's left, and these were soon carried by the British troops advancing along the ridge, while the Spaniards, at the same time, attacked in front. While these things were going on, Sir Thomas Picton drove the enemy's left within the tête-du-pont on the canal, and Sir Rowland Hill forced the works of the suburb on the left of the Garonne; so that, at the close of the day, the French were closely hemmed in, the allies having established themselves on three sides of Thoulouse, and the road of Carcassone being the only one left open. By this road Marsha Soult drew off the remainder of his troops, in the night of the 11th, leaving in the hands of the allies three generals, and 1,600 prisoners; and Lord Wellington entered Thoulouse in triumph the following morning.

The loss of the combined army in this battle was very severe, amounting to about 600 killed, and 4,000 wounded. It was not till the evening of that day (the 12th), that his lordship received from Paris intelligence of the events which had occurred in that capital. It was brought by CoIt was brought by Colonel Cooke, who was accompanied by a French officer (Colonel St. Simon), directed by the provisional government to convey the same information to Marshals Soult and Suchet. The former did not, at first, consider it to be so authentic as to induce him to send his submission to the new government; but proposed to Lord Wellington a suspension of hostilities, for the purpose of giving him time to ascertain the real state of affairs. To this his lordship refused his consent, and marched his troops forward, on the 15th and 17th, to Castelnaudary; in the mean time, he concluded a suspension, with the commandant of Montauban. On the 16th, another officer arriving from Paris, was forwarded to Soult, who, on the following day, sent Lord Wellington a letter, by the general-of-division Count Gozan, informing him that he had formally acknowledged the provisional government of France. In consequence, a convention for the suspension of hostilities was immediately entered into, which included not only the army under Marshal Soult, but that also

commanded by Suchet, who had likewise acknow- BOOK XII. ledged the provisional government.

1814.

We have so often had occasion to dwell upon CHAP. II. the transcendent talents of Lord Wellington, that it is almost needless to bring them again under the notice of our readers; yet, as hostilities were now brought to a conclusion, we may be permitted to say a few words on the subject. When Lord Wellington first took the command of the British army in the Peninsula, he had many prejudices to contend against. The ambition, and the alleged vanity of his family, were much to his disadvantage; while the convention of Cintra, and the very high reputation of the armies to which he was opposed, induced those who did not know him thoroughly, to anticipate only defeat and disaster. Even when he retreated to the lines before Lisbon, his talents, as a general, were not duly appreciated; but when it was seen that he had thus foiled Massena, one of the best and most experienced of Bonaparte's generals, his reputation began to rise; and each subsequent transaction, in which he was engaged, proved that it had not yet attained its just height. Indeed, there seems scarcely a single quality or talent, either of nature or experience, necessary to constitute a consummate general, which he does not possess. Endowed with great quickness and comprehension of mind, he unites with it more than a usual share of coolness and determination; while he continues to inspire his officers, and even his men, with many of his own qualities. To the comfort of his soldiers he was particularly attentive; so that while in point of discipline he was uncommonly strict, and even severe, he was yet a favorite with them on account of his looking so carefully, and so much like a father, after their wants.

Of all the French marshals and generals to whom Lord Wellington was opposed: Soult was undoubtedly the mau of the most talent. Stern and unbending in his temper, he was possessed of uncommon vigour of mind, and of great personal courage. The whole of his conduct in the south of Spain, particularly his mode of organizing that part of the country, so as to maintain a large army there for so long a time, in the midst of the greatest difficulties, sufficiently proves that his talents were not merely those of a soldier; while the manner in which he opposed Lord Wellington, even after a great part of his old and best troops had been withdrawn by Bonaparte, and had been replaced by raw and inexperienced conscripts, proves that he was worthy of contending with the British chief.

One unfortunate event marked the close of the campaign in the south of France. Sir John Hope, after the battle of Orthies, invested Bay-. onne; before this place the enemy had an entrenched camp, from which they made a sortie