he draws the attention of government to the quality also of the men to be sent him, and to the character of the officers to be received or retained in his army.

"You will receive herewith the answer of general Chateauneuf Randon, by the return of an extraordinary courier which I sent him. From this then it follows, that I can hope for nothing more than two thousand men, while your order required six thousand. You informed me by your last courier that ten thousand men independently of these two thousand, were about to join me. You ought to let me know the day and place of their departure, and their actual condition. If ten thousand men set out, you may calculate that not more than five thousand will arrive.

"I do not yet know whether general Kellermann has sent on the 40th from Lyons, nor whether general Willot has obeyed my order to send the 83rd. On these two regiments, should they arrive in time, may perhaps depend the fate of Italy.

"We have a great many artillery and engineer officers sick. Send us ten officers of each of these corps, and let them be brave and active. Mantua has ruined these two corps for us. I beg you to leave in command of them, Chasseloup and Lespinasse; they are two excellent officers. I have so many generals of brigade wounded, that in spite of your daily promotions, there is still a deficiency. It is true some have joined me who are so stupid, that I cannot employ them in active operations.

"I request you to send me general Duvigneau, and some others of his stamp; send brigadiers rather than generals of division. Those who come from la Vendée are unaccustomed to war on a grand scale. We find the same fault with the troops, but they soon get experience. Mantua is hermetically blockaded and that with seven thousand infantry and fifteen hundred cavalry.

"Send me men who have served in the cavalry, to recruit our regiments; we will get horses for them. Let them come with their uniforms of dragoons, chasseurs, or hussars, with their sabres and carbines, except the dragoons, who ought to have muskets like the infantry. There are so many of the ancient gendarmes infesting the streets of Paris, that by means of some active recruiting officers, I believe it would be practicable to obtain a good number of them, only reminding them that we pay here in hard cash. More than twelve hundred of our cavalry are sick

ior wounded; and their horses are doing nothing at the depots. Send us some cavalry officers, colonels and captains; we will find employment for them here. Let them be men that will fight. I pray you to allow colonel Gandreau of the 20th dragoons and Sentilhac of the 25th chasseurs, to retire on half pay. They are men who fall sick on the eve of a battle. Such men have no passion for the sword. I pray you also to allow the same indulgence to citizen Gaugonnier major of the 1st hussars.

"The colonel of the 1st hussars, who is wounded, is a brave man ; but he is too old, and should be allowed to retire. In consequence of these officers failing us, duty falls too heavily on the few brave fellows belonging to the cavalry, who end by being wounded, taken, or killed; and the corps is left without commanders."

In a letter of the 25th of October, after telling the directors that the 29th regiment which, upon marching from Paris was reported at four thousand men, had joined him only eleven hundred strong, urging them by promises of great success to send forward the 40th and 83d, and suggesting the expediency now that the English were withdrawn from the Mediterranean, of assisting him by naval cooperation in the Adriatic; he adds. "If you send a squadron of frigates into the Adriatic it will be of advantage for an officer belonging to it to land and concert operations with me in order to choose a station for the protection of the ships, and for our correspondence. It would be well too if a large lighter could come to the mouth of the Po. I could load her with hemp and ship timber. She might in exchange bring us three thousand muskets, two thousand bayonets, two thousand sabres, four thousand six inch shells; a thousand balls for twelve, and six thousand for eighteen, pounders; articles of which we are in continual want. I can see no other means of supplying our naval force with provisions, of which there is abundance in the legation of Ferrara and in the Romagna. Should there be an apprehension of a scarcity of grain in the spring, boats may be sent to the mouth of the Po, and I will send down any quantity that may be required."

Besides its immediate relation to his military operations, this letter is interesting from the evidence it affords of the powerful, but unconscious, tendency of his mind to transcend the limits of subordinate duty; and of his ability, even from a remote frontier in a foreign country, to touch and manage the springs of government in France.

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THE LIFE OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. [CHAP. XVI.] But while he was suffering from the negligence of the government, the knavery of contractors, and the pestilence of the climate, the last of these causes, aggravated by want of food, was operating severely in Mantua. On the 16th of October, this having been ascertained from the confession of prisoners and the reports of spies, Bonaparte directed Berthier to send a flag of truce to marshal Wurmser, and to offer, in his name, if the Austrian commander would give up Mantua, to allow him to march out with all his troops, artillery, and stores, and retire freely into Germany. On this occasion the offer was refused.

As the succours which Bonaparte required, if furnished at all, were likely to be slow in their progress and inadequate in their numbers, he determined to strengthen his position in Italy by works of defence. With this view he fortified Pizzighitone, Tresso, and other eligible points on the Adda, his two bridges across the Po, one near Mantua and the other near Pavia, the forts of Urbino and Ferrara, and the undefended positions on the Adige. His purpose was to cover the siege of Mantua as long as possible, to protect his flank against annoyance from Rome, and in case the weight of the approaching Austrian irruption should compel him to abandon the line of the Adige and the works around Mantua, to retire behind the Adda, and there, with the republican population of Milan at his back and such reenforcements from France as might have time to join him, to dispute the mastery of Italy in a great battle.

Impression made at Vienna, by the victories of Bonaparte-Effect in Italy of the reverses of Jourdan and Moreau-Perverse conduct, and probable motives, of the directory-Disquietude of Bonaparte-Strength and position of his force-Marshal Alvinzi-His numbers and his plans-Advances to the Piave-Massena retires-Bonaparte supports his lieutenant-Battle of Fontenvia-The Austrians driven across the Brenta-Disasters of Vaubois -Bonaparte marches back to Verona-Reviews the division of VauboisRebukes the 39th and 85th-Their grief and mortification—Alvinzi approaches Verona-Takes post at Caldiero-Bonaparte resolves to attack him-Action of Caldiero-Bonaparte repulsed-Retires to Verona-Chagrin and murmurs of the troops-His effort to encourage them-Noble conduct of the sick and wounded-Desperate position and distress of Bonaparte-His letter to the directory- His greatness of soul-Sagacity and secresy of his resolution-He marches for Ronco- Dejection of the troops -He passes the Adige, and enters the marshes of Arcola-The confidence of the army revived-Movement of Massena and Augereau-The former clears the left hand causeway; the latter repulsed at the bridge of ArcolaBonaparte renews the attack in person-Fails-Gallantry and devotion of Lannes-Heroism and death of Muiron-Danger and rescue of BonaparteAlvinzi disconcerted by the first day's action-Bonaparte withdraws across the Adige for the night to Ronco-The second day-Massena defeats one column of the Austrians and Augereau another-The action of the second day successful-Bonaparte again retires to Ronco-Throws a bridge across the mouth of the Alpon-The third day-Forward movement of AlvinziDispositions of Bonaparte-Repulse of general Robert on the centre causeway-Bonaparte attacks with the 32nd-Rescues Robert, and destroys the Austrian column-Massena on the left hand repulses Alvinzi with great slaughter-Augereau passes the mouth of the Alpon-Death of the aide de camp Elliot-Bonaparte resolves to give battle on the plain-His stratagems-Defeats Alvinzi in a pitched battle-Marches to Villa Nova

Enters a convent-Saves two of his wounded men-Returns in triumph to Verona-Rescues Vaubois who had been surprised and beaten-Comparative loss of the two armies-Bonaparte's report to the directory— Letters to Josephine, Madame Muiron, general Clarke, and Carnot—He attacks Davidowich, and drives him into the Tyrol-Places Joubert in command of Vaubois's division-Returns to Verona-Abortive movements of Alvinzi-He retreats behind the Brenta-Presentation of the colours to the directory-Merit of Bonaparte in this contest.

"The couriers who bore to Vienna the news of Prince Charles' successes, were followed by messengers with accounts of Wurmser's disasters. The imperial court passed the whole month of September in vicissitudes of joy and grief. Yet the satisfaction of triumph, did not make up for the consternation produced by defeat. Germany was safe, but Italy was lost, and the army which was to maintain this frontier, had disappeared. Its numerous staff, its veteran marshal, with the wrecks of several broken regiments, had saved themselves only by taking refuge in Mantua; which reduced to extremities, in want of food, and a prey to pestilence, was on the point of opening its gates to the victor. The Aulic council felt the necessity of making extraordinary efforts. It assembled two armies, one in the Frioul, and the other in the Tyrol, and placing them under the command of Marshal Alvinzi, ordered him to march to the relief of Mantua, and the rescue of Wurmser (1).”

Such is the well-drawn picture that Bonaparte himself sketched, of the impressions under which the Austrian cabinet was now preparing to contest with him a fourth time, the possession of Lombardy.

On the other hand, the miscarriage and retreat of the French armies on the Rhine, were felt in Italy, not only as an offset against the victories of Bonaparte in the general result of the campaign, but as leaving a balance, to be carried to the credit of Austria, in the yet unsettled dispute. It could not be doubted that the Emperor's good fortune on the principal frontier, would dispose and enable him to redouble his exertions on the secondary one; and it was soon ascertained that detachments from the army of the archduke, recruits from the Illyrian provinces, draughts from Austrian Poland and the remotest garrisons on the Danube, were pressing forward on the various routes leading