affiduously to secure himself from the expected attack of the French at that poft. General Buonaparte, marching along the southern bank of that river, reached Placentia early on the 7th of May, and effected his paffage at that place in the course of the fame day. Apprized of the approach of the Austrians, who moved along the northern bank of the Po, general Buonaparte encountered the vanguard of their army at Fombio, which was compelled to retreat with lofs.. Another body, coming up to the affiftance of the first, was intercepted and repulfed by general La Harpe; but this advantage was feverely purchased by the death of this accomplished officer, who had in 1791, being then an inhabitant of the Pays-de-Vaud, been condemned to death by a judicial commission appointed by the magiftracy of Berne, merely for the confpicuous part be had taken as a friend and advocate of the French revolution. General Berthier arrived in the interval, and pursued the enemy to Cafal, of which he took poffeffion. The dukes of Parma and Modena, on whose territory the French had entered, were now compelled to fue for peace, which was granted on the condition of paying ten millions of livres, and yielding up a certain number of paintings to adorn the national museum, now forming at Paris. The Auftrians defeated at Fombio had made good their retreat to Lodi, on the river Adda, where general Beaulieu had concentrated his forces. On the approach of the French they abandoned the town with so much haste that they had not time to deftroy the bridge, which was however defended by a moft formidable artillery; and the imperial troops were drawn up (May 10), in line of battle to oppose the paffage. The major part of the French generals gave it as their opinion that an attempt to force the paffage would be too hazardous; but general Buonaparte, apprehending that pernicious confequences might arise from a retreat, gave instant and peremptory orders for the affault. Before day-break a column of carabincers, followed by ano ther ther of grenadiers, paffed the bridge half way, when a general discharge of the Austrian artillery took place, and deftroyed about 700 men. The column feemed to be ftruck with terror-when general Buonaparte in perfon appeared at their head, and, infpiring fresh courage by the enthusiasm of his example, they rushed forward with refiftless impetuofity, amid the cries of « Vive la République !" breaking the Austrian line, seizing the batteries, and in a moment diffipating the Imperial troops, who were petrified with aftonishment at the fuccefsful madness of the enterprise and Buonaparte himself acknowledged, in his dispatches to the Directory, that of all the actions in which he had been engaged, none equalled the terrible paffage of the Bridge of Lodi. While one part of the French army pursued Beaulieu towards Mantua, of which they formed the blockade, the reft entered Milan, the capital of Austrian Lombardy, on the 18th of May, the citadel nevertheless holding out for fome weeks. The difperfion of the Auftrian army gave the French general leifure to carry on his various enterprises against the respective states of Italy. A detachment of troops took poffeffion of Leghorn on the 28th of June, though belonging to a neutral power, on pretext of diflodging the English, whofe property was confifcated to the republic, while the main army entered the territory of the ecclefiaftical ftate, and without resistance took poffeffion of the cities of Bologna, Urbino, and Ferrara. Both the pope and the king of Naples now fued for an armistice, which was granted to his Sicilian majefty, with whom the French had no wish to be at variance, on the eafy condition of withdrawing all affiftance from the allied army. But the pope was obliged not merely to cede the towns in poffeffion of the French, but the city and fortrefs of Ancona on the Adriatic; alfo to pay the fum of 21 millions of francs; and to deliver one hundred pictures, bufts, ftatues, or vafes, at the option of the commiflioners who fhould be fent to Rome for that purpose, purpose, to be deposited as trophies of war, and ornaments of peace, in the national museum of France. The court of Vienna, confounded and alarmed at the progrefs of the French in Italy, now conferred the chief command of all their force in that country upon that brave and experienced officer marshal Wurmfer, who, affembling the shattered remains of Beaulieu's army, and strengthening them with great reinforcements, croffed the Adige towards the end of July, and attacked the posts of Sala and Corona, which covered the city of Mantua, the blockade of which was immediately raised by the French, and not without confiderable lofs. The Auftrians, emboldened by this fuccefs, made themselves masters of the immense magazines formed by the French near Brefcia, and, by the fkilful exertions of the new general, in a great measure cut off the communication of the French army with the Milanese. The reigning pope, Pius VI. a man of warm paffions, and totally devoid of political difcernment or discretion, no fooner received the intelligence of these fucceffes, than he fent his vice-legate to take poffeffion of Ferrara, now evacuated by the French, notwithstanding the fage and friendly remonftrances of the chevalier Azzara, the Spanish ambaffador, a man of an highly-enlightened mind and excellent talents, who justly represented this step as a direct violation of the armistice between his holiness and the republic. The Ferrarese seemed by no means delighted in thus reverting to the papal dominion, and it was not without difficulty that they would permit the arms of the Roman government to be restored. General Buonaparte, feeing himself in danger of being surrounded, fuddenly withdrew his troops from Verona and the banks of the Adige, and by a forced march regained poffeffion of Brefcia. He then collected his forces near the village of Caftiglione, between the Lake of Garda and the city of Mantua, marshal Wurmfer having likewise taken a position in the fame vicinity. The two armies joined battle on the 5th of Auguft with the most ob ftinate ftinate refolution. The conflict was renewed on the next and several following days; but it terminated at length in the total defeat of the Auftrians, who were obliged to repass the Adige with very great loss, leaving the country around Mantua in poffeffion of the French, who again formed the blockade of that important place. One great cause of the lofs of this battle was the defection of feveral brigades of Polish troops who ferved in the Imperial army, but who were afterwards formed into a legion, and entered into the service of the French republic. Upon this misfortune general Wurmfer retreated to the paffes of the Tyrol, whither he was followed by general Brune. And on the 4th of September the Austrians were again attacked in their entrenched camp of Mori, which they were compelled to abandon, with the city of Roveredo, where they had established their magazines, and take refuge in the ftrong poft of Calliano, not far diftant from the city of Trent. But in this almoft-impregnable pofition they were once more affailed by general Maffena, who, after a long and obftinate conflict, defeated the Auftrians, reducing them to the neceflity of retiring, with the lofs of 6,000 men and 20 pieces of cannon, to the valley of the Brenta. General Buonaparte, instead of attempting the impracticable paffes of the Tyrol, closely purfued the Auftrians to the banks of the Brenta; and at Baffano, on that river, the Imperialists again suffered a total discomfiture; but by rapid and inceffant marches general Wurmfer, fighting his way through the enemy, fucceeded in gaining the city of Mantua, into which he threw himself and the remnant of his wearied and fhattered army. Genoa, after repeated efforts to maintain her neutrality, was compelled to yield to the menaces of the French; and, by a convention figned October 9, agreed to fhut up her ports against the English. Treaties of peace were formally ratified with Naples and Parma; but it was found difficult to conclude a final fettlement with the pope, of whom very hard hard conditions were exacted. He was required to fet at liberty all perfons, whether French or natives, who were held in confinement on account of political opinions; to defift from all perfecution on account of religious opinions; to abolish the tribunal of the Inquifition; to renounce all title to Avignon and the Vanaissin; to pay 300,000 livres per month during the war; to leave Ferrara and Bologna, with their legations, to the disposal of the French; to concede various specified commercial advantages; and to give to all these conditions a prompt and unreferved affent. The pope held a congregation of cardinals to deliberate on the terms thus offered, who unanimously agreed that they were subversive both of the rights of religion and fovereignty; and a rejection immediately followed. At this period all Italy feemed to be heaving from its political bafis. The government of Naples, to which fuch favorable conditions of peace had been recently granted, because it did not fuit the views or interefts of the French to carry their arms into that diftant quarter, was known to be funk to the lowest pitch of imbecility and depravity. The tyranny of papal Rome, confolidated by the ignorance and folly of fucceffive ages, now manifeftly tottered to its fall; and Lombardy, divided amidst a number of petty defpots, catching the strong contagion of the revolutionary fpirit, afpired to the rank and dignity of a free and independent nation. The whole country fouth of the Po, Genoa excepted, now in poffeffion of the French, appointed delegates, to the number of one hundred, to meet in convention at the city of Modena; the ducal government being previously dissolved, and the duke of Modena himself, notwithstanding his armiftice with France, having abandoned his territory, and virtually abdicated his fovereignty. The Convention met on the 16th of October, 1796, and immediately decreed that there fhould be a fincere and indiffoluble union between the four states of Bologna, Reggio, Modena, and Ferrarathe new federation taking, from its geographical fituation, the |