Emperor of Austria to exert his influence with the court of France, in order to procure him this justice. That the French cabinet had before this time formed the design of obliging Murat to resign the crown of Naples to King Ferdinand, was rendered apparent by a letter made public, from the Prince of Benevento (Talleyrand), to Lord Castlereagh, proposing a plan of attack upon him. The Duke of Campochiaro, when he presented his note, informed the Austrian minister, that he was directed to ask for a passage for 80,000 men into France through the Austrian dominions in Italy, who should pay for all which they consumed; which request induced the Emperor's cabinet to take measures for the security of Italy, and to reinforce their troops in that country.

At this period, as already observed, an active correspondence was carrying on between Naples and the isle of Elba; but it may be doubted whether Joachim was entrusted with Buonaparte's design of landing in France. As soon as the intelligence of this event reached Naples, he called together his council, and informed them of his determination to adhere to his alliance with the Emperor of Austria, and to remain faithful to the system of the allied powers. An assurance to this purpose was communicated to the Imperial Ambassador at his court, and also to the Plenipotentiaries at the congress of Vienna. The whole of the Neapolitan army was now in movement towards the frontier, and it was announced, that Joachim was immediately to follow, and establish his head

For some

quarters at Ancona. days he appeared to be in a state of great agitation. He held frequentinterviews with some French officers at Naples, several of whom he dispatched to France; but he delayed his own departure from Naples, and the advance of his troops, which was attributed to the news of the failure of Buonaparte's attempt to gain possession of Antibes. In fact, he seems to have been under the impression of all that doubt and fluctuation which naturally attends a man acting a double part, and irresolute which side to take. When, however, the news arrived of Buonaparte's entrance into Lyons, he made known that he considered the cause of Napoleon as his own, at the same time requiring a passage through the Roman states for two of his divisions. The Pope protested against this violation of his territory, and withdrew to Florence.

On March 19, King Joachim arrived at Ancona, and put himself at the head of his troops. He entered the Pope's dominions on the 22d, and, with his main body, proceeded from the Marches to the Legations, where, on the 30th, he began hostilities, by attacking the Imperialists posted at Cesena, who retired before him. The conse

quence was, a declaration of war against him by Austria. He issued at Rimini, on the 31st, a proclamation addressed to the Italians, calling upon them universally to assert their independence, and liberate themselves from the dominion of foreigners; and asserting that eighty thousand Neapolitans, under the command

of

of their king, were hastening to their assistance. The Imperial General, Bianchi, retired before the Neapolitan army, till he reached the Panaro, where, on April the 4th, he made head against the enemy, on the road to Modena. The result of the action was, that Bianchi continued his retreat to Carpi, and afterwards took a strong position on the Po. The Grand Duke of Tuscany at this time quitted his capital, and retired to Pisa, and on the 6th, the Neapolitans entered Florence, which was evacuated by the Austrian General, Nugent. The latter retired to Pistoia, whither he was followed by the Neapolitan General, Pignatelli, who made repeated attacks on the Austrians, in all of which he was repulsed with loss; and this was the limit of the advance of the Neapolitans on that side.

Their main army, under the immediate direction of King Joachim, was in the mean time pushing forward towards Ferrara; and it being considered by the Austrian Generals as of esssential consequence to defend this point, Baron Frimont ordered the Lieutenant Field-marshal Mohr, to advance from the tete-de-pont of Occhio Bello, and make an attack upon the enemy. This was effected on the 12th by Mohr, whilst Count Neipperg threatened the flank of the Neapolitans; and its success was such, that they were driven from all their works, and Ferrara was delivered. The retreating Neapolitans were pursued towards Bologna. General Bianchi had at this time driven the invaders from Carpi, and had recovered Modena; so

that the vicinity of the Po was entirely freed from the Neapolitans. The latter continued their retreat at all points. On the 16th, the van of the Austrian army entered Bologna, which had been hastily abandoned by Joachim. It was now manifest, that whatever were the wishes of the Italians for independence, no co-operation could be expected on their parts; and that the grand scheme of uniting Lombardy against the Austrian dominion, and forming a powerful diversion in favour of Buonaparte in that quarter, was beyond the talents of Murat with a Neapolitan army. From Bologna, the pursuit was continued by the Austrian division under Count Neipperg, which successively occupied Imola, Faenza, and Forli. A large corps of Neapolitans being entrenched at Cesena, the Count made an attack upon it on the 21st, and a brisk action ensued, after which, the position was abandoned, and the troops hastily retreated.

On the 21st, General Millet de Villeneuve, chief of the Neapolitan staff, sent a letter to the Austrian commander, for the purpose of obtaining an armistice. He said, that the King of Naples, under the apprehensions for the security of his states, excited by the negociations at Vienna, and in consequence of theevents which seemed likely to renew the coalition against France, had thought proper to occupy the line which he held during the last war, the result of which was, an attack by the. Austrian troops; that he had eventually found himself engaged in a war with a great power without intending it; but that having now learned by communications with

Lord

Lord Bentinck, that the hostilities commenced against him were not the result of a settled plan; and, moreover, that England was likely to take a part in the war if it should be continued, he had determined upon a retrograde movement; that he had made overtures to the Court of Vienna, from which he expected a happy issue, and therefore proposed an armistice to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. The only answer which this singular explanation of his conduct received was, that positive orders had been given for continuing military operations with vigour. Indeed, it cannot be doubted, that the Austrian Emperor and his allies were well pleased that they had so good a plea, for dethroning one, whose possession of a crown conquered from its hereditary owner, made a breach in their system of restoration.

On the 27th, Joachim had fallen back as far as Pesaro. General Bianchi was now marching with celerity from Bologna through Florence and Foligno, in order to occupy the direct road from Ancona to Naples, and thereby to turn the positions of the Neapolitan army. On May the 2d, he took a position in front of Tolentino, which rendered it necessary for Joachim to venture a battle, for the purpose of securing a retreat to the Neapolitan frontier. Advancing from Macerata with a much superior force, on the same day he attacked the positions of Bianchi, and the contest continued till the approach of night. On the following morning, the attacks were renewed with great vigour, and were resisted with equal obstinacy, till night again put an

end to the combat. The arrival of Count Neipperg at Jesi, now obliged the Neapolitans to commence a precipitate retreat in the direction of Fermo, in order to gain the road along the sea-coast to Pescara. General Nugent, who had entered Rome, marched from that capital in the beginning of May towards the Neapolitan frontier on that side, the enemy retiring before him. They were at length driven beyond the Garigliano to San Germano, to which they were followed by the Austrian advanced guard. On the 14th, Joachim arrived at San Germano, and his troops being considerably reinforced, he drove back the advanced guard, and afterwards attacked all the Austrian out-posts. On the 15th he began again to retire, and returning with a small escort to San Germano, he soon left that place. Nugent resuming the offensive, advanced against the enemy, who were posted on the banks of the Melfa, which they quitted on his approach. They afterwards left San Germano to their pursuers, and fell back to Mignano, where they drew up in force. In that position they were attacked, and put to the rout; and thus the Neapolitan army, named that of the Interior, was entirely broken up.

On the 18th, a junction was formed at the Austrian camp, near Calvi, of Bianchi's army with that of Nugent, who had now no opponents in the field, the wretched remains of the Neapolitan army being reduced, chiefly by desertion, to a dispirited band of about sixteen thousand effective soldiers of all kinds.

In consequence of arrangements

made

made between Lord Burghersh, the English minister at Florence, and Captain Campbell of the Tremendous man of war, the latter, in the beginning of May, sailed with his ship, accompanied by a frigate and a sloop of war, to the bay of Naples. On his arrival, he declared to the Neapolitan Government, that unless the ships of war were surrendered to him, he would bombard the town. Madame Murat having sent Prince Cariati to negociate for the surrender, the terms dictated by Captain Campbell were, that the ships of the line in the bay should be given up; that the arsenal of Naples should be delivered over, and an inventory taken of its actual state, and that these captures should be at the joint disposal of the English government, and of Ferdinand IV. of Naples. The ships were then taken possession of, and were sent off to Sicily. The war was now near to a conclusion. On the 18th, General Bianchi received a message from the Duke de Gallo, requesting an interview for the purpose of communicating proposals from Joachim. The first meeting was merely preliminary;, but on the 20th, a military convention was entered into by General Caracossa, commander in chief of the Neapolitan army; Gen. Niepperg on the part of Austria; Gen. Coletta on that of Naples; and Lord Burghersh on that of Great Britain. The abdication of Murat was first insisted upon. Coletta having wished to secure for him a safe retreat to France, and being informed that such a condition was inadmissible, he declared that he had no authority from that per

son to treat with respect to him. By the articles of the convention, an armistice was declared between the allied and the Neapolitan troops in all parts of the kingdom of Naples. All fortified places were to be given up in their actual state at specified periods, for the purpose of being made over to Ferdinand IV; but Gaeta, Pescara, and Ancona, being under blockade by the allies, and out of the line of the operations of Caracosa's army, nothing was decided respecting them. Naples, with its citadel and forts, was to be taken possession of by the allies on the 23d, and after its occupation, the whole territory of the kingdom was to be surrendered to them. Prisoners of war to be given up on both sides; and permission granted to all persons, natives or foreigners, to quit the kingdom during the space of a month.

The disturbances which broke out in Naples, caused the possession of it by the allies to be anticipated by one day. The popular feeling was manifested in such a manner, that Murat left the city for Ischia, and his wife took refuge on board an English ship of war. General Bianchi's cavalry occupied Naples on the night of the 22d, at which time the city guard, assisted by a detachment of marines sent by Admiral Lord Exmouth, who was arrived in the bay, were defending the royal palace from a furious mob; and upon that day Prince Leopold of Sicily entered at the head of the Austrian troops in the midst of general acclamations. Ferdinand had previously issued a proclamation, promising an uni

versal amnesty; and all the authorities of the kingdom, civil and military, were requested, for the present, to remain at their posts. Madame Murat sailed in the Tremendous for Gaieta, to receive her children, who had been sent thither for safety, whence she was to be conveyed to Trieste. On the 23d, the English and Sicilian expedition, consisting of about six thousand troops, under the command of General Macfarlane, appeared in the bay of Naples. The remains of Murat's army dissolved of itself, so that not a single division was to be found complete.

On June the 17th, the King of the Two Sicilies, after an absence of nine years, made his entrance into Naples, and was greeted with a popular enthusiasm, which apparently was not the mere temporary homage paid to existing power. His manners, however void of dignity, had always ingratiated him with the Neapolitan people; and the vices of the Government were not attributed to him, who, in fact, took little part in it. What will be the future character of that Government, time must discover; but the Neapolitans will scarcely be losers by changing a soldier of fortune, ambitious, without abilities, for an hereditary Sovereign, under whom they will probably enjoy quiet at home and peace abroad.

Murat made his escape to Toulon, where he remained, till finding his residence there becoming daily more insecure, he determined to try his fortune in Corsica, where there was still a strong attachment to the cause of Buonaparte. An asylum had been

offered to him by the Emperor of Austria in his dominions, with honourable treatment, on the condition that he should not quit his place of residence without the Emperor's consent; but the projects he had formed, probably induced him to decline the proposal.

Having purchased a boat at Toulon, he embarked with two naval officers, but had not proceeded far before he was overtaken by a violent storm, in which his small vessel was reduced to imminent hazard of sinking. In this state he was taken up, with his companions, by a ship which landed them in Corsica. He then repaired to the country-house of General Francescetti, who declared to the authorities of Bastia, that Murat had a sure retreat among the mountaineers, in which he would remain, till his negociations with Austria should permit him to rejoin his wife in that country. Intelligence was received at Leghorn from Bastia, dated September 18, that he was at the head of about one hundred and fifty armed men in one of the most refractory districts in Corsica. He fixed his head-quarters at Vescovato, where he was resorted to by all the Corsicans who had served under him at Naples; but in consequence of a proclamation from the commander of that military division, Verrier, declaring his partisans rebels, he took refuge at Ajaccio, where he continued to hold six hundred men in pay. He quitted that place on the 28th, and adopted a design which appears to have been suggested by the success of that of Buonaparte, but which the dif

ference