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refolute and hardy race of men, but extremely attached to the family of Auftria; of whom they had for centuries continued the faithful and affectionate fubje&s.

Buonaparte did not, however, defpair to make an impreffion upon them in his favour, through the medium of thofe addreffes, of which he he had experienced the efficacy on other occafions. On the fourteenth of June he published a manifeño, wherein he informed them, that he intended to march through their country, in order to force the emperor to come into terms of peace with the French, who defired a termination of the war, not only for themselves, but for the benefit of all Europe, fo long harraffed and defolated through the ambition of the Imperial family; for which alone the people of its dominions were involved in the horrors of war, as well as the people of France. The French, he told them, bore no hatred to the inhabitants of Germany, but folely to their ambitious fovereigns, and felt the fincereft fentiments of good will and fraternity for their oppreffed fubjects. He invited them, therefore, in the name of the French, to receive their army with hofpitality, and abstain from all hoftili.. ties; promifing the ftricteft honour and, punctuality, in all dealings and tranfactions with them, but admonishing them, at the fame time, that if compelled to have recourfe to their arms, the French would, however, unwillingly, prove as ter"rible to them, as they had unvariably done to all their other enemies. But while he was preparing to follow up this manifefto, by marching his army into the Tyrol, he was called away by the indifpenfible neceflity of providing for the fecurity

of his conquefts; menaced by a variety of unfavourable circumftances, against which vigorous exertions were required without delay.

The distance at which the forces of the French were at this time, from feveral districts, known by the name of Imperial Fiefs, and fituated on the borders of Piedmont, Genoa, and Tufcany, had emboldened the people there, who were in the intereft of the emperor, to act a very hoftile part against the French; they attacked their convoys, intercepted the communication with Buonaparte's army, and killed his couriers, Such were the complaints and reprefentations of the French. In order to put a ftop to thofe proceedings, which were fecretly countenanced by thofe numerous enemies of the French, who did not dare to avow themselves, Buonaparte was obliged to difpatch large detachments from the main body of his forces, to reprefs them. This was the very end propofed by thofe infurrections, but the celerity with which he acted, quickly effected their fuppreffion : the infurgents were compelled to fubmit, and deliver up their arms and hoftages for their obedience. Heavy fines were impofed upon them, and ordinances iffued; a refufal to comply with which, was made punishable with military execution.

The motive that led to this feverity, was the determination to proceed, without the danger of being recalled by new commotions, in the plan of extending, through the moft diftant parts of Italy, an unrefifting fubjugation to the dictates of France. Rome and Naples were the two ftates against which Buonaparte was intending to act. The enmity of both to the French was

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undeniable. The inability of the Pope to refift them was an additional motive to invade his territories? Ferrara, Bologna, and Urbino, all cities of importance, were taken poffeffion of, and Rome itself was threatened.

The partifans of the French in Italy, and elsewhere, expreffèd open fatisfaction at their conduct towards the Roman fee. The difreputable means by which it had risen to power, and acquired the territories compofing its fovereignty, were not forgotten. The arrogance of its pretenfions, and the daily diminution of the reverence and veneration which it formerly commanded, jointly induced people to view its humiliation with pleafure. Confcious of these fentiments in the generality, Buonaparte felt the lefs fcruple in the feverity of his tranfactions with the court of Rome, with which it feems he had determined to keep no measures; commiffioned doubtlefs by the government of France to act in this rigorous manner.

Terrified at this invafion of his dominions, and totally unable to reli it, the pope was reduced to the neceffity of fuing for an armiftice, which was granted to him, on conditions fimilar to thofe on which the dukes of Parma and Modena had obtained it: to which was added, the furrender of the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, and the citadel of Ancona, with the territories of the two former, and a larger proportion of pictures and ftatues, and fome, hundreds of the moft curious manufcripts from the Vatican library. The pope, with a refignation more becoming the head of the church, than fo many of the ambitious and daring actions of his predecellors, yielded to ne

ceffity with the best grace in the world. He difcharged his fubjects from molefting, and even from reviling the French. He exhorted them to use them well, and even to pray for them. In former ages, the popes were wont most bitterty to curfe even their own fpiritual fons, when they fhewed any degree of a refractory fpirit. The piety of the church, fmothered by wealth and power, appeared to be revived with perfecution. The Chriftians feemed. to return to the principles of loving their enemies, bleffing thofe that curfed them, doing good to thole that hated them, and praying for fhole who defpitefully uled and perfecuted them." Had the pope with the Romish clergy been fincere in fuch profeffions of humility and benevolence, and credit been given. to fuch profeffions, the church might have fprung, like a phoenix, from its own afhes, and the tide of affairs. been turned: but, without inquiring too minutely into the piety of the pope, we must commend his prudence, in advising the Romans to give up a part of their wealth, rather than the whole. His holiness was a more prudent man than the Roman knight Nonius, who was put to death by Tiberius, for refufing to part with a very exquifite and precious piece of feulpture. All perfons imprifoned for their opinions were now to be fet at liberty; the ports of the ecclefiaftical flate to be open to the French, and fhut to their enemies, and a free paffage allowed to the French troops through the papal territories. This armice was figned on the twenty-third of June: but the directory. though willing to negociate a. peace with the pontiff, refused to receive the minifters he had fent to Paris for

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that purpose, on account of their being ecclefiaftics, a profeffion of which they had declared to admit no members in the quality of negociators.

A fufpenfion of arms had already been concluded with the king of Naples, on terms of more equality. The multiplicity of operations, undertaken by the French, did not permit them to exert the like feverity with a prince who was fo much more able to oppose them.

In the mean time, the resolution taken by the directory, to exclude the English from an access to any port to which it could barr their entrance prompted them to direct their general to fieze on the port of Leghorn, on pretence of the flag of France having been infulted there, and the French merchants illtreated, in violation of the rights of neutrality. On the twenty-eighth of June, a detachment of Buonaparte's army took poffeffion of this place. The English merchants, however, being apprifed of his intentions, had fufficient time to remove their property on board their fhips in the harbour, and very little was feized by the French.

The feizure of Leghorn was accompanied by the reduction of the caftle of Milan: this celebrated fortrefs, furrendered to them on the laft day of June. The garrifon, confifting of more than two thousand men, convinced of the impoffibility of making any effectual refiftance, yielded themselves prifoners of war. One hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, with an immenfe quantity ofammunition and stores, were taken here by the French.

During these various tranfactions, while Buonaparte was occupied in extending through Italy the empire

of the French, and the terror of his arms, he was equally careful to imprefs the Italians with favourable opinions of his inclination to promote their general welfare, and equally of his refpect for learning and literary men. This, he knew, would exhibit an advantageous contraft of the refpective difpofitions of the French and the Auftrians, in matters of this nature. The neglect and indifference of thefe latter, for the polite arts and sciences, and their profeffors, had long been well known, and it was a part of Buonaparte's policy, by difplaying his partiality to characters of this defeription, to conciliate their efteem, and fecure their prepoffeffion in his favour.

To this intent he had taken with him, to Italy, feveral eminent literati from France. They were the companions of his private hours, and were looked upon as a credit to his expedition with them he confulted in what manner he could make it redound to the benefit of letters and philofophical knowledge.

The cultivators of learning in Italy, to whom he was represented in this advantageous light, could not fail to conceive amicable ideas of him, and he was particularly folicitous to improve them. An opportunity offered, on the reduction of Milan, where he requested an interview with the celebrated aftronomer Oriane, in order to testify his refpect, and that of the French nation, for his extraordinary merit. In a letter, written to him on this occafion, and addrefled, through hin, to all the Italian literati, Buo naparte exerted his perfuafive talents to convince him and them of the predaliction with which the rulers of France regarded all individuals. of his character, and how zealous

they

they were in the protection and encouragement of polite knowledge and the liberal arts, and defirous to afford them the moft generous and honourable countenance and fupport. "All men of genius," faid the letter," all those who have obtained a diftinguished rank in the republic of letters, are Frenchmen, in whatever country they may have been borne. The learned in Italy, efteemed themselves happy, if left unmolefted by princes and priests: but henceforth, opinions fhall be free, and the inquifition, intolerance, and defpotifin, be no more. I invite," he contined, "the learned to affemble, and propofe their fentiments on the means neceflary to be taken, and the affiftance they may require, to give new life and exiftence to the sciences and the fine arts."

He addreffed the univerfity of Pavia in the fame ftyle, and took peculiar pains to imprefs on the minds of the public, that the French were folicitous to place the people of Italy on the fame footing with themselves, in whatever related to the liberty of thinking, and would feel more fatisfaction in acquiring their efteem and their approbation of the proceedings of the French government, and of the political maxims on which it acted, than in the fubmiffion enforced by their victorious arms. The conquefts obtained over the human mind, being of far greater importance to men who knew the difficulty of obtaining them, and the utility which they produced, than victories won by the fword, and empire maintained through terror.

Language of this kind, which was inceffantly in the mouth of the French general, and of those in

his confidence and intimacy, did more in conciliating the people, who had fubmitted to him, than the dread of his power; the clergy and the nobility excepted: to the very exiftence of which orders the French fyftem was immediately inimical: the other claffes beheld in the French a nation of warriors, who seemed to have taken up arms for the purpofe of reducing all other nations to a level of opinion and government with themfelves, and to harbour no enmity but to hereditary fovereigns, and the adherents to iniplicit obedience in matters of church and state.

To diffeminate fuch a difpofition in the generality was the chief aim of the French general, well knowing that, on fuch a ground, he would be able to erect a more durable fabric of that republicanifm he had in view, than on the military power he had established, and which, without thofe concomitances that he held out to the natives, would have been odious to them, and have presented no other picture than that of conqueft and tyranny.

In this court, that was paid by the French general to men of letters and genius, we contemplate a policy, not lefs folid than fublime. It is from the opinions and fpirit of the truly learned and intelligent, that public fpirit in all nations fooner or later derive their complexion with their origin. The clafs too that would be flattered by this addrefs was more numerous by far, than it will be very eafy to imagine: fo great a portion of mankind being fo highly fatisfied with their own talents and accomplishments. The profeffions of Buonaparte, however, but ill accorded with his actions. The whole of his conduct indicated [H+]

that

that his main defign was, to establish the power and influence of the French in Italy. At Milan he formed the plan of a republic on the model of that of France, and to be under her protection, in the fame manner as the victorious and ambitious Romans admitted the conquered fiates to the alliances and friendfhip of the fenate and people of Rome: thus endeavouring to fubvert the authority of the emperor, and to erect that of France on its ruins, by abolishing feudal rights, and giving the great mafs of the people a fhare and an intereft in the new government. He fortified Verona, notwithstanding the reclamations of the Venetians; and placed general officers, in whom he could confide, over the Tufcan troops, as well as over those of Piedmont and Milan. The intentions of the French were ftill lefs concealed at Paris; where thofe who bore fway, at the fame time that they profelled a defire to fraternize with all nations, talked of nothing but the extenfion of their arms, and of Paris becoming the capital of Europe. They boafted of the generous defign of giving peace and tranquillity to all nations under the protection of the French republic.

In the mean time, Buonaparte was preparing to meet the new general appointed to take the command of the Imperial forces that were marching to the protection of the Tyrol. The fituation of the French at this period was extremely critical: they had fubdued an extenfive range of country; to preferve which they had been obliged to detech confiderable numbers from their main body. The remains of Beaulieu's army, and the reinforcements ariving with marshal Wurmfer, com

pofed a much more formidable ftrength than that under Buonaparte. But the confidence he placed in the valour of his men, and that which they repofed in his fuperior genius and fkill, feemed, in the opimon of the public, to stand him in the stead of numbers.

The pales into the Tyrol were guarded by works extending from the Lake of Garda to the river Adige. Here the Imperial commander, newly arrived, pofted himfelf: but the French generals Malena, and Joubert, at the head of a felect body, broke into his lines, by turning his right and left: they feized his baggage and ftanding camp, and forced him to retreat with the utmofi precipitation. This happened towards the clofe of June.

The firft engagement, between · Wurmfer and the French, would probably have been followed with worfe confequences to him, had not an infurrection taken place in a city of the ecclefiaftical state, which obftructed for a while their intended operations. The inhabitants of the city and diftrict of Lugo, incited by the complaints of their clergy, and others who bore heavily the French yoke, took uparins, as they expreffed themfelves, in defence of their faints, and their lawful fovereign, the pope. A fmall detachment was fent to quell them, but they forced it to retire, after killing fome men, the heads of two of whom, accord*ing to the French accounts, they expofed at the town houfe of Lugo. The French general, w who was fent with a fufficient force to reduce them, employed admonitions and threats to that purpole: but they fet him at defiance, and made a defperate refiftance: upwards of a thousand of them were killed and

wounded,

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