ral Harvey, took Trinidad from the Spaniards, in the month of February. On the 12th of that month, the forces deftined for the expedition were embarked at Fort Royal, in Martinique. On the 16th, the British fquadron came within fight of Trinidad, and food towards the gulf of Paria. At half past three in the afternoon, the Spanish squadron was difcovered at anchor in Shagramus Bay, confifting of four fail of the line and one frigate, under a rear-admiral's flag.-At two o'clock the following morning, the Spanish fquadron was difcovered to be on fire, and the whole of the fhips were confumed except one. This unexpected change of affairs directed the whole attention of the General to the attack of the town, of which he poffeffed himself with little or no refiftance. The whole colony foon after fubmitted to his Britannic Majesty. But an attempt, which proved not fo fuccefsful, was foon after made by the fame troops which had reduced Trinidad, against Porto Rico. On Monday the 17th of April, the fleet under the command of Admiral Harvey, made the island of Porto Rico, and came to anchor at Congrejos Point. The next morning the troops under Sir Ralph Abercrombie were difembarked in a finall bay on the north fide of the island, with little oppofition from about 100 of the enemy. On approaching the town, however, it was found to be too ftrongly fortified, and too actively defended, by gun-boats and other craft, to admit of any hope of fuccefs. After bombarding the town for fome days, on the fouth fide, near a large magazine, without effect, the general reembarked his troops on the 30th of April, having lost about 200 men in the attempt. Upon General Abercrombie's arrival in Barbadoes, he propofed to the council to raise, arm, and train, fome regiments of negroes. They dared not to make the experiment. The fame meafure was propofed to be adopted in Jamaica-they too refuted agreeing to it for. the faine reafons.-So little confidence have the traf fickers fickers in man, in the fidelity of thofe whom they cruelly hold in chains. The genius of the French, as fays a lively writer, eternally on the wing, reprefents the combats of Bonaparte with the power of Auftria in Italy, to that of Hercules with the Hydra of Lerna. One vaft army was no fooner deftroyed, than another, ftill more formidable, was feen to affume its place, and threaten a new deftruction to the formidable and victorious affailant. Not difcouraged by the calamitous defeat at Arcole, and the confequent deftruction of his bravest troops, the Emperor, during the fhort refpite which the dead of winter afforded, redoubled his efforts, and depopulated his moft flourishing provinces, to raife fresh levies for the relief of Mantua, and the expulfion of the republican armies from his Italian dominions. The young men of Vienna, not excepting thofe of the higheft families, were embodied into a military corps, and fent poft to recruit the army of General Alvinzi. The grand object was ftill the fame, to penetrate at fome point or other, the line of defence established by Bonaparte; to march down a strong column upon Mantua, to raise the blockade, to bring once more the experi enced Wurmfer into the open field, and, by one bold effort, to annihilate all the preceding fucceffes of the French commander, and future fchemes of operation. It required the genius of Bonaparte, ever fruitful in refources, to ward off a blow fo judicioufly aimed-it required the good fortune, which never deferted him, to give effect to thofe bold and unprecedented manœuvres which he fuccefsfully employed. December was almoft ended before the French commander prepared to take the field. The army of his opponent, Alvinzi, amounted at this time, according to report, to 50,000 men, and was posted on the Brenta and the Tyroi; while the republican army was poited along the Adige, occupied the line of Montebello, with advanced guards before Verona and Porto Legnago.. Mantua ftill remained in a state of clofe blockade. Ac cording cording to a letter from the Emperor to General Wurmfer, the garrifon must have been reduced to a fate of the greatest extremity, in the article of provi fions efpecially, having no other animal food but the flefh of their horses, The Auftrian army commenced its hoftile movements on the 7th of January; and, on the following day, the divifion which had been pofted at Padua, attacked the advanced guard of General Angereau, which was posted at Bevelagna, before Porto Legnago. After a fmart fkirmish, the Adjutant-General Dufaux, who commanded there, found himself under a neceflity of retreating to St. Zeno, and the next day to Porto Legnago, having been enabled by his refiftance to give time to the whole line to be fully apprised of the march of the enemy, and prepared to receive him. The French commander in chief was at this time at Bologna. He, however, loft no time in detaching 2,000 men, who were quartered there towards the Adige, for the relief of Augereau, and immediately after fet out for Verona, before which place the Auftrians appeared on the morning of the 12th. They attacked the advanced guard under General Maffena, and were completely defeated, with the lofs of 600 prifoners and three pieces of cannon. The attack of the Auftrians appears to have been pretty general along the French line; for, at the fame moment that the advanced pofts of Maffena were affailed, the divifion under General Joubert was also attacked at Corona. The Auftrians at firft gained fome flight advantages, and became mafters of a redoubt. General Joubert, however, foon rallied his foldiers, retook the redoubt by ftorm, forced the enemy to retire to their former pofition and took upwards of 300 prifoners. Far from lofing heart by this partial defeat, the Aus trians renewed the attack on Joubert, the following day, and with fuch a fuperiority of force as compelled him to evacuate Corona, and to take a pofition before Rivoli. This movement of the enemy left the French general general no longer in doubt with refpect to the intentions of Alvinzi. It was now evident that the Auftrian general with his main force, was defirous of penetrating his line by the way of Rivoli, and of reaching Mantua by that route; the force with which this attack was to be made, was at leaft double in number to that under General Joubert. Bonaparte, who viewed all these movements with anxious folicitude, now perceived that no time was to be loft, He ordered immediately large reinforcements from the divifion of Maffena, and other quarters, to Rivoli, where he arrived in perfon with his ftaff the fame day near midnight. The difpofitions of General Joubert, though excellent for a small divifion, he found by no means adapted to the reinforcements he had brought; he therefore immediately ordered them to refume fome of the pofitions which they had evacuated; and particularly the gate of St. Marco, which was the key of the whole. Bonaparte, with the officers compofing his staff, spent the whole night in reconnoitering the ground, and examining the pofition of the enemy, who occupied a formidable line of 25,000 ftrong; their right at Caprine, and their left at St. Marco. The Auftrian General, who had arranged his plan of attack fome days before expected neither the prefence of Bonaparte, nor the reinforcements which Joubert received, almost at the inftant of attack. While fuch were the difpofitions of the Generals, the night proved extremely unquiet to the out-pofts on both fides, who, to prevent furprife, kept up almoft a conftant fire upon each other; and the refumption of the poft at St. Marco, produced a ferious engagement. On the 14th of January at the break of day General Joubert with one part of his divifion attacked the enemy upon the declivity of the hill of St. Marco. The other part occupied the centre; and the laft was chiefly compofed of the late reinforcements. The Austrian general ftill remained ignorant, both of the prefence of the commander in chief, and of the arrival of the reinforcements. His plans were therefore difconcerted, and and he acted in the dark. The battle, notwithstanding, was long and obftinate, and in its commencement the French were driven from fome of their posts; while a fresh body of the Auftrians advanced to the eminences between the Adige and the lake Guarda, turned the flank of the French, and completely cut off their communication with Verona and Pefchiera. In this embarralling fituation, the General loft nothing of his ufual prefence of mind. He detached two battalions to face this new column, and caufed four pieces of light artillery to be planted fo as to cannonade the right of their line. In the mean time, a reinforcement under the command of General Rey, fortunately arrived, and took a pofition exactly in the rear of the column which had turned the French. Bonaparte now preffed the attack with the utmost vigour; and, in lefs than a quarter of an hour, the whole column, confifting of 4,000 men laid down their arms. The Auftrians were now every where put to the route, and purfued by the conquerors during the whole of the night. The French general relates, that fuch was the panic with which the enemy was feized, that in the courfe of their flight, a body of 1,500 men furrendered as prifoners to a party of fitteen republicans. Still the Auftrians remained mafters of Corona, but they were now difabled from acting on the offenfive. Bonaparte, therefore, ordered General Joubert to attack them the next day, fhould they fill be fo imprudent as to retain poffeffion of that place; while he himself haftened to encounter new difficulties, and to reap freth laurels. A column of the enemy, confifting of 10,000 men, under General Provera had paffed the Adige on the night of the 14th and obliged the French general Guyeax, who guarded the Adige on that quarter, to fall back from Ronco. He therefore, detached General Victor with a strong reinforcement to Roverbella, and ordered Maffena alfo to take the fame route, to stop, if poffible, the March of the Auftrians. General Joubert, in the mean time, faithfully adhered to |