trunnions, had been prepared before hand: to every piece thus arranged, a hundred soldiers were to be attached; the carriages were to be taken to pieces, and placed upon mules. All these arrangements were carried into execution by the Generals of artillery, Gassendi and Marmont, with so much promptness that the march of the artillery caused no delay: the troops themselves made it a point of honour not to leave their artillery in the rear, and undertook to drag it along. Throughout the whole passage, the regimental bands were heard; and it was only in difficult spots that the charge was beaten, to give fresh vigour to the soldiers. One entire division, rather than leave their artillery, chose to bivouac upon the summit of the mountain, in the midst of snow and excessive cold, instead of descending into the plain, though they had time to do so before night. Two half companies of artillery-artificers had been stationed in the villages of Saint Pierre and St. Remi, with a few field-forges for dismounting and remounting the various artillery carriages. The army succeeded in getting a hundred waggons over.

On the 16th of May, the First Consul slept at the convent of St. Maurice, and the whole army passed the St. Bernard on the. 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th May.' (Memoirs, vol. i. p. 262.)

The remainder of this curious account is too long for extraction. The history of Napoleon's ample donation to his guide, and of his performing the descent of the glacier on a sledge, is also given; and, in a very long chapter, the taking of Milan, and the battle of Montebello, in which Lannes and Victor distinguished themselves against the Austrians, are described, as well as the battle of Marengo. The disposition of the French, though much uncertainty respecting the movements of the Austrians prevailed up to the moment of the action, was very fine: the field of battle could not be better chosen; and, by the skilful advance of Suchet from the mountains in rear of the right flank of the Austrian army, Melas was completely paralyzed in his efforts to extricate himself.

In the details on Marengo, Desaix, who arrived from Egypt shortly before the action, is represented in a conversation with the First Consul to have accused Kleber of most of the faults committed in that country; and also as having asserted that, if he had been left in the command of the army instead of Kleber, he would have preserved Egypt. It is easy to give the dialogues of the dead, but very difficult to cause the living to credit them. With regard to the battle itself, it appears from the sketch of the dispositions for it, that Desaix's division, which had been the central one, was detached as a van-guard before the action to observe the movements of the Austrians on Genoa: but that, when the Austrians were gaining ground, Bonaparte, in alarm, ordered

Desaix back, although then distant about half a day's march. Lannes was retiring under an immense line of fire, while St. Cyr was endeavoring to turn the left of Melas. The division of Victor, according to Napoleon's recital, had in the mean time rallied; when Melas, confident that the victory was decided, left the command of the pursuit to General Zach. This officer, in endeavoring to destroy the retreating corps of Lannes, entangled himself with Saint Cyr: but, perceiving the mistake which Melas had committed, he poured in a tremendous discharge of artillery on Lannes, St. Cyr, and the newly arrived force of Desaix. At this critical moment, Desaix received orders to charge a column of 6000 Austrians who were turning the left of Lannes: he was shot through the heart in advancing to the rescue, and_expired instantly by which stroke,' adds Napoleon, the Emperor was deprived of the man whom he esteemed most worthy of being his lieutenant.' In the Historical Miscellanies, he also asserts, in contradicting the MS. of St. Helena, that Desaix did not carry the village of Marengo, which is generally believed, but that he was killed at the distance of a league and a half from it. If our readers will refer to our remarks on the account given of this battle by Count Dumas*, they will find that Bonaparte published a report of it in which he used these words: The division of Desaix arrived, and the whole line rallied; Desaix formed his column of attack, and carried the village of Marengo, on which the centre of the enemy rested, but this great General was killed at the moment in which he decided an immortal victory;" and these are the very terms of which the writer of the MS. in question has made use. Dumas is of opinion that the whole merit of this victory is due to Kellerman. We suspect that the forgetfulness of the Ex-Emperor, and the absurdity of Count Dumas's unsustained notion, may cause posterity to ascribe all the glory to the unfortunate Desaix.

Jourdan, who was appointed minister of the Republic to the provisional government of Piedmont, is noticed with some praise in this section of the work. In reviewing his answer to Prince Charles, we gave no very favorable opinion of this General's character; and our ideas are not altered by his miserable protest in the second volume of Gourgaud, who has replied to him very triumphantly. †

In pursuing our researches connectedly, the events of 1801 now remain to be examined; of which the attack of Copenhagen by Lord Nelson, and the death of Paul I. of Russia,

* Rev. Vol. lxxxviii. p. 490. + Appendix, pp. 383, 384, 385.

are

are chiefly discussed in these Memoirs. A plan of the battle of Copenhagen is given, as that of the Nile action had been before, perhaps because Napoleon was anxious to seize every opportunity in this work of shewing that he was not ignorant of nautical affairs. The description of Nelson's bold measure is tolerably faithful: but, in the account of the assassination of Paul, many lines, as in Sterne's Sentimental Journey, are filled only with asterisks; while the text gives us to understand very plainly that this crime was committed by English advice, and through the influence of English gold, and that it was Benigsen who completed it.

On the preparations for the invasion of England, which are scantily noticed, we shall reserve our remarks for a continua tion of our report of the work of Count Dumas, which we are preparing; and, as the direct chronological history of the Memoirs ends with the event of which we have spoken above, we shall now merely glean a few fragments from the remaining unconnected occasional notes.

The copious historical notices of Egypt, in the second volume, published by M. Gourgaud, are most spiritedly and amusingly written, and deserve a separate article, which we regret that we cannot spare for them: the reader will do well to peruse the whole with great attention.

In the Notes on the History of the Revolution in St. Domingo, and in the History of Egypt, we find some excellent disquisitions on the manumission of the Negroes; and the curious manner, by which Bonaparte proposed to attain the desired end, is highly amusing. It appears that he had actually consulted theologians to prepare the total abolition of slavery, and the equalization of rights, by introducing polygamy into the colonies; restricting, however, the number of wives to three, a Black, a White, and a Mulatto; by which measure, in a few removes, the population would assume a new and universal shade, and all distinction be erased.

To the memoirs of Bernadotte but few pages are devoted. Bonaparte asserts that he is totally uneducated, and acknowleges that ambition, and the love of Bernadotte's wife, Desirée, were the motives which caused him to make a king of his marshal and a queen of the early favorite of his heart. We are also told that the Crown Prince, who is Napoleon's godson, was named Oscar from the impression which that character had made on the Emperor's mind in reading Ossian.

Madame Desirée has not changed her religion, as her busband has done, and seems to deserve much credit both for conduct and character; while, notwithstanding the charges of incapacity and want of probity brought against the King in REY. DEC. 1823.

A a

these

these Memoirs, we think that history must acquit him of the former at least, in consideration of the talent displayed in keeping his seat amid the general crush.

The notes on Rogniat's Art of War, and the long Essays on Tactics and Strategy, in these volumes, are the least interesting parts of them, while they remain mingled with anecdotic portions: but they will prove a valuable, addition to military science, if culled and separated at the conclusion of the work.

Of the removal of the Pope from Rome, and the attempt to establish the sacred college and the tiara in Paris, much is said by Bonaparte; and perhaps the best account that we ean give of this division of his Memoirs will be by extracting the following sentences, in which the views that actuated him are perfectly told.

It is a certain fact that Napoleon loved his religion; that he wished to contribute to its prosperity and honour, but at the same time to avail himself of it as a social instrument for repressing anarchy, strengthening his sway in Europe, increasing the reputation of France, and the influence of Paris- the object of all his thoughts. Napoleon regretted that he could not transfer Saint Peter's from Rome to Paris; he was disgusted with the meanness of Notre-Dame.'

In the unconnected mention of Waterloo, we observe that Grouchy is blamed by his former master: but we suspect that Baron Gourgaud wrote this part of the work himself, since it very strongly resembles the statements and remarks which we reprobated in his publication on that battle.

The notes on Neutral Powers' of course give Bonaparte's views of the right of search, which has been so much canvassed; and which, in the present instance, serves only as a vehicle to drive over the old ground of some of the naval actions that annoyed him in the plenitude of his power, and which all his reflections served only to render hateful to him.

Perhaps the most curious paper in these Memoirs is the parallel between Christianity and Islamism; which is very ably drawn up, and entirely confutes the rumour that Bonaparte had throughout life ridiculed the faith in which he died. This paper will be found in the History of Egypt; and it is with regret we again state that we have not space for a larger examination of the documents relative to that country; which possess an amazing fund of information, delivered in the most lively manner, and are as interesting by the exhibition of novel views as by general accuracy.

The maps are so small that, though they possess Sidney Hall's usual clearness of expression, they are useless. They

cannot

cannot be a part of Napoleon's work; and if not made larger and more numerous, they serve no other purpose than that of adding to the expence of the book.

In forming the selections and criticisms which we have thus given, our general opinion of these Memoirs has hitherto been withholden, but it is now proper to state it. Undoubtedly they make a vast addition to the stock accumulating so rapidly for the future historians of Napoleon's reign: they are amusing by their anecdotes and vivacity of expression; they give us a clear and just notion of their dictator's mind; and they corroborate most strongly the opinion which we have ever held of his character, in which ambition had usurped such a paramount sway that, during its career, the finer feelings of nature were almost wholly absorbed. The sacrifice of a thousand lives to what he deemed glory cost him less pain or emotion than the departing sigh of a friend or of a relative. This, however, is a common case with the warrior by profession; and his madness was only one of the many species of delusion which prompts erring man to sin. To do his shade the justice which it has sometimes been denied, we refer those who have followed us through this article to the touching letters which Bonaparte wrote to the widow of Brueys, when he was killed commanding at the Nile; and to Admiral Thevenard on the same occasion, when he lost a brave and estimable son. * It is impossible to repress a tear while perusing these simple yet noble condolences, and a sensation of regret that ambition should have ever entered a mind capable of thus feeling and thus expressing its emotions.

ART. II. Notes during a Visit to Egypt, Nubia, the Oasis, Mount Sinai, and Jerusalem. By Sir Frederick Henniker, Bart. 8vo. 12s. Boards. Murray. 1823.

OUR

UR readers have not perhaps forgotten the "Diary of an Invalid" by Mr. Matthews, nor the sprightliness and good humor with which it abounded. An equal or greater buoyancy of spirit, and flow of cheerfulness, seem to have accompanied the Baronet whose name is prefixed to our present article, during a more toilsome expedition, and through regions less smiling and hospitable. He offers, indeed, but a slight repast to the antiquary or to the virtuoso, his object, as he tells us, being more the survey of nature than the inves tigation of the works of art; and, as the scene of his travels

* See Appendix to Memoirs, vol. ii. pp. 220. and 364.