followed by a judical report of considerable length, stating that the corpse was the body of the ex-general Pichegru, and that he was guilty of suicide."

Those depredators, who live by what is justly called violence, are not insensible to humanity; their depreda tions are not often marked with cruelty, or stained with blood. We here advert to those bands of robbers in foreign countries, called Banditti; or to Highwaymen in England, of whom many generous actions are recorded. Prone as we are to dispute the accuracy of those exaggerated statements which appeared relative to the acts of cruelty committed by Bonaparte in Egypt to the full extent therein represented, yet the atrocious murder of Pichegru strengthens the opinion, that Bonaparte was inured to acts of cruelty, in all cases where his insatiable ambition was concerned. Who can doubt of the pretended suicide of Pichegru being a foul assassination? It was a deed, exclusively considered, which leaves a foul stain upon the character of the first consul, and afterward Emperor of France.

CHAP. VIII.

Execution of the Duke D'Enghein. Bonaparte's Tour to Calais. Naval Transactions.

WE have had occasion to notice one atrocious act of Bonaparte, which closes our last chapter, happy should we be to throw a veil over another; but the fidelity of an historian requires the developement of truth, and nothing but the truth; no coloring of party prejudice; no misrepresentations of facts. There was a branch of the house of Bourbon, an immediate descendant of the great Condé, who inherited all the virtues, and the talents, of his illustrious progenitors; this was the young Duke D'Enghein, as gallant a hero as France had ever beheld; he had signalised himself in feats of arms, and though the regiment to which he belonged had been disbanded, yet, feeling the blood of the Bourbons thrilling through.

his veins, he never could, or would, submit to pay homage to the consular government of France. He had retired into the Electorate of Baden; and in the asylum which he found, devoted himself to scientific pursuits; while his hours of recreation were employed in the manly sports of the field. One day, while engaged in the chase, he was suddenly attacked by a body of French cavalry, commanded by Caulincourt, aid-ducamp to the French consul, and was instantaneously marched away, first to the citadel of Strasburg, and afterwards he was conveyed to Paris, when he was committed to the Temple, and afterwards shut up in the castle of Vincennes. It is fully evident, that a plan had been laid for entrapping this young prince, for the purpose of taking away his life. No time was lost in effecting this nefarious and sanguinary design; five days only elapsed between his seizure and his death. He was taken while hunting on March 15, 1803; and he was put to death by torch light, on the night of the 29th.

The following account of the process against the Duke D'Enghein, and the heroism he displayed at the termination of his existence, was given in the French journals:

"The Duc d'Enghein was accused, 1st, Of having borne arms against the French republic. 2dly, Of having offered his services to the English government, the enemy of the French people. 3dly, Of having received and accredited agents of the said government; of having procured for them the means of maintaining an understanding in France; and having conspired, with them, against the internal and external safety of the state. Athly, Of having placed himself at the head of an assemblage of French emigrants, and others in the pay of England, formed in the countries of Fribourg and Baden. 5thly, of having maintained a correspondence in the town of Strasburgh, tending to stir up the neighbouring departments, for the purpose of effecting there a diversion in favor of England. 6thly, Of being one of the favorers and accomplices of the conspiracy planned by the English against the life of the first consul, and intending, in case of the success of this conspiracy, to enter France hostilely. Upon each of these charges the court found the prisoner guilty, and judgment was pronounced in the following words: The special military commission una

corres

nimously condemns to the pain of death Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon, duc d'Enghein, in atonement for the crimes of being a spy, of carrying on a pondence with the enemies of the republic, and of an attempt against the internal and external safety of the state.'

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During the whole of this distressing scene, the duc d'Enghein manifested the greatest calmness and fortitude. Four gens d'armes were posted in the dungeon where he was confined; and, it is said, that he was not permitted to speak with the clergyman who attended him on the occasion, otherwise than in a tone of voice loud enough to be overheard by his guards. In the course of the night, General Murat, brother-in-law to the first consul, arrived at Vincennes, under an escort of Mamelukes, accompanied by four aids-de-camp, together with Generals E. Mortier, Duroc, Hulin, and Louis Bonaparte. The castle was surrounded, and the avenues to that part of the wood of Vincennes appointed for the execution, guarded by Italian troops, while each Mameluke was provided with a torch for the occasion, The Duke, on being informed of his sentence, tranquilly replied, I am ready and resigned,' Upon hearing that the grenadiers commanded to shoot him were Italians, of Bonaparte's guard, he said, Thank God they are not Frenchmen! I am condemned by a foreigner, and God be praised that my executioners are also such. It will be a stain the less upon my countrymen;' and at the place of execution he lifted up his hands to heaven, exclaiming, May God preserve my King, and deliver my country from the yoke of a foreigner,' It was proposed to bind a handkerchief over his eyes, but he prevented it, saying, That a loyal soldier, who has often been exposed to fire and sword, can face death with open eyes, and without fear.' He then looked at the soldiers who had levelled their pieces, saying, Grenadiers, lower your arms, otherwise you will miss, or only wound me.' Of the nine who fired, seven hit him: two bullets pierced his head, and five his body. A coffin, partly filled with lime, was ready to receive his corpse, and a grave had been dug in the garden of the castle, where he was interred,"

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Thus perished, in the flower of his age, a noble youth,