assigned to this service, amounted to about 200,000; but none had as yet been called out to join the regular armies; though there cannot be a doubt but it was in contemplation. The mayors of all the towns had orders to levy the people en masse in case of invasion; and free corps were organizing in many of the departments. The fedéres also formed a considerable force; and if the war had been prosperous, they would probably have been called out to recruit the forces of Napoleon.

The regular forces were divided into eight armies: viz. the army of the North; the army of the Moselle; the army of the Rhine; a corps of observation collecting at Befort; the army of the Alps, formed at Chamberry; the corps of observation of the Var, formed at Antibes; the corps of observation formed at Perpignan and Bourdeaux; and the army of reserve formed at Laon and at Paris.

The force in each of these armies was estimated as follows:

Army of the North, including that of

Moselle, and consisting of five corps 130,000 Army of the Rhine, under General

30,000

1815.

two armies, which we observed before, occupied BOOK XV. the Netherlands, the forts in it, and lined the French frontiers from Ostend to Luxemburg. The CHAP. VI, total force for this point was about 250,000 men; and three corps of Prussians were on their march to join Blucher. The grand army, under Prince Schwartzenberg, with whom were the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, consisted of Russians, Austrians, Bavarians, &c. and of the Prussian guards. These lined the French frontiers from Luxemburg to the Rhine, occupied different forts, and extended along the Rhine to Basle. Their numbers amounted, in the middle of June, to about 300,000 men. Switzerland also had an army of 30,000 men stationed on her vulnerable side, and in front of Besançon. On the frontiers of Savoy and Piedmont, General Frimont, with an army of Austrians and Sardinians, held the fortifications in that line, and-lined the French frontiers from Switzerland to the Mediterranean. This army amounted to about 80,000 men, and was daily increasing in number. The whole of the allied forces assembled on the French frontiers, on the 14th of June, or within a few days march of them, stood thus :

Army, under the Duke of Wellington, including garrisons, &c. .

Prussian army, under Blucher

120,000.

120,000

Grand army, under Schwartzenberg. 300,000 Austro-Sardinian army, under Fri

Rapp, fifth corps

Army at Befort, under General Le

courbe, seventh corps.

30,000

At Besançon

20,000

Army of the Alps, under Marshal

Suchet

mont

Army of the Pyrenees, under General
Clausel

In La Vendée, under General La-
marque
Garrison of Paris

Total regulars .. 305,000 The whole of these troops, except those in the south of France, under Lamarque, Clausel, &c. were, on the 14th of June, actually in the field. This force was certainly very formidable; and presented a strong force against the adversaries of Napoleon. Every day was also adding to its numbers. "All is in motion," said the Moniteur," in every part of France. If the coalition persist in the project which they have announced, of making war upon us, and if they violate our frontiers, it is easy to foresee what will be the fruit which they will gather from their attack upon the rights of the French people."

Such was the force of France. That of the allies, which was already on the frontiers of France, was still more considerable, and conisted as follows:-The army under the command of the Duke of Wellington consisted of British, Hanoverians, Dutch, Belgians, troops of Nassau and Brunswickers. The Prussian grand rmy, consisting at this time of four corps, was commanded by Marshal Prince Blucher. These

80,000

Total . 620,000

These were all veteran troops, under experienced leaders; but it must be observed, that Prince Schwartzenberg's army was waiting for the arrival of several corps of Russian troops, which were not expected to arrive before the latter end of June. His army, therefore, was cantoned in divisions on the German frontier, at a considerable distance from each other, for the purpose of procuring forage and provisions. In the mean time, at least 300,000 Austrians, Russians, Prussians, Danes, &c. were on their march, hastening to the French frontiers.

The plan of the allies was understood to be not to make any movement on the offensive till their whole forces were in line from the straits of Dover to the shores of the Mediterranean. This done, and before the sword was unsheathed, a solemn appeal was intended to be made by them to the French nation, calling upon them to return to a state of amity, by abandoning the man who had brought so many calamities and this fresh war upon Europe, and to remould the treaty of peace which they had violated. This offer unsuccessful, as they calculated it would be, their intention was to enter France at every point with an overwhelming force; and, from every quarter,

CHAP. VI.

1815.

BOOK XV. to advance without delay upon Paris, which, again in their power, they supposed would disorganize and scatter the government and resources of Napoleon. Of this Bonaparte was perfectly aware, and also deeply sensible how unable he was to oppose an effectual resistance, on every point, against the vast force advancing against him. He, therefore, determined to take them in detail, and before their plans were matured and completed. In furtherance of this object, the allied armies, stationed in the Netherlands, under the command of Wellington and Blucher, engaged his earliest attention, as being those nearest the capital of his empire. He, therefore, resolved to attack them first. In this resolution he seems to have had four great objects in view. The first was the gratification of French ambition and vanity, by the conquest of Belgium, so generally wished for in France. The second was, if possible, to remove the danger of invasion to a point as far distant from his capital as possible. The third was of still greater importance, namely, if he succeeded in forcing back the armies here stationed, he would then have it in his power to menace the rear of the right wing of the grand allied army, which was to enter France by the Upper Rhine, thereby either retarding or endangering their forward movements. If he succeeded in these important operations, it was of less consequence at what expense he did so. He conceived that he would thereby crush the voice of disaffection in France, and call forth once more, around his conquering standards, the energy and unprincipled ambition of the nation. Last, and Last, and not least, as the surest road to ultimate success, by gaining the first point, he was certain that he would succeed in removing the war from the French territories, and make other countries, as formerly, support the expense; without which, he was aware France would not long bend with perfect satisfaction to his sway.

To accomplish this point, however, he must have totally destroyed the armies of Wellington and Blucher. Any partial victory obtained over them, though it might have compelled them to retreat, and thereby have given him the possession of a tract of country, would have been of no solid advantage, so long as their armies remained unbroken and united, because their loss would have been quickly supplied from the numerous reinforcements pushing on to join them; and because the advance of the grand army across the Upper Rhine, where Bonaparte had confessedly no force equal to oppose them, would not only have laid his right wing open to their efforts, but his capital also. This alone would have compelled him to relinquish any hold which he might have gained in the Netherlands, unless, in his usual phrase, he had in reality annihilated the armies of Blucher and Wellington, when a

small part of his force would have been sufficient to guard the quarter where they were, and the remainder of his force would thus have been disposable to watch the movements or attack the columns of the grand army. Such, no doubt, were his calculations.

It was the only measure in which he had any chance of that success which could materially benefit his cause-the only measure which was likely to have a serious influence upon the plans of his adversaries-a beneficial influence on the recovery of his military character, and the reestablishment of his former power. Half mea sures were not the weapons with which he fought. All or nothing was his watch-word in every ope ration. No lesser matters occupied his thoughts. It animated him at this moment, it prompted every movement-directed every motion, and guided him to cast every thing upon the issue of one terrible attempt. What he had in view, he must also do quickly. The allied army in the Netherlands were, at this moment, dispersed over the country, for the sake of procuring, more readily, the necessary supplies for such vast bodies of men. A considerable body of the Prus sian army were upon the banks of the Rhine, a cou siderable distance from the remainder and from the frontiers. On his part, he had it in his power, when acting on the offensive, to choose his point of attack with greater security than the allies could; because he had a much more formidable chain of fortresses in his line to support his ope rations, and behind which he, no doubt, calcu lated that he would be able to retire, if he found he could not accomplish his object. His army was not only formidable in point of numbers, but more so from the quality of the troops. These men were the flower of France, and of his mili tary strength. They had their characters to regain-their glory to re-conquer-their fortunes to re-establish, and their future repose to secure. Perjury and treason had lowered them in the eyes of honor and worth. These feelings combined, stung their souls, and goaded them to fury. The utmost exertions were to be expected, from both them and their leader. Their fate, their fortune, and their fame, they had altogether to re-create, and these were all irretrievably com mitted in this dreadful struggle. They marched to it with a resolution which the utmost strength of rage and despair could inspire. The attempts of their government to inflame their hearts with the deadliest animosity and resentment agains the allies, and particularly against the Prussians by publishing accounts about the intended cruel ties to be committed by the latter in France, had but too well succeeded. "It is particularly against the Prussians," said an article in the Moniteur, "that the French army manifests an implacable hatred, and we have some reason to

Fear that it will not be willing to make any prisoners of that nation."

The opinions of mankind, in some countries, were divided upon the issue of the approaching conflict. All were convinced that it would be severe; some, that it would be long and bloody; but the general opinion was, that it could not, from its means and its object, be of long duration. One party, with France herself, contended that it was impossible to conquer a warlike nation, with a condensed population of 29,000,000 of people. Forming their judgment upon what she had before done, they contended that she could do as much again, and with greater ease, inasmuch as she was wiser from experience, better instructed in the art of war, and more united than she was at the revolution. They calculated that the daring arm of Napoleon would carry the horrors of war out of the French territories, where he would, as usual, live at the expense of his adversaries; and when the glare of conquest would again, as it had done before, crush the voice of disaffection in France, and raise the nation to follow, without feeling or reflection, their darling pursuit. Thus employed, they were aware that the French people would trouble their heads very little about who governed them. On the other hand, if this could not be carried into ef feet, they relied on the strength of her armies and her frontiers; but, above all, upon that spirit generally prevalent in France, of devotion to the integrity of the country, to unite all hands and all hearts in its defence, which they conceived sufficient to repel the invaders, when, by discomfiture in their views, and the effects of intrigue and jealousy sown in their councils, France, they prophesied, would, at length, break up the formidable confederacy. Then she would be able to resume her former dictatorial situation and arbitrary dominion. So the rulers of France, and hose who advocated her cause, considered the matter; so, calculating upon human energies as all on the side of France, they prognosticated the issue of the approaching contest. Another party, however, argued that France was not so powerful as she was in 1792. That though her territory remained unimpaired, that her spirit and her resources were broken, and could not be reproduced. They beheld Europe from necessity become a military people-her leaders, from long experience, wise-her armies, from principle, brave; they saw the armed population of Europe driven, by every sentiment or feeling that can ouch or animate the human soul, to exertion, to ttack the regular armies of France; and not the armed population of France, roused into frenzy, attacking the regular forces and disunited councils of Europe. They considered the immense

66

which gave life, vigor, and unanimity to their councils, and they had no doubt but that these were superior to any thing that France, however condensed, unanimous, and powerful, could bring against them. They considered that bitter experience had taught the allies the fatal effects of carelessness and disunion; and that, as one interest animated the sovereign and the subject, that, therefore, the insidious machinations of France could make no impression upon their resolution, and find no entrance into their councils. They, therefore, augured weil of the contest. It might be bloody-it might be long, but it could hardly be unsuccessful; while its duration and violence would only draw down on the head of France wider destruction, and deeper humiliation. Most important events now crowd upon our attention, and demand our consideration. The hour, big with the fortune of empires and the fate of millions, advanced with accelerated speed. Immediately upon the conclusion of the ceremony of the Champ de Mai, Soult, who was advanced to the rank of major-general of the French armies, the situation formerly held by Berthier, addressed a proclamation to the French army, in which he informed them, that a " new oath" united France and the emperor; and that all the efforts of an impious league" would not be able to separate the interests of the people from "the hero who was the admiration of the universe."-" What," said he, in that haughty tone which Frenchmen had long assumed," is the hope of this new coalition ?" He told them that their object was to "erase France from the list of nations," to impose slavery upon 28,000,000 of men, which he hinted might again, as it had done before, add to their aggrandizement and their glory." He told them that their enemies were numerous," ," but that the contest was neither beyond the genius of Napoleon, nor their strength; and that the number of their foes would only render "victory more glorious," and "their defeat more conspicuous."-" To arms," therefore, said he. The signal for battle will soon be given; and while Napoleon guides "our steps," and we fight for our beautiful country," " we will be "invincible.-We will rally round the emperor, the protector of liberal ideas; around a prince who, educated in the revolution, advances with the age in which he lives, and wishes to extend the dominion of the mind, instead of circumscribing it. Instructed by misfortunes, he will see the conquerors of Austerlitz, of Marengo, and of Jena, march anew under the colours which so often led them to victory, and the event will not be doubtful."

66

Bonaparte was also making preparations for putting himself at the head of his army. On

1815.

BOOK XV. chamber of peers and the chamber of representatives waited upon him. These, with the answers CHAP. VI. of Napoleon, deserve insertion, on account of the ideas of liberty which the chambers entertained; of the hopes respecting the issue of the contest which they indulged; and of the feelings and principles which Bonaparte deemed it prudent to express on this occasion. The address of the peers was presented first, and is as follows:

"Sire,-"Your anxiety to submit to constitutional forms and rules, the absolute power with which circumstances and the confidence of the people had invested you, the new guarantees given to the rights of the nation, the devotedness which leads you into the midst of the dangers the army is about to brave, penetrate all hearts with profound gratitude. The peers of France come to offer your majesty the homage of this sentiment.

"You have manifested principles, sire, which are those of the nation: they must also be our's. Yes, all power springs from the people, is instituted for the people; the constitutional monarchy is necessary to the French, as the guarantee of its liberty and independence.

"Sire, while you shall be on the frontiers, at the head of the sons of the country, the chamber of peers will zealously concur in every legislative measure which circumstances require, to compel foreigners to acknowledge the national independence, and to cause the principles, consecrated by the will of the people, to triumph in the interior. "The interest of France is inseparable from your's. Should fortune fail your efforts, reverses, sire, shall not weaken our perseverance, and shall redouble our attachment to you.

"If events correspond to the justice of our cause, and to the hopes we are accustomed to conceive of your genius, and of the bravery of our armies, France desires no other fruits from them but peace. Our institutions guarantee to Europe that the French nation cannot be drawn on by the seductions of victory."

His majesty replied:

"M. President, and gentlemen deputies of the chamber of peers,-The contest in which we are engaged is serious. The seduction of prosperity is not the danger which threatens us now. under the caudine forks that foreigners wish to make us pass!

It is

"The justice of our cause, the public spirit of the nation, and the courage of the army, are powerful reasons for hoping success; but should we have reverses, then especially I shall delight to see called forth all the energy of this great people; then shall I find in the chamber of peers proofs of attachment to the country and me.

"It is in difficult times that great nations, like great men, develope all the energy of their cha

racter, and become objects of admiration to pos terity.

66

"I thank you, gentlemen, for the sentiments you have expressed to me in the name of the chamber."

The emperor then proceeded to mass. After mass, having again taken his place on the throne, he received a deputation of the chamber of representatives, headed by Count Lanjuinais, the president, who presented the address.

"Sire,-The chamber of representatives received with profound emotion the words which proceeded from the throne at the solemn sitting. when your majesty, laying down the extraordi nary power which you exercised, proclaimed the commencement of the constitutional monarchy.

"The chief bases of that monarchy, the protectress of liberty, equality, and the happiness of the people, have been recognised by your majesty, who, rising above all scruples, as antici pating all wishes, has declared that the care of collecting our scattered constitutions, and of arranging them, was one of the most important oc cupations reserved for the legislature. Faithful to its mission, the chamber of deputies will per. form the task thus devolved upon it: it requests that, to satisfy the public wish, as well as the wishes of your majesty, national deliberation should rectify, as speedily as possible, any thing defective or imperfect that the urgency of our situation may have produced, or let to exist, in our constitutions considered as a whole.

"But at the same time, sire, the chamber of representatives will not show itself less anxious to proclaim its sentiments and its principles as to the terrible contest which threatens to cover Europe with blood. In the train of disastrous events, France invaded, appeared for a moment listened to, as to the establishment of a constitution, only to see herself almost immediately subjected to a royal charter emanating from absolute power, to an ordinance of reform always revocable in its nature, and which, not having the expressed as sent of the people, could never be considered as obligatory on the nation.

66

Resuming now the exercise of her rights, rallying round the hero whom her confidence anew invests with the government of the state, France is astonished and afflicted at seeing some sovereigns in arms call her to account for an internal change which is the result of the national will, and which attacks neither the relations existing with other governments, nor their security. France cannot admit the distinctions with the aid of which the coalesced powers endeavoured to cloak their aggression. To attack the monarch of its choice, is to attack the independence of the nation. It is armed as one man to defend that independence, and to repel, without exception,

every family and every prince whom men shall dare to wish to impose upon it. No ambitious project enters the thoughts of the French people; the will even of a victorious prince will be insufficient to draw on the nation beyond the limits of its own defence: but to guard its territory, to maintain its liberty, its honour, its dignity, it is ready for any sacrifice.

46

Why are we not still permitted to hope, sire, that these warlike preparations, formed perhaps by the irritation of pride, and by illusions which every day must weaken, may still disperse before the want of a peace necessary to all the nations of Europe, and which shall restore to your majesty a spouse, to the French the heir of a throne? But blood has already flowed; the signal of combats, prepared against the independence and liberty of France, has been given, in the name of a people who carry to the highest pitch the enthusiasm of liberty and independence Doubtless, among the communications which your majesty promises us, the chambers will find proofs of the efforts you have made to maintain the peace of the world. If all these efforts must remain useless, may the calamities of war fall upon those who shall have provoked them.

"The chamber of representatives only waits for the documents announced to it, in order to contribute, with all its power, to the measures which the success of so legitimate a war will require. It delays pronouncing its resolves only till it knows the wants and resources of the state; and while your majesty, opposing to the most unjust aggression the valor of the national armies and the force of your genius, will seek in victory only one means of attaining a durable peace, the chamber of representatives will deem that it marches towards the same object, by incessantly labouring on the compact, of which the improvement must cement the union of the people and the throne, and strengthen, in the eyes of Europe, by the amelioration of our institutions, the guarantee of our engagements."

His majesty replied:

"Mr. President, and gentlemen deputies of the chamber of representatives,

"I recognise, with satisfaction, my own sentiments in those which you express to me. In these weighty circumstances my thoughts are absorbed by the imminent war, to the success of which are attached the independence and the honor of France.

"I will depart this night to place myself at the head of my armies; the movements of the different hostile corps render my presence there in dispensable. During my absence I shall see with pleasure a commission appointed by each chamber, engaged in deliberating on our constitutions.

"The constitution is our rallying-point; it

1815.

must be our pole-star in these stormy moments. BOOK XV. All public discussion, tending to diminish directly or indirectly the confidence which should be CHAP. VI. placed in its enactments, will be a misfortune to the state; we should then find ourselves at sea, without a compass and without a rudder. The crisis in which we are placed is great. Let us not imitate the conduct of the lower empire, which, pressed on all sides by barbarians, made itself the laughing-stock of posterity, by occupying itself with abstract discussions at the moment when the battering-ram was shaking the gates of the city.

"Independently of the legislative measures required by the circumstances of the interior, you will probably deem it useful to employ yourself on organic laws destined to put the constitution in motion. They may be the object of your public labours without any inconvenience.

"The sentiments expressed in your address sufficiently demonstrate to me the attachment of the chamber to my person, and all the patriotism with which it is animated. In all affairs my march shall be straight forward and firm. Assist me to save the country. First representative of the people, I have contracted the engagement, which I renew, of employing, in more tranquil times, all the prerogatives of the crown, and the little experience I have acquired, in seconding you in the amelioration of our constitutions."

At half-past three o'clock on the next morning, Bonaparte quitted Paris, and took the road for the Netherlands. According to his usual custom, he travelled with great rapidity, reaching Soissons by ten o'clock that morning, and Laon by three in the afternoon. The day before, his army had been reviewed at Maubeuge.

In the mean time, the internal state of the nation was full of danger. On his departure for the army, Bonaparte received a long report from the minister of police, in which he announced, that insurrection had broken out in several points of the departments of the west. ❝ While your majesty," says he, "marches at the head of the French armies to repel foreign aggression, you have a right to expect, from the energy and fidelity of the representatives of the nation, the legal means of arresting or punishing the enterprises of internal enemies."

99

"Sire, I must tell you the whole truth: our enemies have activity, audacity, instruments with out, supporters within; they only await the favorable moment for realising the plan conceived twenty years ago, and for twenty years counteracted, that of uniting the camp of Jales to La Vendée, and of drawing in a part of the multitude into this conspiracy, which extends from the coast of the Channel to the Mediterranean.

"In this system the country districts on the left bank of the Loire, of which the population is