Charles more than answered his most sanguine expectations. The particulars of this short and brilliant campaign, though not distinguished by any thing very striking, are yet curious, from the singular vigour and rapidity with which Bonaparte pursued his enemies, and the consternation with which they fled before him. The French army, on the 12th of March at day-break, passed the river Pieva, and though it was very deep and rapid, they lost but a few of their men; and one was saved in a very singular manner; being nearly overpowered by the violence of the stream, a woman jumped in and saved him; Bonaparte immediately sent her a gold necklace as a reward for her intrepidity. The enemy retreated, and the next day the French came up with their rear guard, surrounded them, and took 700 prisoners. On the 16th the French army marched in different divisions, at three, four, and five in the morning, and arrived on the banks of the Tagliamento at eleven, after some slight skirmishes; the Austrians retreated during the rest of the day, and, in defiance of the darkness of the night, General Guieux attacked the village of Gradiska, from which Prince Charles escaped with difficulty. The French army still kept pursuing, and the Austrians evacuated the town of Palma Nuova, in which they left 30,000 rations of bread, and 1000 quintals of flour. At Gorice the French took possession of all the Austrian magazines, and found 1500 sick in the place. At Tarvis, General Massena was attacked by a division of the Austrians from Clagenfurt, which he defeated, after a severe engagement; it was fought in the midst of snow and clouds, on the summit of the Julian Alps, which separate the German from the Italian Tyrol, and though the Archduke Charles arrived in the midst of the battle, he was unable, by his utmost exertions, to prevent his army from giving way to the force of the enemy: the French cavalry charged upon the ice, and after both parties suffering severely, from the climate, and from each other, the Austrians were completely defeated. Massena, after the battle, proceeded with his divi sion to Clagenfurt; about three miles from which place he was again attacked by the Austrians, and was again victorious: he then entered the town, which is the capital of Cariothia; in their retreat, the Austrians lost nearly 20,000 men, killed and taken prisoners. About the same time that Massena was engaged, three other divisions of the army, under Joubert, Baraguay d'Hilliers, and Delmas, was attacked by the Austrians, who were repulsed with considerable loss; Brixen, Botzen, and Clavssen, large towns in the Tyrol, by the expulsion of the Austrian troops, fell into the hands of the French. From Olagenfurt, Bonaparte sent General Clarke to Vienna with proposals of peace, but Mr. Hammond, from England, had been there before him, and the court of the Emperor, listening to the desperate suggestions of Mr. Pitt, refused to agree to any terms of conciliation; thinking also, (most probably,) that the French had advanced too far into their country to receive succours from Italy, and that they might easily be cut off and subdued; but the event proved otherwise, for, in three weeks more, they were compelled to do what they might have done before with a better grace, and on better terms; though, when the armistice was afterwards signed, the French were in a most perilous situation; the inhabitants of the Tyrol and the Venetian state had risen against the small number of troops that remained, and had the contest continued a few weeks longer, they might have overpowered them; but the Austrians were ignorant of this circumstance. At the same time that Bonaparte dispatched General Clarke to Vienna, he wrote the following letter to the Archduke Charles, which caused a greater impression at Paris than even his victories; it deceived those whom it was intended to deceive, and gained him a character for philanthropy, which he has since shewn how little he deserved. THE GENERAL IN CHIEF OF THE ARMY OF ITALY, TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS M. PRINCE CHARLES. 11th Germinal, 5th year of the Republic, 'M. GENERAL IN CHIEF, 'Brave soldiers make war, and desire peace. Has not the war lasted for six years? Have we not killed men and committed evils enough against suffering humanity? Such are the exclamations used on all sides. Europe, who had taken up arms against the French Republic, have laid them down. Your nation alone remains; and yet blood is about to flow more than ever. The sixth campaign is announced under the most portentous auspices. Whatever may be the result, many thousands of gallant soldiers must still fall a sacrifice in the prosecution of hostilities. At some period, we must come to an understanding, since time will bring all things to a conslusion, and extinguish the most inveterate resentment. The Executive Directory of the French Republic communicated to his Imperial Majesty their inclinations to terminate a conflict which desolates the two countries. Their pacific overtures were defeated by the intervention of the British cabinet. Is there no hope, then, of accommodation? Is it essential to the interests or gratifying to the passions of a nation far removed from the theatre of war, that we should continue to murder each other? Are not you, who are so nearly allied to the throne, and who are above all the despicable passions which generally influence ministers and governments, ambitious to merit the appellations of the benefactor of the human race,' and 'the saviour of the German empire!' Do not imagine, my dear general, that I wish to insinuate that you cannot possibly save your country by force of arms; but on the supposition that the chances of war were even to become favourable, Germany will not suffer less on that account. With respect to myself, gallant general, if the overture which I have now the honour to make to you, could be the means of sparing the life of a single man, I should think myself prouder of the civic crown to which my interference would entitle me, than of the melancholy glory which would result from the most brilliant military exploits. I beg you to believe me to be, general in chief, with sentiments of the most profound respect and esteem, &c. &c. BUONAPARTE.' The prince returned a polite answer, the substance of which was, that he neither considered it his part to enter into any discussion on the principles upon which the war was carried on, nor was he furnished by the Emperor with any powers to conclude a treaty of peace. The last effort of the Austrians was an endeavour to excite the peasantry of the Tyrol to rise in a mass to expel the invaders; and it was so far successful, that the divisions of General Laudohn and Baron Kerpen were strengthened by some fresh and undisciplined, but seasonable, levies. The French columns, under the command of Joubert, were weak, and had suffered considerably by disease and the frequent combats in which they had been engaged. In the beginning of April, therefore, the fortune of war in that quarter began to change. On the 4th, the French were driven from Botzen by General Laudohn, with some loss, and on the following day from Brixen, where the two Austrian columns under Laudohn and Kerpen effected a junction. Undismayed by these losses, Bonaparte continued to advance. General Massena, with the advanced guard, attacked the Austrians on the 2d of April, in the defiles between Freisach and Neumark; af r a most bloody engagement, the latter were completely routed, leaving the field of battle covered with dead, and about 600 prisoners, and the following morning the French entered Neumark. On the 4th, the head-quarters of the French general were at Scheifling, and the advanced guard reached to Hunsmark, where the Austrians were again defeated, with the loss of 900 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Though the answer of Prince Charles did not augur the most favourably for peace, yet the overture of Bonaparte was not without effect. A very short time after the prince had dispatched his letter, he sent an aid-de-camp to the French general to request a suspension of arms for four hours-but the proposal Bonaparte declined, under the apprehension that the only object of the Archduke was to gain a day, and effect a junction with General Spork, who was advancing with a fresh reinforcement. A correspondence, however, was immediately commenced between the two generals, which ended at first in an armistice, and finally in adjusting preliminaries of peace between the court of Vienna and the French republic, which were signed on the 18th of April, by Bonaparte in the name of the French Republic, and by the Neapolitan minister on the part of the Emperor. Among other articles, the preliminaries contained a direct cession of the Netherlands to France, with the duchy of Luxemburg, &c. the independence of the new Italian Republics, and the navigation of the Rhine. By a secret article, it is believed, the French undertook to indemnify the Emperor by a part of the Venetian territory, and by the secularisation of some of the ecclesiastical states in Germany. The Emperor, to convince Bonaparte of his sincerity, sent three of his principal nobility as hostages to his camp: he received them with civility, and invited them to dine at his table; but at the desert he told them with great dignity, Gentlemen, from this moment you are free; tel' your imperial master, that if this word requires a pledge you cannot serve as such, and if it requires none you ought not.' The deputies not agreeing upon terms, returned for further instructions to Vienna. It was not till after being constantly employed for two days, the preliminaries were signed in the castle of Eggenwald. During the discussions' the Austrian commissioners introduced as the first article of the preliminaries, an acknowledgment of the French republic; at which Bonaparte exclaimed with indignant warmth, The French Republic is like the sun in the firmament, and requires not that its splendour should be acknowledged. The article was immediately erased. He demanded one hundred millions as an indemnity for the expences of the war; with this the Austrian commissioners hesitated to comply. would think,' said Bonaparte, that we were met here merely to strike a bargain. The French Republic may give peace, L One |