examination preparatory to being admitted into the artillery; there were 36 vacant places, of which he obtained one, and was appointed second-lieutenant in the regiment of La Fere. One of the professors of the military, charged with the examination, is said to have written by the side of the name of Bonaparte this testimony:-A Corsican by character and by birth, and if favoured by circumstances, this young man will rise high.

In 1789, he obtained the rank of captain. At the siege of Toulon, in 1793, he commanded the artillery, and distinguished himself by his skill. In the years 1794 and 1795, it was to his plans that the republicans were indebted for the successes which they obtained on the Italian frontier; successes which he himself soon after eclipsed by others far superior. In May, 1795, he was appointed to a command in the army of La Vendée, which he refused to accept. While he was at Paris, Kellerman being beaten in the Genoese territory, Bonaparte was called on to draw up instructions for the army of Italy. Shortly afterwards he commanded the army of the metropolis, which defended the convention, and defeated the troops of the sections, on the 13th of Vendemiaire. At the desire of the officers and soldiers of the army of Italy, he was then appointed to the command of that army, and this event may be considered as laying the ground-work of that distinguished name which he afterwards erected for himself, not only in his own armies, but on other soils than France. On the recommendation of Barras, who was much attached to him, he married the widow of the Viscount de Beauharnois. Bonaparte, at that time, was not more than 26 years old; he had never commanded an army, been in a regular battle, nor even assisted at one; but he had youth, knowledge, ardour, science, judgment, and activity; added to which, a high opinion of his own talents, a confidence in which experience proved he was not mistaken.

The army opposed to him was composed of Austrians, Sardinians, and Neapolitans; it consisted of 60,000 men, commanded by General Beaulieu. After having defeated the enemy, at Millesimo, Dego, Montenotte, and other places, he contrived, in a masterly manner, to separate the Sardinian from the Austrian army; and the King of Sardinia, finding himself without support

after he had lost the battle of Mondovi, signed a treaty in his own capital. The Austrian army having no other ally than the King of Naples, was not in a situation to defend the Po nor the Adda, The battle of Lodi was the first sanguinary battle which called forth into action the superior skill and determined courage of this great warrior; the bravery with which he forced the passage of the bridge of Lodi, will never be forgotten. It was successful, and put him in possession of Lombardy, though with a great loss of men.

During this time the Austrians obtained reinforcements, and they made many attempts from the side of the Tyrol and the Venetian states, to compel the republicans to raise the siege of Mantua. Bonaparte did not fail to take advantage of the want of skill and the numerous errors of his enemy, and to profit by them; his central position afforded him an opportunity of engaging and beating one after the other the different corps of the opposing army under Generals Wurmser and Alvinzi. The battles of Castiglione and Rivoli, among others, gave abundant proofs of the tact of Bonaparte, and Mantua 'at length capitulated. In the meantime, the Pope, the King of Naples, and the minor Italian princes, had been compelled to make peace at the expence of great sacrifices. The Austrians being still determined to try the fortune of war, Bonaparte penetrated through Friuli into Germany, and advanced within thirty leagues of Vienna. He was, however, not seconded in time by the French armies on the Rhine; and the Archduke Charles, his opponent, having collected a large force, which rendered victory doubtful to the republicans, and defeat highly dangerous, Bonaparte deemed it politic to resort to negociation. The Austrian cabinet readily consented, and the result was the siguing of the preliminaries of Leoben, on the 16th of April, 1797, which left the French in possession of the Netherlands and other conquests, and established a republic in Italy.

The treaty had hardly been concluded before he declared war against, and overthrew the republic of Venice, and took possession of its fleet, arsenals, treasures, and dominions. He found means, in the midst of these achievements, to bestow some attention on the Cisalpine republic, which he had established at Milan. He afterwards signed the definitive treaty with the Austrians,

at

at Campo Formio. Having concluded his labours in Italy, he returned to Paris, and was received with the utmost rejoicings and respect by the constituted authorities and the people.

The directory now nominated him general-in-chief of the expedition which they had meditated to land on the shores of England. He set out to the coast, and issued a variety of proclamations against the tyrants of the sea, but the impossibility of carrying the resolve of the directory into effect, induced him to return to the capital.

His views had, indeed, long been directed to another quarter. The taking possession of Egypt, it is roundly asserted, was planned by himself; and the directory, who had already experienced the value of his military skill, prepared an expedition. On the 19th of May, 1798, Bonaparte sailed from Toulon, with a fleet of thirteen ships of the line, nearly as many frigates and corvettes, and an immense number of transports, with 40,000 men, being the flower of the French army, and the most precious part of the French marine. Malta was taken by the advanced guard of this expedition, and the ancient government was superseded by a revolutionary one. The expedition then proceeded for Egypt, where they landed on the 2d of July, after having narrowly escaped the British squadron. Bonaparte had established himself nearly a month at Cairo, when he was apprised of the destruction of his fleet. Admiral Brueys, who had represented to him the danger of remaining on the coast, had received positive orders to remove, but the fatal result of his neglect shewed that the General was right. After this disaster, Bonaparte found himself separated from France, and for the moment, the army lost all hope of returning. He, nevertheless, occupied himself in organizing the republican system of government. He created municipalities, national divans, and introduced to their notice the doctrines of the rights of man. But the mussulmans were not ripe for these doctrines, and his labours were lost on them. While he was preparing for fresh encounters, he received information of the disasters which were sustained by the republican armies in Italy and Germany. Being authorised, by his instructions, to return to France, he, without much preparation, took measures for embarking secretly, and in the night of the 23d of MONTHLY MAG. No. 357.

August, 1799, set sail homeward, with a few officers who were devoted to him.

On the 9th of October, 1799, he landed at Frejus, and hastened to Paris, where his presence, so unexpected, produced on the one hand much satisfaction, and on the other some disquietude. He addressed a letter to the directory, justifying the measures which he had pursued, and explaining those parts of his conduct which were the objects of censure by the party who did not approve of the war in Egypt. This period' was the commencement of the most remarkable era of his life. All parties equally sought General Bonaparte. He was well aware of the firm hold which he had on the public opinion, and on which he had already grounded his hopes of support, and of obtaining the ascendancy. The directory, indeed, recognised his consequence, for in conjunction with the two councils, they gave a fête in honour of him, in the Temple of Victory. Sieyes and Barras were at that time the leading men in the government; the latter of whom had, for two years, conceived the project of restoring monarchy, not doubting that Bonaparte would coincide with him. The plan was confided to Bonaparte, but the latter had other objects in view.

After many conferences with Sieyes, and many of the leading members of the legislative bodies, he, by private letters, convoked a meeting of the then members of the council of ancients, on whom he could rely, in which was disclosed the project in view. The consequence was, that the sittings of the legislature were transferred to St. Cloud, and General Bonaparte was charged to take all the necessary measures for the safety of the national representation: the troops of the line, and the national guards, were placed under his orders. Called to the bar of the assembly to hear the decree, he made a speech to the following effect :- The national representation was perishing," said he, you knew it, and you are resolved to save it. It shall not perish. Lefebvre, Berthier, and the rest of my brave comrades, are devoted to maintain aud defend the republic. In such circumstances all its friends rally together; they swear, as I do, fidelity and devotedness to the republic: its tranquillity will be the result of our oath."

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repaired to St. Cloud, where the soldiers occupied all the avenues. The council of ancients assembled in the galleries; that of five hundred, of which Lucien Bonaparte was the president, met in the Orangery. Bona parte entered the hall of the ancients, and addressed them in a spirited speech, vindicating his own character, and calling on them to exert themselves in behalf of liberty and equality. In the council of five hundred, meanwhile, a violent scene took place. Several members demanded an enquiry into the reason, why the meeting had been transferred to St. Cloud. Lucien Bonaparte endeavoured to calm the storm which was evidently rising, but the proposition had created a great deal of heat, and the cry was-"Down with the Dictator! No Dictator!" At that moment Bonaparte entered the hall with four grenadiers. Several of the members exclaimed "What does this mean? No sabres here! No armed men!" while others descended into the hall and surrounded him, collaring him, and crying out-“ Outlaw him! Down with the Dictator!"" At this moment General Lefebvre came to his assistance, and they retired together. Bonaparte mounted his horse, and leaving Murat to observe what was going on, he sent a piquet of grenadiers into the hall. These grenadiers, conducted by Murat, entered at the chargestep to the sound of the drum, with bayonets fixed, when Lucien declared that the representatives who wished to assassinate his brother were audacious robbers in the pay of England. He then proposed a decree, which was immediately adopted, to this effect:"That his brother, and all those who had seconded him, deserved well of their country; that the directory was at an end; and that the executive power should be placed in the hands of three provisory consuls, namely, Bonaparte, Sieyes, and Roger Ducos."

A legislative committee, chosen from the two councils, then, in conjunction with the consuls, framed a constitution, which was known as the constitution of the year 8. By this fourth constitution Bonaparte was declared first consul, and Cambaceres and Le Brun second and third, or assistant consuls. The same commission created a senate, a council of state, a tribunate, and a legislative body.

He now published a proclamation to

the French people, in which he declared that he desired peace, that he had sought it with England, but that the English government had refused to listen to any terms. Under these eircumstances, France had nothing left but to shew to the disturbers of the public peace, that she could maintain tranquillity. The result of these measures was preparations for carrying on a vigorous war, and he looked to Italy, the theatre of his first glory, for the stage to commence operations. He assembled the army, and addressed the soldiers in a proclamation, in which he said, he did not want them "to assist in defending their own frontiers, but to invade the states of their enemies." He left Paris towards the end of April, 1800, with a well-appointed army, for Italy. He passed the Great St. Bernard by a wonderful march, burst into Italy, and, after several minor successes, he utterly defeated the Austrians, under General Melas, at Marengo, on the 14th of June, 1800. The vanquished general purchased the safety of his army by the surrender of Italy into the power of the conqueror.

This battle, and that of Hohenlinden, enabled Bonaparte to dictate the conditions of peace to the House of Austria. The result was the re-establishment of the Cisalpine republic. In the interior of France, the efforts of the royalists were frustrated, and La Vendée was compelled to submit to the republic.

Just at this moment, also, the object next Bonaparte's heart was on the eve of being accomplished-a peace with England! Peace had been concluded with Russia and Portugal, he had mediated for Switzerland, and he had given to the Italian republic a new constitution, placing himself at the head of that government; and, shortly after, England recognised in him the chief magistrate of France. Peace was concluded at Amiens on the 27th of March, 1802, the preliminaries having been signed some months before. The accomplishment of this object secured to him the consulate for life.

This elevation produced him enemies among the envious and wicked; all parties in England united their prejudices against the revolution and Bonaparte, and under various pretexts, recommenced the war. On the 24th of December, as he was passing in his carriage through the Rue St. Ni

caise, at 8 o'clock in the evening, a machine was exploded, and Bonaparte saved his life only by the merest chance. This cowardly and wicked attempt had the effect of killing and wounding several persons, and of damaging most of the houses in the quarter where it was made. An enquiry took place, when it appeared that the conspirators had filled a barrel with combustible matter, placed it on a small carriage in the street beforenamed, and with it a rifle-gun; it was so placed as to obstruct the carriage of Bonaparte. The consequence of the enquiry was, that not less than 130 of the most troublesome of the enemies of his government were transported to Cayenne, and several suffered on the scaffold.

Another circumstance occurred about this time, which was the topic of universal conversation, and a pretext for affixing odium on the character of the first consul, namely, the death of the Duke D'Enghien, son of the Duke de Bourbon, who was shot by his order at the castle of Vincennes. Bonaparte justified the measure on the law of retaliation, alleging that it was one of prudent self-preservation; for, that the Duke D'Enghien was endeavouring to excite the French people to rise in favour of the Bourbons, and to destroy him. This, however, is certain, that he was at that time beset with conspiracies on all hands; for the Generals Pichegru, Moreau, Georges, the two Counts De Polignac, with 43 other individuals, were arrested at the same time. Pichegru died in prison, Georges suffered on the scaffold, with eleven of his companions; Moreau was exiled to America, and the Counts de Polignac were detained prisoners in a fortress. Addresses followed these proceedings from all parts of France, and if it be fair to calculate on the expressions of mankind, Bonaparte was as much entitled to the sentiments of attachment which they breathed forth as any of the crowned heads of Europe; for he, like them, was but the organ of the nation. The language of these addresses was of the most flattering kind. "France would have been lost," said they, "but you saved it. To give the nation its proper splendour, it has need of a prince whose head, like that of other sovereigns, is adorned with a crown-accept that of Charlemagne!" To these expressions of attachment Bonaparte replied by accepting the proffered crown,

and the senate confirmed the wishes of the people by a decree, which was dated the 18th of May, 1804. On the 2d of Dec. following he was crowned EMPEROR OF FRANCE, in the church of Notre Dame, in Paris, with the title of NAPOLEON THE FIRST, for which purpose the Pope, Pius VII., came in person from Rome to give the ceremony greater eclat. This was the period at which might be said to commence the third epoch of Napoleon's life, assuredly the most remarkable.

The new Emperor was recognized by the Emperors of Austria and Russia, and by the Kings of Prussia, Spain, and Denmark. The King of Sweden alone refused to accede to the proposition of acknowledgment.

On the 18th of March, 1895, Napoleon was proclaimed King of Italy, promising to the people that he would not hold sovereign rule longer than was compatible with the interest of his subjects. Having returned to Paris, he called together the legislative body, and in his opening speech he told the assembly, "I have no wish to augment the French territory, but to preserve its integrity: I have no ambition to exercise a great influence in Europe, but I desire not to lose what I have acquired for France; no new state will be incorporated with the empire."

England seemed to be the only power competent, by her vast resources, plausible forms of government, and maritime strength, to keep the flame of war alive, and Napoleon looked at the British government with an anxious eye. He knew that to their councils, and the influence of British gold, was to be attributed the duration of the continental war. He, however, on the 7th of Aug. 1805, published a manifesto, in which he held out to the invading army the hopes of sacking London, concluding each sentence with the well-known Roman phrase, “ Delenda est Carthago.” He assembled a numerous flotilla, and formed, at Boulogne, a camp of 200,000 men. The difficulty was to make good a landing, or even to put to sea with any chance of being able to quit the French ports. The French people were amused with the idea, and some were sanguine enough to believe it already accomplished. But the battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st of October, destroyed these fond hopes, and, with them, the greatest part of the French navy, the only safe conduct for the invading army.

The expedition against England was, therefore

therefore, abandoned, and France de clared war against Germany, which had been excited to commence hostilities. In less than six weeks, the immense "army of England," as it was triumphantly called, was transported from the coast of France to the banks of the Danube. The rapidity of the march came with surprise on the celebrated General Mack, who retired to Ulm, and quietly laid down his arms; his force consisting of 30,000 foot, 3000 cavalry, and 80 pieces of cannon. This capitulation, so unforeseen, was the astonishment of Europe.

The Russians were at the time advancing rapidly to support Austria; and, apprised of their march, Napoleon addressed his army in an order of the day to the following effect: Soldiers of the great army, we have accomplished a campaign in fifteen days; you must not stop here: that Russian army, which the gold of England has transported from the extremities of the world, let us go and exterminate it!" On the 11th of November, 1805, the French army entered the capital of Austria, which Francis II. had quitted a few days before, to retire with the remnant of his broken army into Moravia, where the Emperor Alexander joined him with the Russian army, which he commanded in person.

Napoleon encountered the two Emperors on the plain of AUSTERLITZ on the 2d of December following, and gave them battle with his usual ardour. The battle was decisive in his favour. The allies endeavoured to hem in the French by their wings; but this manœuvre weakened their centre, which the French put to the rout. Francis II. was paralysed by the blow, and himself sued for peace. An interview took place in a bivouac, on the 26th of December; the consequence was, that, within three weeks, it led to the treaty of Presburg, a treaty which recognized Napoleon King of Italy, master of Venice, of Tuscany, of Parma, of Placentia, and of Genoa. Prussia ceded to him the Grand Duchy of Berg, which he presented to Murat, and also, in exchange for Hanover, the Margraviate of Anspach, which Napoleon assigned to Bavaria.

Having thus attained all that he desired, Napoleon repaired to Munich, where he celebrated the marriage of Eugene Beauharnois, his adopted son, with the Princess Augusta Amelia, of Bavaria. This was the first of those

alliances which afterwards aggrandized his reign, and strengthened his power, embarrassing all the cabinets of Europe. In the night of the 26th of January, 1806, he arrived at Paris. The next day all the authorities hastened to pay their acknowledgments to him for the services which he had rendered to France.-M. Arnault, organ of the Institute, said, "Your victories have hunted down the barbarians of Europe; your treaties have shut out their malevolence, never to return; you have exceeded the bounds of possibility, and, our historians, to be sublime, need only adhere to truth.”

By these repeated victories, NAPOLEON had not only raised the character of the French nation in a military point of view, but he had also secured his own power, both in the interior of his country and without. It was in consequence of this, that he conceived the project of revising the European dynasties, and of appointing new sovereigns. In his first promotion of kings, he comprised the electors of Bavaria and Wirtemberg; the electors of Saxony and Hanover he created kings, and he gave the crown of Naples to his brother Joseph, that of Holland to his brother Louis, and that of Westphalia to Jerome.

On the 12th of July, 1806, he signed at Paris the famous treaty of the .confederation of the Rhine, which gave to him in Germany that preponderance of power which had belonged to the house of Austria. In the month of September following, he demanded from his new allies levies of men which alarmed Prussia, and gave Frederick reason to think, though too late, that he menaced his existence. Already the French army of Hanover, combining its movements with that of Franconia, enveloped the Prussian monarchy. A very animated correspondence was kept up on the subject, between the courts of Berlin and the Tuilleries, which, at ́the time, was supposed to relate to the occupation of Hanover. After the treaty of Presburg, that country was to be occupied by Prussia, for the Margraviate of Anspach; but Napoleon, who had consented to the exchange, now wished to restore it to England, as one of the conditions of peace. The court of Berlin complained greatly of this arrangement, and demanded that the French troops should evacuate Germany, and a powerful Prussian army took the field. Napoleon declared that

the