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CHAP. I. 1815.

BOOK XVI. the country before every thing-it is in danger. I move that the debate be closed." This motion was immediately adopted. The house then proceeded to choose the two members for the provisional government, and the choice fell upon Caulincourt and Quinette. These two, with Grenier, Carnot, and Fouche, now formed the government that was to rule over and to save France. Of this conclave Fouche was president.

The provisional government being appointed, immediately commenced its functions. A decree was passed authorizing the government to procure, by means of requisitions, supplies for the army, and transports for the troops. Another decree Another decree was passed, calling out the remainder of the conscription of 160,000 for 1815, decreed in 1813. Severe resolutions were passed against all those who should desert the cause of the government, or assume any colours but the national ones, and the following address was issued to the nation: "Frenchmen,-Within the period of a few days glorious successes and a dreadful reverse have again agitated your destinies. A great sacrifice appeared necessary to your peace, and to that of the world, and Napoleon abdicated the imperial power. His abdication forms the term of his political life. His son is proclaimed." Your new constitution, which possesses as yet only good principles, is about to undergo its application, and even those principles are to be purified and extended. There no longer exist powers jealous of each other. The space is free to the enlight ened patriotisin of your representatives, and the peers feel, think, and vote as your mandatories. After twenty-five years of political tempests the moment has arrived when every thing wise and sublime that has been conceived respecting social institutions, may be perfected in yours. Let reason and genius speak, and from whatever side their voices may proceed, they shall be

heard.

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Plenipotentiaries have departed, in order to treat in the name of the nation, and to negociate with the powers of Europe that peace which they have promised on one condition, which is now fulfilled. The whole world will, like you, be attentive to their reply. Their answer will make known whether justice and promises are any thing on earth. Frenchmen! be united; let all rally under circumstances of such great import

ance.

may in part be destroyed; but the experience of all ages, and of all nations, proves that an intrepid nation combating for justice and liberty cannot be destroyed. The emperor, in abdicating, has offered himself as a sacrifice. The members of the government devote themselves in accepting from your representatives the reins of the state, (Signed) "The Duke of OTRANTO, (Fouche) President.

T. BERLIER, Secretary."

The commissioners appointed to treat for peace, having repaired to the bead-quarters of the Prussian army, which was in advance of that of the Duke of Wellington, presented the following note to Marshal Blucher :

"The changes which have taken place in the government of France, by the abdication of the Emperor Napoleon, accepted in the name of the French people by their representatives, having removed the obstacles which had bindered, til this day, the opening of a negociation, calculated to prevent the evils of war between France and the high allied powers, the undersigned plenipo tentiaries have received full powers for the nego ciation, the conclusion, and signature of all acts which may conduce to stop the effusion of blood, and re-establish upon a stable foundation the ge neral peace of Europe. They have, therefore, the honor to give this information to his highness Prince Blucher, and to beg him to enable them to repair immediately to the head-quarters of the allied sovereigns, and to confer previously with him on the subject of a general suspension of arms between the French and the allied ar mies; a suspension which has been already demanded by the French general commanding the van-guard of the army of the north, and ver bally agreed upon between our respective out posts.

"The plenipotentiaries request his highness the general-in-chief, Prince Blucher, to accept the assurance of their high consideration.

"Count HORACE SEBASTIANI,
Count de la FORET,

LA FAYETTE,

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Let civil discord be appeased; let dissen- The Prussian general refused to grant a suspen sion be silent at this moment, in which the great sion of arms; but, after much altercation, he gave interests of nations are to be discussed. Be them passports, which having received, the commis united from the north of France to the Pyrenees; sioners proceeded immediately to the head-quar from La Vendée to Marseilles. Who is he, who, ters of the allied sovereigns. In addition to the born on the soil of France, whatever may be his deputies dispatched to the allied armies to solicit party, whatever his political opinions, will not peace, a messenger was dispatched to England: range himself under the national standard to de- but he was ordered to return; and Monsieur Otta, fend the independence of the country? Armies who was sent on a similar journey, was forced

to remain at Boulogue for want of passports to proceed across the channel. It was generally supposed that his mission related to negociations concerning the personal safety of Bonaparte, and to receive passports for him to proceed to America.

CHAP. I.

In the mean time every exertion was made to arm BOOK XVI. the national guards of Paris, and the neighbouring departments; to fortify the capital, to collect troops and stores in order to oppose the allies.

1815.

CHAPTER II.

Operations of the British and Prussian Armies in France.-Letter of Fouche to the Duke of Wellington.—Arrival of the Allies before the Walls of Paris.-State of the Capital.-Depurture of Bonaparte from Paris.-His Farewell Address to the French Army.-Proceedings of the Chambers.-Arrival of Louis XVIII. at Cambray.-His Proclamation.-Military Operations.Letter of the French Generals to the Chamber of Representatives.-Capitulation of Paris.—Proceedings of the Chambers.-Their Dissolution.-Entry of the Allies, and Louis XVIII. into Paris

WE must now return to the operatious of the allied armies under the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher. The Duke of Wellington, after visiting the wounded at Brussels, on the 19th of June, prepared to follow the enemy. The Prussians, under Marshal Blucher, who had continued their march on the left of the Sambre, crossed that river on the 19th, in pursuit of the French, and both armies entered the French territory on the 21st; the Prussians by Beaumont, and the combined forces under Wellington by Bavay. The former advanced upon the road to St. Quentin, and the latter to Cambray and Perouse.

At Beaumont, Blucher addressed a proclamation to his army, which we shall subjoin.

"Brave officers and soldiers of the army of the Lower Rhine.-You have done great things, brave companions in arms. You have fought two battles in three days. The first was unfortunate, and yet your courage was not broken. You have had to struggle with privations, but you have borne them with fortitude. Immoveable in adverse fortune, after the loss of a bloody battle, you marched with firmness to fight another, relying on the God of battles, and full of confidence in your commanders, as well as of perseverance in your efforts against presumptuous and perjured enemies, intoxicated with their victory. It was with these sentiments you marched to support the brave English, who were maintaining the most arduous contest with unparalleled firmness. But the hour which was to decide this great struggle has struck, and has shewn who was to give the law, whether an adventurer, or governments who are the are the friends of order. Destiny was still undecided, when you appeared issuing from the forest which concealed you from the enemy, to attack his rear, with that coolness, that firmness, that confidence,

to avenge the reverses they had experienced two days before. There, rapid as lightning, you penetrated his already shaken columns. Nothing could stop you in the career of victory. The enemy in his despair turned his artillery upon you; but you poured death into his ranks, and your progress caused in them disorder, dispersion, and at last a complete rout. He found himself obliged to abandon to you several hundreds of cannon, and his army is dissolved. A few days will suffice to aunibilate those perjured legions, who were coming to consummate the slavery and the spoliation of the universe. All great commanders have regarded it as impossible immediately to renew the combat with a beaten army: you have proved that this opinion is ill-founded; you have proved that resolute warriors may be vanquished, but that their valor is not shaken. Receive, then, my thanks, incomparable soldiers-objects of all my esteem. You have acquired a great reputation. The annals of Europe will eternize your triumphs. It is on you, immoveable columns of the Prussian monarchy, that the destinies of the king and his august house will for ever repose. Never will Prussia cease to exist, while your sous and your grandsons resemble you.

(Signed)

"BLUCHER."

The French army, under Soult, retreated on Laon in great confusion. The troops commanded by Grouchy, which had reached Dinant, retired in better order; but they were cut off from the wreck of the main army, and also from the direct road to Paris. Grouchy, therefore, was compelled to take the road to Rethel, whence he proceeded to Rheims; and by forced marches be endeavoured to force a junction with Soult, and thus reach the capital before the allies.

1815.

BOOK XVI. ceeded rapidly into the heart of France; but as there was no enemy in the field to oppose his CHAP. I. progress, the fortresses alone demanded his attenThe following order of the day was issued to the British army before they entered France. "As the army is going to enter the French territory, the troops of different nations, now under the command of Field-marshal the Duke of Wellington, are desired to remember, that their respective sovereigns are the allies of his majesty the King of France, and that France must therefore be considered as a friendly country.

"It is ordered, that nothing be taken either by the officers or soldiers without payment.

"The commissaries of the army will provide for the wants of the troops in the usual manner, and it is not permitted to the officers or soldiers of the army to make requisitions.

"The commissaries will be authorised by the field-marshal, or by the generals who command the troops of the respective nations (that is to say, in case their provisions are not regulated by an English commissary) to make the necessary requisitions, for which they will give regular receipts, and they must perfectly understand that they will be responsible for all that they receive by requisitions, from the inhabitants of France, in the same manner as if they made purchases for the account of their government in their own country. (Signed) "J. WATERS, acting adjutant-general."

The regulations contained in the above order. were strictly adhered to, which reflects the highest credit on the British army and their illustrious commander. The English soldiers, where ever they were quartered, paid the greatest respect to the inhabitants, and every thing which was furnished them being punctually paid for, the French looked upon them rather as friends than as enemies. The conduct of the Prussians, on the other hand, was directly the reverse. Their footsteps were every where marked with blood and rapine, and the most brutal behaviour towards the unfortunate inhabitants, whom they plundered of every thing they could lay their hands on, and then wantonly set fire to their habitations. These barbarians excited such a dread among the peasantry, that they deserted their villages, and fled into the woods, till at length the country looked like a complete desert.

From Beaumont, the Prussians advanced to Avesnes, which surrendered to them on the 21st. The French at first seemed determined to defend the place to the last extremity, and made considerable resistance; but a magazine having blown up, by which 400 men were destroyed, the rest of the garrison, which consisted chiefly of national-guards, and amounting to 439 men, surrendered at discretion. The greatest excesses

were committed by the Prussian soldiery, wher they entered the town, which instead of being restrained was encouraged by their officers. The following letter will give the reader some idea of the manner in which this war was conducted by the Prussians.

To Major-general Dobschutz, Military Governor, &c.

"Head-quarters, at Noyelles-sur-Sambre, June 21.

"Sir, I inform you, by this letter, that the for tress of Avesnes fell into our power this morning, and that the garrison are prisoners of war: they will be conveyed to Juliers. It were to be wished that some troops could be detached to relieve the escort on the road. As for the prisoners, the officers are to be conducted to Wesel, and strictly guarded in the citadel; the soldiers are destined for Cologne, that they may be employed in work ing on the fortifications. All are to be treated with the necessary severity.

"BLUCHER."

The Duke of Wellington, on his arrival at Malplaquet, the scene of one of Marlborough victories, issued a proclamation to the French people, in which he referred to the order of the day addressed to his army, as containing an explanation of the principles by which his conduct would be guided. It is as follows:

"I announce to the French that I enter their territory at the head of an army, already vieto rious, not as an enemy, (except of the usurper, the enemy of the human race, with whom there can be neither peace nor truce,) but to aid them to shake off the iron yoke by which they are ep pressed. I therefore give to my army the subjoined orders, and I desire that every one whe violates them may be made known to me.

"The French know, however, that I have right to require that they conduct themselves in such a manner that I may be able to protect them against those who would seek to do them evil.

"They must, then, furnish the requisitions the will be made them by persons authorized to make them, taking receipts in due form and order; that they remain quietly at their homes, and have no correspondence or communication with the usu per or with his adherents.

"All those who shall absent themselves from their homes, after the entrance of the army jato France, and all those who shall be absent in the service of the usurper, shall be considered a enemies and his adherents, and their property shall be appropriated to the subsistence of the "WELLINGTOL."

army.

Given at head-quarters, at Malplaquet, this 21st of June, 1815.

On the 24th, Sir Charles Colville took the town of Cambray by escalade, the governor retiring into the citadel, which he afterwards surrendered on the 25th, when it was given up to the order of Louis XVIII. St. Quintin was abandoned by the enemy, and was occupied by Blucher: and, on the evening of the 24th, the castle of Guise surrendered to the Prussian arms. The allied armies, at least 140,000 strong, continued to advance. On the 27th, Quesnoy surrendered to the allies. The garrison, which amounted to 2,800 men, chiefly national-guards, obtained liberty to retire to their homes. On the 26th, Peronne was taken by the British troops. The first brigade of guards, under Major-general Maitland, took by storm the horn-work which covers the suburbs on the left of the Somme, and the place immediately surrendered, upon the garrison obtaining leave to retire to their homes. On the 28th, the Prussians, under Blucher, were at Cressy, Senlis, and La Fere Millon; and, on the 29th, their advanced, guards were at St. Denis and Gonasse. The resistance experienced by the British army at Cambray and Peronne, detained them one day behind the Prussian army; but which forced marches enabled them to overtake in the neighbourhood of Paris. In the meantime, Soult was displaced from the chief command of the army, which was conferred on Marshal Grouchy. The reason of this remarkable step, according to Soult, was because the provisional government suspected his fidelity. This was very likely the true reason; or they could scarcely at this moment have dismissed a man confessedly superior to his successor, in point of abilities. The rapid advance of the allied armies caused Grouchy to redouble his speed to reach Paris before them. This he effected, after considerable loss, particularly on the 28th, at Villers Cotterets, where he fell in with the left wing of the Prussian army, and afterwards with the division under Bulow, which drove him across the Marne, with the loss of six pieces of cannon and 1,500 prisoners. Grouchy fairly acknowledged, that his troops would not fight, and that numbers deserted." In fact, though the French army was daily receiving reinforcements from the towns and depôts in its route, and also from the interior, the desertion from it was so great that its number was little if any thing at all augmented. With the remainder, however, Grouchy succeeded in throwing himself into Paris, where he joined the wreck of the main army, the whole consisting of about 40 or 50,000 troops of the line, the wretched remains (including also all reinforcements) of 150,000 men, which fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. To these, however, were to be added the national-guards, a new levy called les Tirailleurs de la Garde, and the Federés. According to Bonaparte's portfolio, found at Waterloo, these latter amounted to 14,000 men. Altogether, these

forces were at least 40,000 more, if not a greater BOOK XVI number. Paris was, therefore, still formidable, and capable of much resistance.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Wellington continued his operations with unabating activity. As the armies approached the capital, Fouche, president of the government, wrote the following letter to the British commander, supplicating him to arrest the progress of war.

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My lord,-You have just illustrated your name by new victories over the French. It is you especially who can appreciate the French nation. In the council of sovereigns united to fix the destinies of Europe, your influence and your credit cannot be less than your glory. Your law of nations has always been justice, and your conscience has always been the guide of your po-. licy. The French nation wishes to live under a monarch, but it wishes that that monarch live under the empire of laws. The republic made us acquainted with the extreme of liberty; the empire, with the extreme of despotism. Our wish now, (and it is immoveable) is to keep at an equal distance from both these extremes. All eyes are now fixed upon England: we do not claim to be more free than she; we do not wish to be less. The representatives of the nation are incessantly employed on a social compact, of which the component powers, separated, but not divided, all contribute, by their reciprocal action, to harmony and unity. From the moment this compact shall be signed by the prince called to reign over us, the sovereign shall receive the sceptre and the crown from the hands of the nation. In the existing state of Europe, one of the greatest calamities is hostility between France and England. No man, my lord, has it more in his power than yourself to replace Europe under a better influence, and in a finer position. "Paris, June 27.

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Accept," &c.

Of the state of Paris, at this period, we shall present the reader with some extracts from the interesting work of Miss Helen Maria Williams, who then resided in that city.

"The allied armies now drew near the city. Their approach had been concealed as long as possible; we had heard of plenipotentiaries, suspension of arms, the defection of Austria from the other coalesced powers, the arrival of a considerable part of the grand army in good order. But the reign of subterfuge and deception was at an end. The answer to all the eloquent declamations of the Bonapartists was the arrival of crowds of flying peasantry, seeking refuge within the walls of the capital. The experience of the foregoing year had taught us what was meant by these sad rustic processions, which in the same manner had preceded the memorable day of battle-disastrous images of a country in distress,

CHAP. II.

1815.

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"The fugitives were fewer in number than on the same occasion last year. The country-people had learnt that the invading army was that of the English, and they had heard that the English troops are an exception to the general practice of plunder and devastation; that they never illtreated the inhabitants; that they paid liberally for what they wanted, and caressed the little children. The excellent reputation they had acquired last year in the south had flown over France to the north and it was well known that wherever the English passed, the unarmed inhabitant had nothing to fear. A friend of mine wrote to me from the south, Lord Wellington will soon pass near our château, but we shall remain in perfect security-all is safe where they appear.' Many of the peasants, who had ventured to remain in their dwellings, had suffered cruelly from the merciless rapine of the French, and were perhaps disposed to exclaim, Save me from my friends.' They were filled with astonishment when they beheld an armed host, four abreast, pause when about to enter the field of wheat, in crossing the country, and changing their order, proceed in Indian files, one by one, along the narrow beaten path, careful to do no injury by treading on the corn, and avoid bruising the flowerets of the valley with hostile paces.'

"In a little village, called Vertu, two leagues from Paris, the English troops, on their arrival, told the inhabitants they must dislodge immediately but, to the great surprize of the peasants, the soldiers set themselves to work, and helped them to remove their little furniture, carefully avoiding to break or injure any thing by precipitation. Comme ils sont bons! comme ils sont bons! was repeated a thousand times by these poor people on their eutering Paris. What a proud tribute of praise for a conquering general is contained in those simple words issuing from the lips of the vanquished! What an additional lustre does virtue shed over those high achievements which fill so bright a page in the records of military renown, and which have had so signal an influence on the destinies of the world! The trame of Wellington was never pronounced without veneration by his enemies, or the pride of patriotic exultation by his friends; he who has softened the terror of his arms with such a benignant ray of moral glory, and has taught his victorious

bands, amidst the ardour of conquest, the avarice of blood. Others may have deserved the wreaths of courage, but who has ever blended them, like him, with the pure and white palms of philanthropy? Others may claim the praise of able generals, but to Wellington will be ascribed the denomination of the great captain. He has exalted valor by au inseparable and sublime connection with mercy; and to the history of his exploits may be applied what the celebrated Mrs. Montague observed of the writings of the great English moralist, that an angel might give the imprimatur.'

"What a singular picture did that part of the Boulevard present, where the fugitives arrived! The passage of the Porte St. Martin was almost entirely obstructed by the crowd of Parisians, mingled with the peasantry, and their cortège of wearied animals-on one side of the Boulevard the people were struggling for admission to the celebrated new piece of the Pie Voleuse,'-the Thieving Magpie. On the other, a little black horse dragged along the cart, or ambulant shop, which ever since the departure of Louis XVIII. has been established on the Boulevard for the sale of M. Carnot's famous pamphlet on Regicide; once sold at six francs, and now offered to the public at the moderate and reduced price of twelve sous

a copy.

"Farther on, a portion of the remains of the imperial-guard were marching along, pride in their port, defiance in their eye,' thundering out Vive l'Empereur! and one of them striking with his sabre a poor old man, who had the imprudence to articulate, in a feeble voice, Mes amis, criez Vive le Roi! Five or six persons on this day fell the victims of this forbidden exclamation, by the hands of those Pretorian bands. The small number of them that survived the battle of Wa terloo had returned with rage in their bosoms at their defeat, and despair at the abdication of their chief. They well knew that all they had done, and suffered, found no answering voice of sympathy from the people of Paris, except amongst the lowest multitude. In general, the mass of the Parisians, rankled by calamity, felt far more horror for the tyrant than pity for his voluntary victims; and although no people have more sensibility than the French to the splendour of military achievements, yet now, in the bitterness of their hearts for the evils they had undergone, and those with which they were menaced, they might well be per mitted to observe of the heroical courage of the imperial-guard, Curse on their virtues, they've undone their country!"

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