fuch power, much was to be hoped or feared. If his arrival at Frejus ftruck Europe with astonishment and railed a general expectation of fome approaching and important changes in affairs political and military, the prefage was confirmed and ratified by the proceedings at St. Cloud, and the fubfequent conftitution, formed fo fuddenly, as has been faid, by an union of philofophy with the bayonet. The glory of the French arms having fallen confiderably into the wane, while the conqueror of Italy had become an adventurer, with various fortune, but never without renown in Egypt, he now appeared, on his return, to be the only arbiter, who could change the courfe of affairs, and decide the deftinies of France. As in our refearches into the hiftory of ancient Gaul, before the Chriftian æra, we are guided folely by the commentaries of Julius Cæfar, and every where contemplate that renowned scholar and foldier, as the principal figure in the various fcene; fo, in relating the war of 1800, one seems as if he were writing the memoirs, and following, throughout, the defigns, actions, and fortune of Buonaparte. Scarcely had that fortunate ufurper fet his foot on the land of France, when he perceived the ftaggering ftate of the interior of that kingdom, and learned the confequences of the defeats which the French had fuffered in Italy. They had been driven, by the Auftrians and Ruffians, from all the places which he himself had conquered. Of thefe defeats he could not arreft either the courfe or the progrefs. They were continued, as will by and by be related, to the end of 1799, and even fomewhat beyond it. It would have appeared aukward and mortifying to that ambitious hero, to have placed himself immediately at the head of an army, beaten, difcouraged, and ruined. He contented himself, for the prefent, with tranfmitting to them addreffes after addreffes, which ferved, at leaft, the purpose of calling him to their remembrance. But he entertained, at the fame time, more extenfive views. He knew how to appreciate and avail himself of the new enthufiafm in his favour: that enthusiasm of which every one knows the French nation is fo highly fufceptible. He conceived the brightest hopes of perfonal glory, and a renovation of the weakened ftrength of the nation. In order to fucceed in these defigns, he deemed it fufficient to feize the reins of government, ready to drop of themfelves, from the feeble hands of its weak admi- · niftrators. He had the boldness to do fo, and they had not the courage to refift him. Here it is natural to pause and confider if his rivals in power had fucceeded in that anarchical and tumultuous refiftance, which they did oppofe to him, what the advantages would have been to France. From the fuccefs of Buonaparte, it is evident that the French nation had, by this time, become fenfible that they stood in need of a master. And, as they were not yet fufficiently enlightened, by experience, to perceive that a hereditary chief, was the beft, as fuch a chief alone could prevent the evils of future changes, Buonaparte, being a ftranger, and deriving no family confequences from any relationship to crowned heads, was as good as any other. In the opinion, however, of [F 2) many * many people, not only in France, but in other countries, the new dictatorship of Buonaparte was, in fact, a great ftep towards the refloration of the monarchy. Buonaparte, it was faid, would fave himfelf from many evils and cover his head with eternal glory, if he could accomplish that grand work in a manner confiftent with the internal tranquillity and general happinefs of France, and the peace and advantage of neighbouring nations. The grand obftacle to fuch a defign is, the diftribution of the land of the church, and of the nobles, among fo immenfe a number of new proprietors. Yet not a few were of opinion, that, in cafe of a general reflux in the political fentiments of the French nation, the thing might be found practicable, by means of what remains unfold, and in the hands of government, of royal, or, as they are now called, national domains, and compromifes with the prefent proprietors or incumbents. But while many of the loyalifts flattered themfelves that there was yet to be another revolution, and that Buonaparte, influenced by public opinion and fpirit, was going to imitate the conduct of general Monk, it appeared, from letters of congratulation from the departments, that the French, in general, were pleafed with the change that had taken place in the government, which appeared to have affumed a kind of confiftency. Having long been ill governed, they were glad to fee a change from which they could hope, at leaft, that their affairs would be conducted with vis gour and ability. Meanwhile the public funds kept rifing, and every thing was quiet at Paris, and in the departments, except in thofe of the Weft, where Cornct, who had been a member of the council of the ancients, with another deputy, was fent to pacify the loyalifts, as above mentioned. Five and twenty members of the legislative body were fent as deputies, or military prefects, to five-and-twenty new military divifions of the country, called prefectures. The force of the royalifts, or Chouans, in Britanny and Normandy, November, 1799, amounted to fixty thoufand. They threatened the town of Quimper, of which they were at one period in poffeffion. Several garrifons were difpofed by government on the coafts of Flanders and Picardy, for obftructing their progrefs. The army of loyalifts, in Normandy, under the command of the count de Frotté, was confiderable. A part of this army, called the divi The following note is taken from the converfation of an intelligent and moderate, though, perhaps, on the prefent point, too fanguine a loyalift. "If I had acquired what Buonaparte has acquired, I would give none of it up; and the only means, perhaps, of confolidating and eternizing his glory would be, after fettling the affairs of France in the best manner poffible, to call to the throne the duke of Angouleme, or the duke of Anguien. Having done this, I would not accept any fecondary station: no, not even a fovereignty. As a simple compenfation, I would accept only a fum of money, fufficient to form an independent establishment in fome free and neutral country, fuch as the United States of America. I would thus be affured of living tranquil and happily all the rest of my days, and that no catastrophe would either bereave me of felicity, or fully my fame. In fact, it would be necefiary to unite the examples of SoJon, Lycurgus, and Belifarius, in order to form a juft comparison with fuch a condu& a the part of Buonaparte." Son them. Son of Evreux, at Pacy, near E- of the loyalifts, and even to join vreux, stopped the difpatches for government, from Breft; and, on the feventeenth of November, Mr. Ingaut, of St. Maure, a chevalier of St. Louis, and commandant of the divifion at Evreux, had published a proclamation in the name of king Louis XVIII. inviting the loyal French to rally around the standards of their defenders against the new ufurpers of the monarchy, adding thefe words: "Whether thefe ambitious men affume the title of directors or of confuls, or fubftitute, in room of the old inftitutions, a new code, be allured that you will have only one tyrant instead of another. Remember our oath, never to fheath our swords till we have deftroyed the enemies of our auguft fovereign." The other chiefs of the loyalifts of Normandy and Britanny published like proclamations. By letters from the department of La Manche, (the channel,) bearing date the twenty-fourth of November, that a body of loyalifts, who had been defeated at La Foxe, where they had loft two thousand men, had rallied in the foreft of St. Lever, and that general count de Buais, with his divifion, had not quitted the cantons which border, on the Orne and the Maus; and, on the Ville and Villaine, Fronca, with his divifion, had overrun all Britanny, and feemed to direct their march to Avranches, in the neighbourhood of which place were fpread detachments of one, two, and three hundred men, who levied contributions, arms, and provifions. It was believed that the Ruffian troops, who had come to pass the winter in the ifles of Jerfey and Guernley, were deftined to favour the movements Towards the end of November, 1799, Buonaparte and all the members of the new government expreffed a defire of peace, not only with the royalift armies in France, but even a great number of the emigrants. On the twenty-ninth of December, the duke of Liancourt, whofe name had been ftruck off from the lift of emigrants, September, 1797, was appointed fuperintendant of the police; and the minifter of police wrote letters to the commiffioners of the armies of the North, cenfuring the harsh and inhuman behaviour of the men who had conducted, from Calais to Ham, the unfortunate emigrants who had been driven aground on the coaft of France; the dukes of Choifeul, Vibraye, and Montmorency, and twenty-feven others. This fpirit of moderation, on the part of the new chief of France, did not yet reft on fure foundations. His authority, newly established by revolutionifts, was not fufficient for the exercife of all that humanity and juffice, which it was equally his intereft and difpofition to difplay; ftill lefs had he the power of refloring their poffef fions to the emigrants. Unhappily a great number of thefe, as well as of priests, fondly trufting in the first appearances of moderation, returned, but were repelled from France; fubjected to additional inconvenien-. ces and miferies. An armiftice was agreed to on the twenty-third of November, between general Hedoville and the counts de Chatillon, Bourmont, and Autichamp, the principal leaders, of the infurgents in the weftern depart ments. On the twenty-fourth of Novem- to another, or by means of very ber, 1799, Hedoville, commander- fmall detachments; correfpondence der-in-chief of what was called the among the difaffected to be protectarmy of England, deftined to re- ed by the republicans; requifitions duce the loyalifts to peace, from to be made by the republicans for head-quarters at Angers, addreffed the maintenance of the troops only; them, in a proclamation, as follows: hoftilities not to be renewed on ei"Frenchmen, the happy change, ther fide without eight days prewhich has taken place in the go- vious notice; no proclamation on vernment, will bring to our nation either fide to be published during peace, internal and external. The the fufpenfion of arms. legiflative committees, and the confuls of the republic, do not belong to any faction. Their object is the happiness and glory of the French nation. They have the firmeft confidence in the victories of our armies, and every heart partakes with them in this confidence. There is already a fufpenfion of arms in fome of the western departments, and orders have been given for carrying it into execution. It is not to be doubted but the chiefs of infurgents, and the inhabitants of diftricts, occupied by the republican armies, will fubmit themfelves, without delay, to the laws of the republic. A folid peace in the interior is to be eftablifhed only by the united efforts of all good citizens, to conciliate and gain mutual affection. All who hall contribute their endeavours to this end will deferve well of humanity and of their country." The conditions of the armiftice, in fubftance, were, that all hoftilities of every kind and degree fhould entirely ceafe; that all prifoners and hoftages on both fides thould be fet free, but each party to be at liberty ftill to receive deferters; the number of the republican troops in the western departments not to be augmented; correfpondence among the republicans to be carried on either by refolutions tranfmitted from one body This armiftice was but ill obferved on the part of the difcontented, as the infurgent loyalifts were at this time called. Predatory parties infefted ftill the districts occupied by the republicans, and even made attacks on fmall detachments and cantonments of the republican parties: feparating and reuniting themfelves, on certain occafions and fignals, as ufual. The fituation of affairs being reported to the chief conful, bodies of troops were poured into the weftern departments in fucceffion, and in fuch numbers as to cut off all hopes of fuccefs on the part of the difcontented. It was decided by the conful, and peremptory orders were tranfmitted to Hedoville, and the army, if the foft method of perfuafion fhould fail, to employ the troops in fuch a manner that there fhould not be left alive one leader of rebellion. Hedoville undertook the task, and had not a doubt, as he wrote to government, of accomplishing it. It had been reported at Paris that the English had landed on the coaft of Britanny in immenfe force. Hedoville, in his letter to the minifter at war, fays, that all fuch reports were either entirely falfe or greatly exaggerated. And he adds, "That nothing could be more defirable than a descent by the English, as in that cafe the war might be. be finished at once: for, the great difficulty was not to find them." Such was the ftate of affairs in Britanny and Normandy, as appears from the date of Hedoville's letter, in the earlier part of December, 1799. About the fame time, a great number of confcripts, who had hid themselves in the woods, between Chateaurenauld and Tours, in order to evade the republican armies, joined the loyalifts, who extended themselves from this quarter into the departments of the Loire and Chair, and thofe of the Indre and Loire. At the fame juncture precifely, a battalion of confcripts, at Chalons, refufed to obey the orders of the minifter of war. During thefe tranfactions, a report was very generally fpread, that the whole of the royalifts had laid down their arms. But this report was yet premature. It was founded on the pacific difpofition expreffed by Buonaparte, who had lent addreffes, fraught with thefe, not only to the royalist chiefs and provinces, but to the emperor, Pruffia, Ruffia, Great Britain, and all, the powers of Europe. On every fide preparation was made for a renewal of the war. In these circumftances of preparations, expectations, and anxious fufpenfe, the language held by Buonaparte, to the difaffected departments, was this An impious war threatens, a fecond time, to inflame the departments of the weft. It becomes the duty of the first magiftrates of the republic to arreft its progrefs, and extinguish it in its hearth. But they are loath to employ force until they have exhaufted the means of perfuafion and juftice. The artificers of thefe troubles are the fenfelels partifans of two men who have no honour, and who neither derive their rank from their virtues, nor their misfortunes from their atchievements. They are farther traitors, fold to the English, or robbers who foment civil difcord only as the means of theltering them from the punishment due to their crimes.With fuch men it is not the duty of government to keep any measures, or to make any declaration of its principles. It is to citizens dear to their country, who are feduced by their arts; it is to these citizens that the lights of the truth is due. "Unjuft laws have been promulgated and executed; arbitrary acts have alarmed the fecurity of the citizens, and the liberty of conscience. Every where random inferiptions on the lift of emigrants have ftruck citizens, who had never quitted their country or even their homes. In a word, the great principles of focial order have been violated. "It is in order to remedy thefe acts of injuftice, and thefe errors, that a government, founded on the facred bafis of liberty, equality, and a fyftem of reprefentation, has been proclaimed to, and recognized, by, the nation. The conftant inclina tion, as well as the intereft and the glory of the first magiftrates, which the nation has given to itself, will be, to clofe all the wounds of France: and never yet has this dif pofition been falfified by any act originating with them. "The difaftrous law of the forced loan, and the ftill more difaftrous law of hoftages have been repealed. Individuals exiled without trial have been reftored to their country and to their families. Every day has been marked, and fhal' be, by deeds of juftice. The council of ftate labours inceffantly for the re[F4] formation |