"How, Monseigneur' said I, 'have I acquired this distinction?" I have read, I have studied your work on the battle of WaterIoo, and I have been so pleased with it, that I have translated it into both French and Italian."

This was the commencement of an intimacy which appears to have afforded the young prince much pleasure. In the first interview the prince seemed deeply interested about the East. He multiplied questions on the actual state of those countries, the character of the inhabitants, and particularly of the men who were likely to influence their future condition. This subject led to his father's Egyptian campaigns; to the causes which stopped his progress before St. Jean d'Acre; he grew warm and enthusiastic in speaking of the possibilities which would have followed the capture of that important place, and on the immense results which the large and active mind of his father would have drawn

from it.

"While we were both animated," says M. Prokesch, "with all the fire of this subject, M. de N** was announced; the visit greatly annoyed him; I got up to leave him. Stay,' said he, the general will prove but a transient evil.' In fact he very soon departed, and we recommenced our conversation with fresh vigour. The manner and voice of the duke indicated the deep and lively interest he took in the subject; his tone was that of a lively attachment, a passionate admiration of the memory of his parent; he grew animated in talking of his achievements, which he knew in their minutest details, as well as in their general effect, and in thanking me for the justice I had done in my work on Waterloo,,

he testified a strong desire to read it with me, and enjoined me to visit him often during his sojourn at Gratz, where he had some days still to remain. I very gratefully accepted this favour, and took care not to break my promise."

The epoch of the revolution of July, 1830, may be supposed to have produced a startling effect on the mind of a young prince, so deeply interested in the fortunes of his father, and so devoured himself with military ambition. All that we are told on this subject, and, perhaps, all that he expressed, is of a description that excites surprise. "I wish that the emperor would permit me to march with his troops to the succour of Charles X." Nevertheless, one who knew him well, the author of the "Lettre sur le duc de Reichstadt." (who is said to be M. Prokesch himself), tells us that his hope and aim were the throne of France, on which he expected to be placed, not by a party in France, but by the general demand of the country, backed by the consent of the monarchs of Europe. To this secret idea, working in the recesses of his heart, must be attributed his restless labours, his continued studies, his fatiguing exercises, his rage for riding, and his passion for military information. He dreaded to be taken unprepared; he, as it were, slept in his arms. He read all the journals and the pamphlets attentively, watched the play of parties, and shrewdly predicted their duration. It was about this time that he was agitated by an attempt on the part of the countess Camerata, a daughter of Eliza Bacciocchi, and consequently his cousin, married to a wealthy Italian noble, to involve him in a correspondence. A letter of hers, written

in a style of considerable exaltation, with the view of exciting his ambition, and probably urging him to some movement respecting France, was laid on his table by some secret agency. One evening, in disguise, she laid wait for him on entering the imperial palace, seized his hand, and kissed it with an expression of the utmost tenderness. Obenaus, the duke's tutor, who was alone with him, and had been struck with surprise as well as the duke, stepped forward and asked her what she meant. "Who," cried she, in a tone of enthusiasm, "will refuse me the boon of kissing the hand of the son of my sovereign?" At the time, the duke was ignorant who it was that had tendered him this sort of equivocal homage, but her subsequent letters enlightened him on the subject.

The French revolution and the prospect of war which it opened upon the different armies of Europe, added fresh excitement to the duke's military studies. He took M. Prokesch for his fellow student and friendly instructor. "We read, at this epoch, with much application, Vaudoncourt, Ségur, Norvins, the aphorisms of Monté cuculli, the memoirs of prince Eugene of Savoy, and the voluminous works of Jomini: all these works were in succession compared, discussed: they are covered with the prince's marks and marginal notes." About this time, also, he put into M. Prokesch's hands a manuscript of singular interest. It was a course of conduct traced by himself, in which he laid down the line prescribed to him by his duty. In this composition, interspersed with shrewd general views, he considered his position in relation to France and Austria,

he pointed out the rocks which surrounded him, the means of avoiding these dangers, the influences to which his mind was subject, and by which it could be regulated, how his defects might be supplied, his ambition moderated, its movements governed, and in what way useful results might be extracted from tendencies which, if left to themselves, might be mischievous-to, in short, prepare for an honourable life, such as accorded with the rank in which he had been placed by Providence.

The first appearance of the young man in society was on the 25th of January, 1831, at a grand party at the house of the British Ambassador, lord Cowley. He was exceedingly struck with the strange mixture of remarkable persons, the representatives of the various changes that have lately taken place in Europe. "How painful and wearisome," he said to a friend the next morning, are parties of this sort to me. What striking contrasts were assembled in the same apartment! I saw about me (himself by the way, a monument of political change) two princes of the house of Bourbon, Baron de Kenzinger, the representative of Charles the 10th. Maréchal Maison, the ambassador of Louis Philip, the prince Gustavus Vasa, the natural heir of the throne of Sweden, and count Lowenheilm, minister of Charles John. For the first time, I spoke with Maréchal Marmont: my father quoted him as a man of talent, and I found his conversation correspond with this character. I am to receive him to day. I am glad to find myself in communication with Frenchmen. I do not wish to remain absolutely unknown in France, or that so many erroneous ideas respecting my situation

should continue to be entertained there."

This interview with Marmont, the only survivor of his father's early aides-de-camp, had for some time been passionately desired by him. Metternich's permission was obtained; the marshal and his ancient master's son were mutually pleased. The young Napoleon had a thousand questions to ask, a thousand points to clear up. Marmont is a man of education, agreeable conversation, and quite capable of giving all the advantage of language and expression to his experience. It ended in Marmont being engaged to give the duke a whole course of military lectures; the text being Napoleon's campaigns. They were continued until the subject was exhausted, or until, as is not improbable, their frequency had begun to give umbrage. Marmont retired, promising, at least, to see his pupil every fortnight.

On the 15th of June, 1831, the prince was named lieutenant-colonel, and took the command of a battalion of Hungarian infantry, then in garrison at Vienna. His exertions in the discharge of his new duties, in addition to his previous occupations, appear to have made the progress of his malady, which had till now proceeded secretly, visible both in his appearance and in his inability to bear fatigue. His voice became hoarse, he was subject to coughs and attacks of fever; he had shot up to a prodigious height, and his appearance bore many marks of the germs of the terrible phthisis, now breaking out into activity.

"Frequently," says his physician, Dr. Malfatti," I have sur prised him in the barracks in a state of dreadful lassitude. One

day, amongst others, I found him stretched on a sofa, exhausted, powerless, and almost fainting. Not being able to conceal the wretched state in which I found him, he said, I abominate this wretched body thatsinks under my will in this manner.' It is in deed provoking,' I answered, that your highness cannot change your person, as you do your horses when they are tired; but permit me, Monseigneur, I conjure you, to remember, that you have set a will of iron in a body of glass, and that the indulgence of your will cannot prove otherwise than fatal.'

"His life was, in fact, at that time undergoing a process of combustion; he slept scarcely four hours, though, by nature, he required a great quantity of sleep; lie scarcely ate at all. His soul was entirely concentrated in the routine of the manège and the different kinds of military exercises; he was, in fact, never at rest: he continued to increase in height, grew wretchedly thin, and his complexion gradually became thoroughly livid. To all my questions he answered, I am perfectly well,'

Malfatti at length considered it necessary to present a representation to the emperor on the state of the duke's health. Both the patient and the physician were summoned to the imperial presence. Malfatti repeated his statement, The emperor then turned to the young prince, and said, "You have heard Dr. Malfatti; you will repair immediately to Schönbrunn." The duke bowed respectfully, and, as he was raising his head, he gave Malfatti a glance of excessive indignation. It is you, then, that have put me under arrest," he said to him in an angry tone, and hurried away. He was placable, how

ever, and soon forgave his amiable physician. The air and quiet of Schönbrunn were extremely beneficial; he began again to sleep and to eat; the first return of vigour was the signal for exertion. He commenced hunting, as the next best thing to war, in all weathers, and with a recklessness that, joined to similar exposure in visiting neighbouring military stations, soon re-established the malady. Phthisis assumed all its horrible power; he gradually sank, and, after dreadful suffering, and all the rallying and resistance which a strong will can sometimes effect against disease, he fell a victim to it on the 22nd of July, 1832, at Schönbrunn, on the same bed, in the same apartment, that his father had occupied as the conqueror of

Vienna.

His mother was present during his latter days, and seems to have suffered all a mother's pains. The emperor was greatly affected; a very strong attachment subsisted between them; and, on the part of the duke, the honest, straight forward character of the emperor, joined with his paternal kindness and evidently honest intentions,

son.

had made a profound impression on the mind and heart of his grandOn the opening of the body, the opinions of the duke's physicians were fully confirmed; one lobe of the lungs was nearly gone; and, while the sternum was thas of a mere child, the intestinet presented all the appearance of decrepid age.

As he laid on his bier, his resemblance to his father, that resemblance so striking in the cradle, became once more remarkable. It might have been detected in life, but the flowing blond hair of his Austrian mother, and his tall form, would naturally mask the resemblance. His manner was graceful and elegant-the expression of his countenance somewhat sad; he was reserved till he fancied he had found a friend, when he became confidential, communicative, and even enthusiastic. He appears to have been universally beloved: no one can recollect an offence-much less an injury; he was full of kindness and consideration for every one about him. Only one passion appears to have been developed in him-that of military ambition.

American Expedition of Discovery. The expedition sent out by the American government in 1820-21, to explore the rocky mountains, and north of the Numean line, has at length been heard of, after an absence of eleven years. The company landed at Green Bay, and wintered; went by Prairie du Chin to St. Anthony's Falls, Mississippi; went up St. Peter's 200 miles, in search of lead mines, where they discovered several very valuable ones; wintered there; went down the same river, and also the Mississippi to the mouth of the Missouri; thence up the Missouri to the foot of the Rocky Mountains; wintered there, and continued to the middle of August; then crossed the mountains, and were west eight years. While travelling by the Frozen Ocean, and having been over into Asia South, towards the head of Colombia river they were overtaken by a storm, and compelled to build houses, and stay there nine months, six of which the sun never rose, and the darkness was as great as during our nights. The snow, part of the time, was fourteen feet deep, and the company were compelled to eat forty-one of their pack horses to prevent starving, whilst the only food the horses had was birch bark, which the company cut and carried to them, by walking on the snow with snow-shoes. After crossing the mountains, they passed 386 different Indian tribes, some perfectly white, some entirely covered

with hair, who were among the most singular, and so wild that the company were compelled to run them down with horses. Of the company, five died by sickness, one by breaking a wild horse, one by the fall of a tree, and fifteen were killed bythe Indians-total twenty two. Ten of the nineteen survivors are lame, some by accident.

Alpine Phenomena.-Soon after six o'clock in the morning of the 14th of November (says a letter from Bruneck, in the Tyrol), a broad stream of light suddenly descended from the centre of the firmament nearly down to the ground, and was then drawn gradually up again to the middle of the sky, whence, for several seconds, it stretched itself out towards the north in a long ray of light which first appeared in a straight, and then changed to a wavy line; after this it gathered into a light orb, resembling a white cloud, and remained stationary in the centre of the firmament for a full quarter of an hour, when it disappeared with the break of day. The appearance was accompanied by so vivid a degree of illumination that the smallest pebble in the road was readily distinguishable, and those who were abroad at the time were completely panic-struck. The sky, instead of being muddy with vapour, as is customary at this season, and at this time of the morning, was clear and cloudless, and the air remarkably serene and tranquil. Between five and six