made by the troops in the city, where the Archduke Maximilian had the chief command; but the city, at length, surrendered.

Having now obtained possession of the Austrian capital, Bonaparte issued a proclamation, addressed to the Hungarian nation. The Archduke Charles was on the other side of the Danube, and Napoleon crossed that river, with the determination of bringing him to action. No opposition was made to the French in effecting their passage across, and Bonaparte advanced with the right wing of his army to Esling, while his left was posted on the village of Aspern. The Archduke having summoned a council of war, resolved to begin an attack with five columns: the first and second columns were ordered to endeavour to recapture the village of Aspern; a dreadful scene was now exhibited of carnage and slaughter, and after a desperate conflict, the Austrians succeeded in getting possession of the village. The left wing of the French now advanced upon the main body of the Austrians, who acted with great judgment in receiving their fire, till that of the French had been nearly exhausted, when they succeeded in routing that part of the army of the enemy. The approach of night terminated this tremendous conflict for a time. The Archduke during the night made due arrangements for the renewal of the battle on the next day. The operations of the day commenced with a severe struggle for the possession of the village of Aspern; this place, which seemed destined to concentrate within itself all the horrors, rage, and fury of the battle, once more fell into the hands of the French; and again, by the persevering valor of the Austrians, it became their unmolested possession. The village of Esling was the only post now held by the enemy, and the Prince of Rounberg made many a gallant attempt to take it, but in vain. The French retreated in the night to the isle of Lobau. In this grand battle, in which the Austrians displayed a considerable degree of heroism, and the evolutions of which reflected great honor on the military science of the Archduke Charles, the French sustained immense loss in killed and wounded: five of theirGenerals were slain, eight were wounded, one mortlly, the Duke of Montebello; two were taken, in addi

tion to eight thousand men, prisoners. The loss of the Austrians was great, but comparatively trifling when compared with that of the French.

The Archduke Ferdinand had the command of the Austrian troops in Poland; and in the middle of April he crossed the river Perica, and entered the Duchy of Warsaw. The base conduct of the new made King of Saxony, drew down upon him the just vengeance of the armed force of his late master; he was dispossessed of Dresden, and Leipsic; and a powerful diversion was made in favor of Austria, by the celebrated Schill, a commander of singular enterprise, who made himself master of Mecklenburgh; his good fortune, however, forsook him, and he was compelled to take refuge in Stralsund, where he was besieged, when the town was taken, and the brave Schill was numbered among the dead.

In contemplating the campaign in Italy, we find the Imperialists eminently successful: they gained possession of Padua and Vicenza; crossed the river Adige, and menaced Venice. The Archduke John was the successful Generalissimo of the forces in Italy. Eugene Beauharnois having received considerable succours, recaptured the places above-mentioned, and crossed the Brenta. The Austrians being encamped beyond the river Piave, the French army crossed it, commenced an immediate attack, and made four thousand prisoners; they also took sixteen pieces of cannon. The Austrians crossed the river Taghamento, and were pursued by the French, who overtook them at Tarvis. The Imperialists had formed a double line of redoubts, raised in a deep valley, intersected by a small river; the French made an attack upon this position, and carried it solely by effect of the bayonet. The Archduke John viewed it requisite now to retreat into Hungary, as the French army of Italy had formed a junction with the main army under Bonaparte. Beauharnois followed the Archduke, and another engagement took place at Raab, when there were three thousand Austrians taken prisoners; four

+ Stralsund is a seaport town of Upper Saxony, and the capital of Swedish Pomerania, it is accessible only by means of bridges. It is 40 miles N. E. of Gustrow.

standards, and six pieces of cannon were also taken. Raab was then invested, and after standing out eight days, surrendered. The Archduke John now pursued his road to Hungary, with the design of effecting a junction with his brother Charles.

The Archduke Charles had greatly reinforced his army by drafts of troops from Germany, Hungary, and Poland.

Bonaparte was employed in constructing bridges for crossing the Danube, and on July 5, the whole French army crossed that river. Bonaparte now attempted to gain possession of the village of Wagram; and circumstances presaged a great battle. On the 6th of July, at dawn of day, the battle commenced. The Archduke Charles had weakened the centre of his army, on which Napoleon made a most formidable attack; the Austrians were unable to sustain the shock, and precipitately gave way, consequently Wagram fell into the hands of the French; and the Imperialists fled towards Moravia. In the battle of Wagram twenty thousand Austrians were taken prisoners: and the French had a great number, upwards of fifteen hundred, killed; and four hundred wounded.

The fugitive Austrians were again attacked at Znaim; but soon after the commencement of the engagement, proposals arrived for an armistice, from the Emperor Francis; and on July 12, it was signed: this was followed by a definitive treaty, which took place in October, 1809; and the principal articles of which were as follow:

Austria ceded Saltzburg, and a portion of territory extending along the banks of the Danube, from Passage to the vicinity of Litz, to the King of Bavaria. To France, Fiume and Trieste, and the whole of the country to the south of the river Save, until that river enters Bosnia, was also yielded. The King of Saxony, as a reward for his treachery, received some villages in Bohemia; and the whole of Western Gallicia, in Poland, from the frontiers of Silesia, to the river Bog; together with the city of Cracow, and the district surrounding it, in Eastern Gallicia. And Russia obtained a portion of this latter territory. The Emperor Francis also agreed to recognize Joseph Bona

parte, as King of Spain. And the whole population of the Tyrol was consigned over to Napoleon, upon condition of his granting the inhabitants a free and unconditional pardon.

CHAP. XIV.

Divorce of Bonaparte from the Empress Josephine. Marriage of Napoleon to the Arch-Duchess of Austria. Campaign in the Peninsula,

THE Emperor Francis II. had been reduced 1809, to the vilest degree of abasement. He had 1810. licked the dust of the French usurper's shoes; he had submitted to the most infamous degradation; but he had yet greater to undergo. Bonaparte had long conceived an idea of exalting his rank among the sovereigns of Europe, by uniting himself to a princess of illustrious birth. Hence after the decisive battle of Wagram, and the treaty which followed it, he cast his eyes upon the lovely and interesting Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. One obstacle, and that no inconsiderable one, lay in the way of his ambition; the present Josephine. Napoleon was very adroit in removing persons secretly, who obstructed his views and designs. How to get rid of Josephine required not a little deliberation. She had been solemnly crowned Empress, and she was universally respected by the French nation, ever since she had been the wife of Bonaparte; her behaviour was truly exemplary. Napoleon had held out to the French people the prospect of a dynasty beng established not by a collateral branch of his family, but by a son- and heir to his crown; but all his hopes and expectations proved abortive, for Josephine had no child: this dexterously served as a pretext for Bonaparte's procuring a divorce. Henry VIII. of England, wished to be divorced for love; Napoleon Bonaparte for glory.

On December 16, the project of a decree on the subject of the proposed dissolution of his marriage was

formally announced to the senate; and a decree was also submitted to that body for their approbation: and the law authorizing the decree was passed.

The Emperor assembled around his person the different branches of his family, to whom he made a florid address, explanatory of the motives he had in view in this separation; namely, his anxiety to promote the interests of France; which, in his opinion, would be best promoted by giving stability to the throne, by leaving children who should inherit it; and who, brought up according to the vast plans he had projected for the prosperity of the French nation, and inheriting from him an ardent love for the French people, would be best calculated to promote the glory and happiness of the country. To accomplish so desirable an end, he was obliged, most reluctantly, to separate himself from the Empress Josephine, by whom he had no hopes of issue; and unite himself with one from whom he might rationally entertain hopes of a family. He finished this artful harangue by complimenting the Empress for her virtues; and expressing his determination, that when divorced, she should still retain that title. The Empress now stepped forward, and declared her full satifaction in consenting to the measure proposed. A proces verbal was now drawn up, declaratory of the divorce; and which being signed by all present, and the parties more immediately concerned, terminated this singular business.

Early in 1810, the Prince Archchancellor of the empire transmitted a message to the senate, relative to his projected union with the Archduchess of Austria; couched in the following terms:

"Senators, We have dispatched to Vienna, as our Ambassador Extraordinary, our cousin the Prince of Neufchatel, to solicit the hand of the Archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. We have given orders to our minister of foreign relations to lay before you the articles of the treaty of marriage between us and the Archduchess Maria Louisa, which has been concluded, signed, and ratified. We have been desirous of eminently contributing to the happiness of the present generation. The enemies of the continent have founded their prosperity upon its dissensions and divisions. They can no longer nourish war, by imputing to us projects