1813.] NAPOLEON'S RETREAT-WELLINGTON IN THE PYRENEES. 565 out of Leipzig. Napoleon had directed a bridge to be blown up after his troops had passed. It was blown up too soon, and twenty-five thousand French surrendered as prisoners of war. At two o'clock the sound of cannon and of musketry was no longer heard. The bells of Leipzig were ringing; the people were shouting. The Allied sovereigns entered the city by different gates; and in the great square Alexander and Frederick-William met, and could now feel a confident belief that their great adversary was fallen, never to rise again. He felt himself that his days of unlimited power were over. He must be content with a restricted dominion-to rule France, with the Rhine and the Alps for its boundary. He had thought to have carried her sway beyond the Pyrenees; but that hope was passing away as a dream. "Perfidious Albion" had been too strong; the " general of sepoys" had been too skilful. When he reached Freiburg he waited some hours there. He was seen sitting at a window, "his head resting on his arm in silent despair. Berthier sat opposite to him in a similar state. Neither spoke ; and officers who entered were silently ordered, by a wave of the hand, to leave the room." He won the battle of Hanau against the Bavarians who had endeavoured, near Frankfort, to intercept his retreat. It was his last success on German ground. He rested six days at Mayence; having crossed the Rhine with about one-sixth of the army that he had led forth to conquer. When Napoleon passed the Rhine on the 22nd of November, to escape from the pursuing armies of the Allies, lord Wellington had planted his foot on the soil of France. His army was in cantonments between the sea and the river Nive. His head quarters were at St. Jean de Luz. When Soult had crossed the Pyrenees and Wellington was in possession of the passes, the French marshal addressed a proclamation to his army, in which he said that his orders from the emperor were, "to chase the enemy from those lofty heights which enabled him proudly to survey our fertile valleys, and drive them across the Ebro." A sergeant of the 42nd has written a pleasing description of the view from the Pyrenees at sunrise; when the British army exultingly looked upon " the gay regions of France: " "The view from the summits of these mountains at that early hour, when the sun began to gild their tops, and to throw his cheering rays on the white canvas which speckled their sides, was grand beyond description. The valleys below were hidden under an ocean of white wreathing mist, over which the hills, like a thousand islands, raised their rocky summits amidst the pure serenity of a cloudless atmosphere; the white tents of a British army spotted their sides, while ten thousand bayonets glittered around. The drums, fifes, bugles, and wild warlike strains of the Highland bagpipe, drowned the notes of a hundred useless instruments that offered their softer sounds to the soldiers' ears. Flocks of vultures hovered around to feed on the bodies of men who had fallen in sequestered spots by the hostile bullet, and were left to wolves and birds of prey, along with the carcases of the exhausted animals that had failed in bearing their oppressive burdens to the expectant camp." + Before the British army had left its position on these heights and had Steffens. "Retrospect of a Military Life," by James Anton, p. 61. 566 SAN SEBASTIAN-THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE. [1813. One descended into France, there had been serious business accomplished. place of great strength was to be theirs, before the Allies could feel secure in their advance. On the 31st of August the town of San Sebastian was taken by storm by our troops under the command of general Graham. The loss to our forces amounted to 2500 men. Cruelly was the army neglected previous to this siege; and much of the loss incurred may be attributed to the mismanagement of the departments, in not providing adequate matériel, and in refusing naval assistance. The Admiralty, of which lord Melville was the head, was especially blameable. The remonstrance of lord Wellington must have sent a shiver through the Board-room at Whitehall. "I complain," he writes, "of an actual want of necessary naval assistance and co-operation with the army. . . . I know nothing of the cause of the evil. It may be owing to a general deficiency of naval force for all the objects to which it is necessary to attend on an extended system of war. It may be owing to a proper preference of other services over this." It is almost impossible to believe that lord Melville should have had the astounding effrontery to write to Wellington | that his needs were the last thing upon which he-the great manager of Scottish corruption-cared to occupy himself. On the 8th of September, the castle of San Sebastian, which had held out after the town was taken, capitu lated. General Rey, who had nobly defended the place, saw that a longer resistance would have been useless, when preparations were making for its assault. He displayed the white flag upon the walls, and sent an officer to propose terms. Write down what you please, said sir Thomas Grahama garrison that has made such a defence is not conquered. The French officer demanded the honours of war, and that the wounded should be sent by transports to France. On the 31st of October, the French garrison of Pamplona, having lost all chance of relief, surrendered as prisoners of war. Their number amounted to 4000. Wellington could now safely move his whole army into France. His proclamation previous to this step was distinguished by that rectitude which is the highest prudence. He told his officers and soldiers "to remember that their nations were at war with France solely because the ruler of the French nation would not allow them to be at peace, and wanted to force them to submit to his yoke; and not to forget at the same time that the worst of the evils suffered by the enemy in his profligate invasion of Spain and Portugal, had been occasioned by the irregularities of his soldiers, and their cruelties towards the unfortunate and peaceful inhabitants of the country. To avenge this conduct on the peaceful inhabitants of France would be unmanly and unworthy of the allied nations." On the 18th of November, before Wellington could effect the passage of the Nivelle, he had to fight. The French were driven beyond the river, and then the Allied armies took up their position at St. Jean de Luz. Soult withdrew to his intrenched camp at Bayonne. The justice and moderation of the British commander, as exhibited in his proclamation to his troops; in his determination to pay for every supply, and to punish every attempt at plunder, had produced the best results. The troops, British and Portuguese, had behaved well. Their dreadful excesses after the capture by assault of a fortified town-of which San Sebastian had afforded one of the worst instanceswere no longer exhibited in their quiet cantonments. "The natives of this part 1813.] BATTLES OF WELLINGTON AND SOULT. 567 of the country," Wellington writes, "are not only reconciled to the invasion, but wish us success, afford us all the supplies in their power, and exert themselves to get for us intelligence. . . The inhabitants, who had at first left their habitations, have in general returned to them, and they are living very comfortably and quietly with our soldiers cantoned in their houses." * Lord Wellington, in the course of a month, became straitened for room, in his position on the right bank of the Nivelle. He determined to cross the Nive, and establish himself between that river and the Adour. General Hill forded the river on the 9th of December, and the French posts were withdrawn to Bayonne. Then Soult resumed the offensive, and a series of obstinate engagements took place on the 10th, 11th, and 13th, in which all the attacks of the French were repulsed. In these engagements Soult first brought force to bear on the British left, under Hope, and then threw all his strength upon the British right, under Hill. Wellington was ready to give aid to this brave and skilful general, in the battle of the 13th, when 13,000 men were opposed to 30,000. But the aid was not required. Soult withdrew to his camp at Bayonne; and Wellington, well pleased, exclaimed, "Hill, the day is all your own." From the middle of December, 1813, to the middle of February, 1814, there was an interval of rest in the hostile camps at the feet of the Pyrenees. On the 14th of November, the Senate of France presented an Address to Napoleon at the Tuileries. In his answer he said, " A year ago all Europe marched with us: now all Europe is marching against us. It is because the opinion of the world is formed by France or by England. We should have every thing to fear but for the energy and power of the nation." The Senate "Despatches," vol. xii. p. 300. 568 NAPOLEON PREPARES FOR A CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE. 66 [1814. placed at the emperor's disposal 300,000 conscripts. From September, 1805, to this 15th of November, the Senate had given him authority to devote to what was called the glory of France no less a number than two million one hundred and three thousand of her sons. In the year 1813, the Senate had granted to Napoleon one million one hundred and forty thousand conscripts. In a Declaration of the 1st of December, the Allied Powers said, they did not make war on France, but against that preponderance which, to the misfortune of Europe and of France, the emperor Napoleon has too long exercised beyond the limits of his empire." On the 21st of December, the first corps of prince Schwarzenberg crossed the Rhine at Bâle. Blücher crossed the Rhine on the 31st. On the 29th, Napoleon's brother Joseph wrote to him," The violation of the Swiss territory has laid France open to the enemy." He wished the emperor to be persuaded that his heart was wholly French. He was also aware of what he owed to Spain. He saw his duties, and he wished to fulfil all of them. Napoleon put a crushing hand upon Joseph's maudlin epistle: " France is invaded: all Europe is in arms against France, and above all against me. You are no longer king of Spain. I do not want Spain either to keep or to give away. I will have nothing more to do with that country except to live in peace with it, and have the use of my army." He had found out the full truth of what he himself said, Spain is the cancer of the Empire." He had concluded a treaty on the 11th of December with the ex-king Ferdinand, recognizing him as king of Spain and the Indies, on the condition that he should make the English abandon his territories. He knew the character of that weak and treacherous Bourbon. He saw in his restoration to the crown of Spain that future of superstition and tyranny, which would produce civil war; destroy the seeds of liberty and patriotism that had been sown; and give France at some not distant day the power of destroying the boundary of the Pyrenees. He made other arrangements with reference to the future. He released the Pope from his confinement at Fontainebleau. He made a pretence of calling out the National Guard; but he was afraid of them. The people showed no disposition to resist the invaders of their country, as in the first days of the Revolution. If the invaders were to be driven back it must be by the mere military strength which he could still wield, and by his own wondrous energy. In the third week of January he made his preparations for a final struggle. He appointed the empress as Regent, and his brother Joseph as his Lieutenant. He had 70,000 men in the field; and he set out for Paris, on the 25th of January, to put himself at their head, at Chalons. There were two columns of the Allies marching on Paris,-one by the valley of the Seine, the other by the valley of the Marne. On the 29th of January, he fought the battle of Brienne with Blücher,—a battle which cost him 5000 killed and wounded, and 3000 prisoners. This battle decided nothing. He wrote to his brother," Since the battle of Brienne, the Allies have had great respect for our armies. They did not believe we had any." He thought that this opinion might hasten the peace.‡ A Congress was to be held at Chatillon. Negotiations went on, whilst Napoleon, placing * "Histoire Parlementaire," vol. xxxix. p. 526. + Ibid., p. 258. 1814.] BATTLES WITH BLÜCHER AND SCHWARZENBERG. 539 himself between Blücher and Schwarzenberg, could prevent their junction and attack either of them as he saw that opportunity might favour him Never did he display more activity. The greatness of the stake stirred him into almost preternatural energy to win the game. His confidence in his good destiny led him to reject the terms which he probably might have obtained at Chatillon. Lord Aberdeen, the negotiator for England, was anxious for peace. But Napoleon would not forego the condition that the Rhine should be the frontier of France. The four Powers saw that only a firm agreement amongst themselves would prevent a peace which would throw away all the successes which they had obtained. They bound themselves by the treaty of Chaumont, of the 1st of March, to continue the contest with Napoleon if he should not agree to their conditions. He would still have been the sovereign ruler of France, emperor; or king, as Talleyrand wished him to be called. The succession of the throne would have been guaranteed to his family. Some in England thought him mad to hesitate. Others, and those the majority, feared that he would become reasonable. Lord Colchester enters in his Diary of the 22d of March, "General apprehension of preliminaries of peace having been already signed at Chatillon; an almost universa dread of any pretended peace with Bonaparte." Those who hoped for peace through negotiation with him, and those who dreaded it, were not long kept in suspense. By a rapid and daring movement, Napoleon placed himself in the rear of the Allied forces. But they marched boldly for the capital. They fought a hard battle; and on the 30th of March occupied the entire line of defence which protected Paris on the north-east. On the 31st of March Paris capitulated. Marmont and Mortier had fought in vain outside the barriers. The people within had neither the means nor the inclination to defend themselves. Whilst this final struggle was proceeding in the north, Wellington was making head against Soult in the south. On the 27th of February was fought the battle of Orthez. Soult was beaten, and was pursued to the Adour. His losses in fight were great, but desertion thinned his ranks more extensively than the charges of the English bayonets. The conscripts threw away their arms. The spirit of the French was broken; for their enthusiasm had long ceased to be national; and the pride of conquest had faded away since the charm had been broken. On the 8th of March, two divisions of the army of Wellington were to occupy Bordeaux, which was laid open by the battle of Orthez. When marshal Beresford marched to that city, his prudent chief gave him especial caution not to commit himself to any premature adoption of the cause of the Bourbons. These were Wellington's words on the 7th of March: "If they should ask you for your consent to proclaim Louis XVIII., to hoist the white standard, &c., you will state that the British nation and their allies wish well to Louis XVIII.; and as long as the public peace is preserved where our troops are stationed, we shall not. interfere to prevent that party from doing what may be deemed most for its interest: nay, further, that I am prepared to assist any party that may show itself inclined to aid us in getting the better of Bonaparte. That the object of the Allies, however, in the war, and above all in entering France, is, as is stated in my proclamation, Peace; and that it is well known. that the Allies are now engaged in negotiating a treaty with Bonaparte, VOL. VII. PP |