to his majesty his intention of retiring from public life, that he might not be considered as an impediment to the projected change. It was imagined by many, that, at this crifis, the minifters themselves wavered in their refolution, and would have acceded, with no violent oppofition on their part, to the new system. But as, on the one hand, the king shewed a most inflexible determination to support the present men and the prefent measures,-fo, on the other, the parliamentary adherents of Mr. Fox, men confpicuous for talents and reputation, and without whose concurrence the new administration could not be formed, refolved unanimously to take no active part in any arrangement of which Mr. Fox was not the political head; so that this well-intentioned effort proved altogether unavailing.* The military transactions of this year were peculiarly interefting. The unfortunate refult of the invafion of Germany by the generals Jourdain and Moreau during the former campaign, and the extraordinary fuccefs which had attended the exertions of general Buonaparte in Italy, led the French government to bend almoft their whole attention to this quarter, and the war upon the Rhine appeared to be in a manner fufpended.---Although nothing but a feries of misfortunes had been experienced by the Imperial generals in their repeated attempts to defend the Italian poffeffions From this period the duke of Grafton returned to the enjoyment of that retired and rural life in which he had found fo much more fatisfaction than in the highest attainments of ambition. Nothing lefs indeed than the urgent call of public duty, as was perfectly well known to his friends, could have induced this highly-refpe&able nobleman to have quitted those peaceful and happy fhades, "Where fmiling Eufton boafts her good Fitzroy ; The farmer's patron, and the poor man's friend" Vide the fingularly beautiful and extraordinary production of natural taste and genius recently published under the appropriate title of The FARMER'S Bor. feffions of the emperor their fovereign, the power of the houfe of Auftria difplayed itself very confpicuously in the speedy reparation of their loffes; and the armies exterminated, seemed, like the heads of the Hydra, to be instantly fupplied by others. After the battle of Arcole, new levies were made throughout the hereditary states, and vaft reinforcements fent with fuch expedition to general Alvinzi, that he was able to take the field once more in great force early in the month of January (1797). Paffing the Brenta, he advanced to the Adige; and, carrying by affault the important poft of Corona, compelled the French to fall back to Rivoli. General Buonaparte, who had been for fome time past at Bologna, was no fooner apprized of this new and unexpected irruption, than he resumed in perfon the command of his army, now ftrengthened by reinforcements, and immediately changed general Joubert's plan of defence into an attack. On the fucceeding day (January 14), a general engagement took place, in which prodigious displays of skill and valor were exhibited by the combatants on each fide. Towards the close of the day, the Auftrians, who were much fuperior in number, appeared to have decidedly the advantage,--the main body of the French being driven into their entrenchments, and the two wings completely difordered. General Buonaparte, perceiving the perilous nature of his fituation, determined upon one final effort, and ordered a numerous column from the right wing of the Auftrians, which had taken a commanding pofition upon the heights behind Rivoli, in the rear of the French, from the Adige to the Lake of Guarda, to be attacked by a body of chosen troops with fixed bayonets. This fervice was most effectually performed: the Auftrians, who had supposed the battle gained, fled panic-ftruck towards the lake, and great part of the column furrendered almoft without refiftance. This, however, was, on the part of the French, rather an escape than a victory. Two hours before day-break, on the the 15th of January, the battle was renewed with redoubled fury. After a gallant refiftance, the main body of the Auftrian army was diflodged from their pofition: and the left wing, posted on the Heights of St. Marco, being furrounded, were either killed or taken prifoners.---This was not the only disaster sustained by the Auftrians. General Provera, at the head of a column of ten thousand men, compofed chiefly of volunteers, many of them of the best families of Vienna, who had received from the empress a fort of confecrated ftandard, worked with her own hands, marched, with all the chivalrous feelings of the antient crufades, to the relief of Mantua, expecting a powerful co-operation from general Wurmfer, who had previous notice of their intention. An attack was accordingly made by that brave veteran, with the whole force of his garrison, on the post of La Favorita, while Provera attempted that of St. George; but in both instances without fuccess: and after the defeat of Alvinzi at Rivoli, general Buonaparte was enabled to detach large bodies of troops, which, furrounding Provera, and fecuring the paffes on all fides, at length, after a brave refiftance, compelled the Austrian general to surrender, with his remaining forces, at difcretion: So that, fince the commencement of the new year, the French boafted to have taken no lefs than 25,000 prifoners and 60 pieces of cannon; and the fourth Auftrian army fent to Italy, in the fpace of a few months, was entirely broken.---The garrison of Mantua having now loft every hope of fuccour, and reduced to extremity by disease and famine, at length capitulated on honorable terms; and that almoft impregnable fortrefs, upon which little impreffion had been made by the arms of the befiegers, fubmitted to the republican, though fhe had for centuries refifted the monarchical, power of France. Subfequent to the fatal battle of Rivoli, the fhattered remains of the Auftrians had repaffed, with precipitation, the rivers Adige and Brenta; and part of the left divifion retreated through Roveredo Roveredo to Trent, of which the French, under general Joubert, took peaceable poffeffion. The late measures of the court of Rome feemed to indicate that the aged pontiff was bent upon his own deftruction. Instead of obferving an exact neutrality between the belligerent powers, or offering, in the fpirit of Chriftian catholicifm, to interpose his paternal and healing mediation, he feemed actuated by a fettled rage against the French republic, equally furious and impotent. Count Manfredini, first minister of the grand-duke of Tufcany, had apprized cardinal Busca, secretary to his holiness, that general Buonaparte was far from withing to co-operate in the deftruction of the papal fee; that he acknowledged fome of the articles of the armiftice to be fuch as his holiness might juftly regard as inadmiffible; and that he was difposed to render them more favorable: but the pope, most abfurdly confident in his own resources, and proud of the Imperial alliance, treated these indirect overtures with neglect or contempt, and made great warlike preparations throughout his dominions, to fecond the efforts of general Alvinzi previous to the battle of Arcole-the event of which, with the fucceeding defeat at Rivoli, left the Roman pontiff at the mercy of his enemies. On the 1st of February, 1797, general Buonaparte published a manifefto, declaring the violation of the armistice by the pope, charging his holiness with refufing to listen to the pacific overtures of the republic; with having entered into hostile negotiations with the court of Vienna; with having put his troops in motion, and entrusting the command of them to Auftrian officers ;-and, depending probably upon the known pufillanimity of the inhabitants of the ecclefiaftical states, the manifefto concluded with dreadful denunciations of vengeance against those who offered any refistance to the march of the republicans. The papal army lay ftrongly entrenched on the banks of the Senio, where they were attacked by the divifion of ge neral neral Victor on the fecond of the fame month. The encounter, though fhort, was sharp. During the engagement feveral priests, with crucifixes in their hands, animated, by their exhortations, the Roman troops: but they were unable to stand the shock of the bayonet, and were driven from their entrenchments with the lofs of fifteen hundred men and fourteen pieces of cannon-that of the French amounting to no more than forty killed and wounded. General Buonaparte, now taking the command in person, advanced to Faenza, the gates of which were shut against him. The place was immediately carried by affault; but no pillage or plunder was allowed. This had an happy effect. In a few days the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, and the whole marche of Ancona, fubmitted to the French. In the town of Ancona was found a large magazine of arms and ammunition, including a fine train of artillery, which had just been fent to the pope from the emperor. A divifion of the republican army also proceeded to Loretto, whence the greater part of the treasure had been previously removed. The remains of that costly but abfurd and useless collection of wealth, the contributions of superstition and folly, were however, without any remorfe of conscience, fecured; the mysteries of the facred chapel, and the miraculous house, or fancta cafa, with all the religious trumpery which they contained, were exposed to vulgar gaze; and the celebrated Madona, or image of the Virgin, fo long the object of awe and adoration, was packed up in a cafe, with the relics of her wardrobe and furniture, confifting of rags of coarse woollen cloth, earthen spoons, &c. and fent as trophies to the Directory. General Colli, who, with the papal army, had been posted near Ancona, retreated with precipitation at the approach of the French; and, no-where attempting to make a ftand, the republicans proceeded, without any obstacle, through Macera to Tolentino, within a few days' march of Rome; |