yourself to add our armies to your own. But matters have come to that point, that we can no longer remain neutral: we must be for you, or against you."

At these words, the Emperor conducted Metternich into a cabinet apart, in which stood tables covered with maps, and for a time their conversation could not be overheard. After a while, the voice of Napoleon was audible above its ordinary pitch: "What!" said he, "not only Illyria, ut the half of Italy, and the return of the pope to Rome, and Poland, nd the abandonment of Spain, Holland, Switzerland, and the Confederation of the Rhine! And this you call a spirit of moderation! You are intent only on profiting by every chance that offers: you alternately transport your alliance from one camp to the other, so as to be always a partaker of the spoil, and yet you speak to me of your respect for the rights of independent states. You would have Italy; Russia would have Poland; Sweden would have Norway; Prussia would have Saxony; and England, Holland and Belgium: in short, peace is only a pretext; you are all eager to dismember the French Empire, and Austria thinks she has only to declare herself, in order to crown the enterprise! You propose, here, with a stroke of the pen to sweep away the ramparts of Dantzic, Custrin, Glogau, Magdebourg, Wesel, Mayence, Antwerp, Alexandria, Mantua-all the strong places of Europe, in short, of which I obtained possession by dint of victories! And I, obedient to your policy, am to evacuate Europe, of which I still hold the half; recall my legions across the Rhine, the Alps and the Pyrenees; subscribe a treaty which would be nothing but one vast capitulation; and place myself at the mercy of those of whom I am at this moment the conqueror! And, it is when my standards are floating at the mouths of the Vistula and on the banks of the Oder; when my victorious army is at the gates of Berlin and Breslau; when I am at the head of three hundred thousand menthat Austria, without striking a blow, without drawing a sword, expects me to subscribe such conditions! My father-in-law, too, has matured such a project, and he sends you on such a mission! In what a position` would he place me, with regard to the French people! Does he suppose that a dishonored and mutilated throne in France can be a refuge for his son-in-law and grand-son? Ah! Metternich, how much has England given you to make war upon me!"

This violent tirade was delivered while Napoleon strode up and down the apartment; and at the last insulting question, which nothing in the character or conduct of the Austrian diplomatist could for an instant jus tify, the Emperor let his hat, that he had hitherto carried in his hand, fall to the floor. Metternich turned pale, but made no movement to raise it, as his politeness at any other time would have dictated; and Napoleon, after passing and repassing it several times, at length kicked it aside.

After a pause of a few minutes, during which not a word passed on either side, Napoleon became more tractable, and, reverting to fair words, contended for a congress, to continue its sittings even during hostilities, in case they should recommence. A convention, in consequence, was made, stipulating that the congress should meet at Prague on the 5th of July, at latest, and Austria agreed to procure the prolongation of the armistice to the 10th of August. The convention was based on the mediation of the Emperor of Austria, and accepted by Napoleon "for a general or continental peace." By this means, Metternich gained a great

advantage over the French Emperor; inasmuch as he drove that monarch from his favorite project of treating for peace with the several powers separately, and caused him to accede to the mediation of Austriain itself, under the circumstances, a great diplomatic victory.

As yet, however, nothing definitive was declared as to the purposes of Austria; and outwardly, it was still a matter of doubt to which side she would incline; but at this crisis, big with the fate of Europe and of the world, the star of England prevailed: intelligence was received of the battle of Vittoria in Spain; and the victory there achieved by Wellington, which will be detailed in a subsequent chapter, explained Napoleon's final submission to Austria as a mediator, and caused that power to decide in favor of the Grand Alliance.

From this moment, all prospect of peace was abandoned: the views of both parties were mainly directed to war; and the negotiations at Prague were used but as a cover to gain time on either side. Napoleon improved to the uttermost the interval thus gained, to strengthen his position and reënforce his army by hastening forward the conscripts from France; and, resolving to make Dresden the centre and pivot of his operations, he proceeded to cover that town and its vicinity with fortifications on a gigantic scale, which might be capable, both by their strength and extent, of protecting his entire military establishment, in case of serious and unexpected disaster. The numbers of the French Emperor's troops were in proportion to the magnitude of his undertaking, and the emergency in which he was placed. His reënforcements had been hastened forward from France with all possible expedition, and these, in conjunction with his allies and his own previous musters, presented the following formidable array and disposition: Twenty-five thousand Bavarians, stationed at Munich, watched the movements of the Austrians, who were assembling in the neighborhood of Lintz; Augereau, at Wurtzburg and Bamberg, held twenty thousand conscripts, as yet inexperienced in the field; Davoust occupied Hamburg, with twenty-five thousand French and fifteen thousand Danes; Oudinot, with eighty thousand, was posted in front of Torgau to observe Bernadotte, who covered Berlin; and two hundred and thirty-five thousand, under the immediate command of the Emperor, were cantoned from Dresden to Liegnitz: in all, four hundred thousand men. In addition to these, one hundred and fifteen thousand men were in garrison at Dantzic and in the fortresses on the Elbe and the Oder.

The forces of the allies were but little inferior in point of numbers to the immense army of Napoleon. Two hundred and twenty thousand combatants were assembled in Bohemia, and, from that salient bastion, threatened the rear and communications of the French Emperor on the Elbe; eighty thousand menaced him from Silesia, and ninety thousand were pressing forward from the north toward a common centre: making a total of three hundred and ninety thousand men; of whom one hundred and twenty thousand were Austrian troops in the finest state of discipline and equipment.

While these immense hosts were taking the field and preparing to assume hostilities, the congress at Prague still maintained the form of ne gotiation, and its members, though well aware that war was inevitable, continued to discuss technical points and recommend measures of a peaceful tendency. On the 7th of August, Metternich transmitted to Napoleon the ultimatum of the Austrian cabinet, which stipulated for the

dissolution of the Grand-duchy of Warsaw, and the division of its terri. tories between Austria, Russia and Prussia, reserving Dantzic for the latter power: the reëstablishment of Hamburg and the Hanse Towns in their independence; the reconstruction of Prussia within its ancient dominions, having a frontier on the Elbe; the cession to Austria of the Illyrian provinces, including Trieste; and the independence of Holland, Spain and the Pontifical States. Napoleon spent the 9th in deliberation; and, on the 10th, he returned an answer acceding to many of the conditions, but insisting that Dantzic should be a free city, and that its fortifications should be demolished; he refused the cession of Trieste to Austria; and claimed that the Confederation of the Rhine should be extended to the Oder and the integrity of the Danish dominions guarantied. These terms, however, were inadmissible; and, besides, they did not reach Prague until the 11th, when the armistice had terminated and the congress was dissolved. On the 12th, Austria formally declared war

against France.

General Moreau, since his trial and condemnation by the First Consul in 1804, had lived in retirement in the United States of America, behold. ing the contest that still raged in Europe, as the shipwrecked mariner regards the waves of the ocean from which he has just escaped. But the Emperor of Russia, who entertained a high opinion of the Republican general, and deemed it not unlikely that he might be induced to contribute the aid of his great military talents in support of the cause of European freedom, had some time previously opened a correspondence with him at the city of New-York, the result of which was, that Moreau consented to cooperate with the allies on condition that France should be maintained in the limits she had acquired under the Republic; that she should be allowed to choose her own government by the intervention of the Senate and political bodies; and that, as soon as the Imperial tyranny was overthrown, the interests of the country should become paramount to those of the Imperial family. As soon as these preliminaries were agreed on, Moreau embarked at New-York on board the American ship Hannibal, and after a voyage of thirty days arrived at Gottenburg, on the 27th of July, whence he immediately departed for Straslund to hold an interview with Bernadotte. His subsequent journey from Straslund to Prague was almost a triumphal procession. The innkeepers entertained him gratuitously; the postmasters supplied him with their best horses, and sent couriers to announce his approach; and his route was thronged with crowds who were anxious to catch a glance of so renowned a warrior. He reached the allied head-quarters late at night on the 16th of August; and the next morning, the Emperor Alexander visited him, lavished on him every possible attention, and at once admitted him to the confidence of the allied sovereigns. Moreau immediately began to study the maps of the country, and drew up the plan of a campaign, which, in its leading features, was adopted by the allies.

One difficulty remained to be adjusted at the allied head-quarters; the appointment, namely, of a commander-in-chief over the armies: and the nature of this difficulty will be apparent, when it is considered that the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, Moreau, Bernadotte, Schwartzenburg, Blucher and others, were all eligible to the high office and anxious to obtain it. It was at length, however, conferred on Schwartzenburg, to whose orders the other chieftains cordially agreed to submit.

CHAPTER XLII.

DELIVERANCE OF GERMANY.

THE first movement in the memorable campaign now about to com mence, was made by the allies; Blucher having, on the 15th of August, advanced in great force upon the territories of Silesia, driven back the French videttes, and compelled the troops in that quarter to retire behind the river Bober. He was supported by a corps of Russians under Langeron, and another of Austrians under Sacken, and the vigor of their joint movement was such that the French rapidly lost ground in every direction. This result was of sinister augury, for the forces under the command, respectively, of Ney, Lauriston, Marmont and Macdonald, were estimated by Napoleon at no less than a hundred thousand men; and these were all retiring without striking a blow to arrest the progress of their antagonists. The arrival of Napoleon, however, at the head of his main body of troops, soon changed the state of affairs; and the allies, now wholly overmatched, began in turn to retreat, yet in perfect order, and without loss other than that incident to the fatigues of the march. Indeed, Blucher's advance and subsequent retreat were parts of the preconcerted plan of the allies; who, while Napoleon was thus drawn into Silesia, prepared to descend from Bohemia upon Dresden, and strike at once at the line of his communications and the centre of his power. In conformity to this purpose, they pressed forward to the Saxon capital, and began to arrive in its neighborhood on the 23rd of August. They came in such numbers, that on the morning of the 25th, a hundred and twenty thousand men with five hundred pieces of cannon, were assembled around the walls of Dresden. Moreau counselled an immediate attack before Napoleon could return to relieve the town, and Alexander warmly supported his views; but Schwartzenberg and the Austrians, insensible of the value of time in a contest with Napoleon, resolved to await the arrival of Klenau's corps, which was hourly expected.

In the meantime, Napoleon received intelligence of the advance upon Dresden, and hastened to repair the error of his march against Blucher by a speedy return, leaving Macdonald in command of a force sufficient to check the Prussian general. He urged forward the movement of his troops with the greatest energy; and, although the men were exhausted by the heat of the weather and the excessive toil of the march, they succeeded in reaching Dresden on the 26th of August.

At four o'clock in the afternoon of that day, Schwartzenberg, after vainly waiting for Klenau until he had lost a far greater advantage than any assistance that officer's corps could render, gave the signal for a general attack. Immediately the batteries on all the heights around Dresden were brought forward, and more than a hundred guns in the front line opened a terrible fire on the town. Bombs and cannon balls ranged over its whole extent; many houses were set on fire; the inhabitants took refuge in their cellars to avoid the bombardment; and the frequent bursting of shells in the streets, the thunder of artillery from the ramparts, the heavy rolling of guns and ammunition-wagons along the pavement, to

gether with the tumult produced by the soldiery as they forced their way through the crowded avenues, combined to create a scene of indescribable terror. Every street and square in Dresden was soon thronged with French troops, more than sixty thousand having defiled over the bridges since the morning, and the iron storm of the allied artillery fell with destructive effect among their dense masses.

The confusion and slaughter greatly increased when the allies advanced in deep columns to the assault. They carried the redoubts of the city at several points, and, unaware that Napoleon had returned to Dresden with a great part of his troops, they were already confident of an easy victory, when the Emperor ordered a sally to be made by the Young Guard, in two several directions. This unexpected movement, and the great force with which it was sustained, decided the day, and the allies rapidly fell back to their fortified position on the heights.

The weather, which for nearly a week had been sultry and oppressive, changed during the night to a cold and violent storm of rain: yet both parties exerted themselves to prepare for a pitched battle on the following morning. By daylight on the 27th, Napoleon drew out his troops to the number of a hundred and thirty thousand men. His right wing, consisting of the corps of Victor and the cavalry of Latour Maubourg, took post in front of the gate of Wildsrack, and in the fields and low grounds extending toward Priesnitz: the centre, under his personal command, comprising the corps of Marmont and St. Cyr, and having in reserve the infantry and cavalry of the Old Guard, rested on three great redoubts in advance of the town; and the left, under Ney, with four divisions of the Young Guard and the cavalry of Kellermann, was spread along to the Elbe, beyond the suburb of Pirna. On the other hand, Wittgenstein, with his Russians, held the extreme right of the allies toward Pirna; Kleist, with the Prussians, lay between Streisec and Strehlen; Schwartzenberg, with the corps of Colloredo and Chastellar, and Bianchi's grenadiers in reserve, occupied the semicircle of heights in the centre, extending from Strehlen by Raecknitz to Plauen; and beyond Plauen, on the left, were posted the corps of Giulay and one division of Klenau's troops, which had at length come up. But from the extreme left of the allies to Priesnitz, there was a vacant space destined for the remainder of Klenau's corps, wholly unoccupied when the battle began, and which of itself was sufficient to insure the defeat of the allies, by leaving one wing unsupported, and inviting, as it were, a charge of the French cavalry, which must necessarily be successful, on its flank and the flank of the centre: a more vicious and fatal disposition, on the part of a commander choosing his own ground of defence, can scarcely be imagined.

Napoleon was not long in turning to the best account this defect in the allied line, and the thick mist of the morning favored his manœuvre so greatly, that his cuirassiers gained a position within a few yards of the allies before they were aware that any danger threatened them. At the same moment, Victor approached the allied left in front, and these two attacks occurring simultaneously, the whole wing was in a few minutes broken and destroyed; more than three-fourths of the whole having been killed or made prisoners. Notwithstanding this disaster, the allied right still stood firm against Ney, while the combat in the centre was confined to a distant cannonade: after a time, however, the first line of the right, under General de Roth, began to give ground; when a catastrophe took