through the torrent farther up, in vain | footing in the interior of Piedmont, but endeavoured to induce his followers to made himself master of extensive mapass, and was obliged, after incurring gazines. This important success speedthe greatest risks, to retire. Thus re- ily changed the situation of the French lieved from all anxiety about his flank, army. Having descended from the Colli fell with all his forces on Serru- sterile and inhospitable summits of the rier, and after a severe action drove Alps, they found themselves, though him back again over the bridge, with still among the mountains, in commuthe loss of six hundred men. This nication with the rich and fertile plains check exposed Napoleon to imminent of Italy; provisions were obtained in danger. The Sardinian general occu- abundance, and, with the introduction pied a strong position in his front, while of regularity in the supplies, the pillage Beaulieu, with an army still formidable, and disorders consequent upon prior was in his rear, and might easily resume privations disappeared. The soldiers, offensive operations. A council of war animated with success, speedily recovwas held in the night, at which it was ered from their fatigues; the stragglers, unanimously resolved, notwithstanding and those left behind in the mountains, the fatigue of the troops, to resume the rejoined their colours; and the bands of attack on the following day. All the conscripts from the depots in the interior dispositions, accordingly, were made eagerly pressed forward to share in the for a renewed assault on the bridge, glories, and partake the spoils, of the with increased forces; but on arriving Italian army. In a short time the Reat the advanced posts at daybreak, they publicans, notwithstanding their losses, found them abandoned by the enemy, were as strong as at the commence who had fought only in order to gain ment of the campaign; while the Allies, time for the evacuation of the maga- besides having been driven from the zines in his rear, and had retired in the ridge of the Alps, the barrier of Piednight to Mondovi. He was overtaken, mont, were weakened by the loss of above however, in his retreat, near that place, twelve thousand men and forty pieces by the indefatigable victor, and im- of cannon. The effect of these sucmediately took up a strong position, cesses was such that the Allies everywhere he hoped to arrest the enemy. where retired from the field; and the The Republicans advanced to the as- French army, emerging from the mounsault; and though Serrurier was de- tain valleys, entered the vast plain of feated in the centre by the brave Aus- Piedmont, and in a few days appeared trian grenadiers of Dichat, yet that before the gates of Turin. courageous general having been struck dead by a cannon-ball at the moment when his troops, somewhat disordered by success, were assailed in flank by superior forces, the Piedmontese were thrown into confusion, and Serrurier, resuming the offensive, attacked and carried the redoubt of Bicoque, the principal defence of the position, and gained the victory. Colli retired to Chierasco, with the loss of two thousand men, eight cannon, and eleven standards.

65. Thither he was followed by Napoleon, who occupied that town, which, though a fortified place, and important from its position at the confluence of the Stura and the Tanaro, was not armed, and incapable of resistance. By so doing, he not only acquired a firm

66. The court of Victor Amadeus was now in the utmost consternation, and opinions were strongly divided as to the course which should be pursued. The ministers of Austria and Great Britain urged the king, who was by no means deficient in firmness, to imitate the glorious example of his ancestors, and abandon his capital. But as a preliminary to so decided a step, they insisted that the fortresses of Tortona, Alessandria, and Valence, should be put into the possession of the Aus trians, in order to give Beaulieu a solid footing on the Po; and to this sacrifice in favour of a rival power, he could not be brought to submit. At length the Cardinal Costa persuaded him to throw himself into the arms of the French, and Colli was authorised to

up to the French army, with all the artillery and magazines they contained; that the victors should continue to oc

were in their possession; that Valence should be instantly ceded to the Republicans in lieu of the Neapolitans; that the militia should be disbanded, and the regular troops dispersed in the fortified places, so as to give no umbrage to the French.

open negotiations. This was one of the numerous instances in the history of Napoleon, in which his audacity not only extricated him from the most per-cupy all the positions which at present ilous situations, but gave him the most splendid triumphs; for at this period, by his own admission, the French army was in very critical circumstances. He had neither heavy cannon nor a siege equipage to reduce Turin, Alessandria, or the numerous other fortresses of Piedmont, without the possession of which it would have been extremely hazardous to have penetrated farther into the country; the allied armies united were still superior to the French, and their cavalry, of such vital importance in the plains, had not at all suffered; while his own troops, confounded at their own achievements, and as yet unaccustomed to such rapid success, were beginning to hesitate as to the expedience of any farther advance. "The King of Sardinia," says Napoleon, "had still a great number of fortresses left; and in spite of the victories which had been gained, the slightest check, one caprice of fortune, would have undone everything."

67. It was, therefore, with the most lively satisfaction that Napoleon received the advances of the Sardinian government; but he insisted that, as a preliminary to any armistice, the fortresses of Coni, Tortona, and Alessandria should be put into his hands. The Piedmontese commissioners were at first disposed to resist this demand; but Napoleon sternly replied "It is for me to impose conditions-your ideas are absurd listen to the laws which I impose upon you, in the name of the government of my country, and obey, or to-morrow my batteries are erected, and Turin is in flames." These words so intimidated the Piedmontese that they returned in consternation to their capital, where all opposition speedily gave way. After some negotiation, the treaty was concluded, the principal conditions of which were, that the King of Sardinia should abandon the alliance, and send an ambassador to Paris to conclude a definite peace: that, in the mean time, Ceva, Coni, and Tortona, or, failing it, Alessandria, should be delivered

68. The armistice was followed, a fortnight after, by a treaty of peace between the King of Sardinia and the French Republic. By it his Sardinian Majesty finally renounced the coalition; ceded to the Republic, Savoy, Nice, and the whole possessions of Piedmont to the westward of the highest ridge of the Alps (extending from Mount St Bernard by Mount Genèvre to Roccabarbone near Genoa); and granted a free passage through his dominions to the troops of the French nation. The importance of this accommodation may be judged of by the letter of Napoleon to the Directory the day the armistice was signed-"Coni, Ceva, and Alessandria are in the hands of our army: if you do not ratify the convention, I will keep these fortresses, and march upon Turin. Meanwhile, I shall march to-morrow against Beaulieu, and drive him across the Po; I shall follow close at his heels, overrun all Lombardy, and in a month be in the Tyrol, join the army of the Rhine, and carry our united forces into Bavaria. That design is worthy of you, of the army, and of the destinies of France. If you continue your confidence in me, I shall answer for the results, and Italy is at your feet."

69. This treaty was of more service to the French general than many victories. It gave him a firm footing in Piedmont; artillery and stores for the siege of Turin, if the final conditions should not be agreed to by the Direc tory; general stores and magazines in abundance, and a direct communication with Genoa and France for the future supplies of the army. Napoleon, from the solid base of the Piedmontese fortresses, was now enabled to turn his undivided attention to the destruction of the Austrians, and thus commence,

with some security, that great career of bivouacked without bread! The phalconquest which he already meditated anxes of the Republic-the soldiers of in the Imperial dominions. Neverthe-liberty-were alone capable of such less, a large proportion of his troops sacrifices. But, soldiers! you have done and officers openly condemned the con- nothing while anything remains to do. clusion of any treaty of peace with a Neither Turin nor Milan is in your monarchical government; and insisted hands; the ashes of the conqueror of that the opportunity should not have Tarquin are still trampled on by the been suffered to escape, of establishing assassins of Basseville! I am told that a revolutionary government in the fron- there are some among you whose courtier state of Italy. But Napoleon-age is giving way-who would rather whose head was too strong to be carried away by the theories of democracy, and who already gave indications of that resolution to detach himself from the cause of revolution by which he was ever after so strongly distinguishedreplied, that the first duty of the army was to secure a firm base for future operations; that it was on the Adige that the French standard must be established, to protect Italy from the Imperialists; that it was impossible to advance thus far without being secured in their rear; that a revolutionary government in Piedmont would require constant assistance, scatter alarm through Italy, and prove a source of weakness rather than strength; whereas the Sardinian fortresses at once put the Republicans in possession of the keys of the Peninsula.

return to the summits of the Alps and the Apennines. No-I cannot believe it. The conquerors of Montenotte, of Millesimo, of Dego, of Mondovi, burn to carry still farther the glories of the French name!" When these successive victories, these standards, these proclamations, arrived day after day at Paris, the joy of the people knew no bounds. The first day the gates of the Alps were opened; the next, the Aus trians were separated from the Piedmontese; the third, the Sardinian army was destroyed and the fortresses sur rendered. The rapidity of the success, the number of the prisoners, exceeded all that had yet been witnessed. Every one asked, who was this young hero whose fame had burst forth so suddenly

who, like Cæsar, had at once come, seen, and conquered, and whose procla mations breathed the fervour of ancient glory? Three times the Councils decreed that the Army of Italy had deserved well of their country, and appointed a fête to Victory, in honour of the commencement of the campaign.

71. Having secured his rear by this advantageous treaty, Napoleon lost no time in pursuing the discomfited re

70. At the same time he despatched to Paris his aide-de-camp, Murat, with the standards taken, and addressed to his soldiers one of those exaggerated but eloquent proclamations which, by captivating the minds of men, contributed as much as his victories to his astonishing success. "Soldiers! you have gained in fifteen days six victories, taken one-and-twenty standards, fifty-mains of Beaulieu's army, which had five pieces of cannon, many strong places, and conquered the richest part of Piedmont; you have made fifteen thousand prisoners, killed or wounded ten thousand men. Hitherto you have fought on sterile rocks, rendered illustrious, indeed, by your courage, but of no avail to your country; now you rival, by your services, the armies of the Rhine and the North. Destitute at first, you have supplied everything. You have gained battles without cannons; passed rivers without bridges; made forced marches without shoes;

retired behind the Po, in the hope of covering the Milanese territory. The forces of the Austrians were plainly now unequal to the struggle; a coupde-main, which Beaulieu attempted on the fortresses of Alessandria, Tortona, and Valence, failed, and they were immediately after surrendered to the Republicans, while the corps of Kellermann was about to be united to the army of Napoleon, and the possession, by the conclusion of the armistice, of the Col de Tende, the principal passage in that quarter from France into Italy,

now rendered disposable a reinforce- at Pavia, busily engaged in erecting ment of above twenty thousand men, fortifications, when he received intelliNapoleon, on his side, indulged the gence of the passage at Placentia. He most brilliant anticipations; and con- immediately moved forward his adfidently announced to the Directory vanced guard, consisting of three thouthat he would cross the Po, expel the sand infantry, and two thousand horse, Austrians from the Milanese territory, under General Liptay, to Fombio, a traverse the mountains of the Tyrol, small town a short distance from the unite with the army of the Rhine, and Republican posts. Napoleon, who fearcarry the war, by the valley of the ed that he might be strengthened in Danube, into the heart of the Imperial this position, and was well aware of the dominions.* danger of fighting a general battle with a great river in his rear, lost no time in advancing his forces to dislodge him. D'Allemagne, at the head of the grenadiers, attacked on the right, Lanusse by the chaussée on the centre, and Lannes on the left. After a vigorous

72. By inserting a clause in the treaty with the King of Sardinia, that the French army was to be at liberty to cross the Po at Valence, he completely deceived the Austrians as to the place where the passage was to be effected. The whole attention of Beaulieu hav-resistance, the Austrians were expelled ing been drawn to that point, the Republican forces were rapidly moved to Placentia, and began to cross the river in boats at the latter place. Lannes was the first who effected the passage, and the other columns soon passed with such rapidity that a firm footing was obtained on the opposite bank; and two days afterwards Napoleon arrived with the bulk of his forces, and established a bridge. By this skilful march, not only the Po was passed, but the Tessino turned, as Placentia is below its junction with the former river; so that one great obstacle to the conquest of Lombardy was already removed.

73. Beaulieu, however, was now considerably reinforced, and his forces amounted to thirty-six battalions and forty-four squadrons, besides one hundred and twenty pieces of cannon-in all, nearly forty thousand men. He was

Buonaparte wrote to the Directory at this period "The King of Sardinia has surrendered at discretion, given up three of his strongest fortresses, and the half of his dominions, If you do not choose to accept his submission, but resolve to dethrone him, you must amuse him for a few weeks, and give me warning: I will get possession of Valence, and march upon Turin. On the other hand, I shall impose a contribution of some millions on the Duke of Parma, detach twelve thousand men to Rome, as soon as I have beaten Beaulieu and driven him across the Adige, and then I am assured that you will conclude peace with the King of Sardinia, and strengthen me by the army of Kellermann. As to Genoa, by all means oblige it to pay fifteen millions."— Secret Despatch to the Directory, 29th April 1796. Corres. Secrète de Napoleon, i. 103.

from the town, with the loss of above a thousand men. Liptay fell back to Pizzighitone. Meanwhile, Beaulieu was advancing with the bulk of his forces; and the leading division of his army surprised General La Harpe in the night, who was killed bravely fighting at the head of his division, but not until the Austrians had been compelled to retire. 74. The French troops having now entered the territory of Parma, it was of importance to establish matters on a pacific footing in their rear before pressing forward to Milan. The Grandduke had no military resources whatever; the victor, therefore, resolved to grant him terms, upon the surrender of what he had to give. He was obliged to pay two millions of francs in silver, and to furnish sixteen hundred artillery-horses, of which the army stood much in need, besides great supplies of corn and provisions. But on this occasion Napoleon commenced another species of military contribution, which he has himself confessed was unparalleled in modern warfare, that of exacting from the vanquished the surrender of their most precious works of art. Parma was compelled to give up twenty of its principal paintings, among which was the celebrated St Jerome by Correggio. The duke offered a million of francs as a ransom for that inestimable work of art, which many of his officers urged the French general to accept, as of much more service to the army than

the painting; but Napoleon, whose | the Hereditary States, and make them mind was fixed on greater things, re- prisoners; but as there was not a moplied "The million which he offers ment to be lost in achieving the moveus would soon be spent ; but the pos- ments requisite to attain this object, he session of such a chef-d'œuvre at Paris resolved to force the bridge, and thus will adorn that capital for ages, and give get into their rear. He himself arrived birth to similar exertions of genius." at Lodi, at the head of the grenadiers of d'Allemagne; upon which the Austrians withdrew from the town, and crossed the river, drawing up their infantry, with twenty pieces of cannon, at the further extremity of the bridge, to defend the passage. Napoleon immediately directed Beaumont, with all the cavalry of the army, to pass at a ford half a league farther up; while he himself directed all the artillery which had arrived against the Austrian battery, and formed six thousand grenadiers in close column, under cover of the houses at his own end of the bridge. No sooner did he perceive that the discharge of the Austrian artillery was beginning to slacken, from the effect of the French fire, and that the passage of the cavalry on their flank had commenced, than, addressing a few animating words to his soldiers, he gave the signal to advance. The grenadiers pushed on in double-quick time, through a cloud of smoke, over the long and narrow defile of the bridge. The terrible storm of grape-shot for a little arrested their progress; the front ranks were entirely swept away; but those in rear, finding themselves supported by a cloud of tirailleurs, who waded the stream below the arches, and led with heroic courage by their general, soon recovered, and, rushing forward with resistless fury, carried the Austrian guns, and drove back their infantry. Had the French cavalry been ready to profit by the confusion, the whole corps of the Imperialists would have been destroyed; but, as it had not yet come up, their numerous squadrons protected the retreat of the infantry, who retired with the loss of two thousand men, and twenty pieces of cannon. The loss of the victors was at least as great. The object of this bold measure was indeed lost, for the Austrians, whom it had been intended to cut off, had meanwhile gained the chaussée of Brescia, and made good their retreat; but it contributed greatly to

75. Thus commenced the system of seizing the great works of art in the conquered states, which the French generals afterwards carried to such a height, and which finally produced the noble gallery of the Louvre. The French have since had good reason to congratulate themselves that the Allies did not follow their bad example; and that, on occasion of the second capture of Paris, their victors had the generosity to content themselves with enforcing restitution of the abstracted spoils, without, like them, compelling the surrender of those that had been legitimately acquired. Certainly, it is impossible to condemn too strongly a use of the powers of conquest, which extends the ravages of war into the peaceful domain of the fine arts; which transplants the monuments of genius from the regions where they have arisen, and where their value is appreciated, to those where they are exotics, and their merit is probably little understood; which renders them, instead of being the proud legacy of genius to mankind, the mere trophy of a victor's glory; which exposes them to be tossed about by the tide of conquest, and subjected to irreparable injury in following the fleeting career of success; and converts works, destined to elevate and captivate the human race, into the subject of angry contention. and the badge of temporary subjugation. 76. On the 8th, Napoleon marched towards Milan; but, before proceeding to that city, he required to drive the Austrians from the line of the Adda, which they held, strongly guarded. The wooden bridge of LODI, over that river, was occupied by a powerful rearguard, consisting of twelve thousand Austrian infantry and four thousand horse; while the remainder of their forces had retired to Crema, the right wing still holding firm at Cassano, and the neighbourhood of Milan. By a rapid advance, he hoped to cut off the bulk of their troops from