step, before we attempt the second. Having | left. But till this is done, there is every rea laid the foundation of national taste in archi- son to apprehend, that the efforts of our artists tecture, by restoring the finest model of anti- will be as ineffectual in obtaining true beauty, quity on the situation of all others the best as the genius of our writers was in obtaining adapted for making its excellencies known, we real excellence, until the restoration of the shall be prepared to form new edifices, and classic authors gave talent its true direction, possibly to surpass those which antiquity has and public taste an unexceptionable standard.

MARSHAL NEY.*

character and station in society. If they are, there is at least the safeguard against imposture, which arises from the facility with which they may be disavowed, and the certainty that no man of character would permit a spurious his writing. The Memoirs, therefore, of Bourrienne, Madame Junot, Savary, and many others, may be relied on as at least the admitted work of the persons whose names they bear, and as ushered into the world under the sanction and on the responsibility of living

THE memoirs connected with the French Revolution furnish an inexhaustible source of interesting discussion. We shall look in vain in any other period of history for the same splendid succession of events; for a phantasmagoria in which characters so illus-composition to be palmed upon the world as trious are passed before the view; or for individuals whose passions or ambition have exercised an equally important influence on human affair. When we enter upon the era of Napoleon, biography assumes the dignity of history; the virtues and vices of individuals become inseparably blended with public mea-persons of rank or station in society. sures; and in the memoirs of contemporary writers, we turn for the secret springs of those great events which have determined the fate of nations.

There are other memoirs, again, of such extraordinary ability as at once to bear the stamp of originality and veracity on their very face. Of this description are Napoleon's memoirs, From the extraordinary interest, however, dictated to Montholon and Gourgaud; a work connected with this species of composition, which bears in every page decisive marks of has arisen an evil of no ordinary kind. Not the clear conceptions, lucid ideas, and tranchFrance only, but Europe at large, being in- ant sagacity of the Conqueror of Austerlitz satiable for works of this kind, an immense and Rivoli. Judging from internal evidence, number have sprung up of spurious origin, or we are disposed to rank these invaluable Medoubtful authority. Writing of memoirs has moirs much higher than the rambling and disbecome a separate profession. A crowd of cursive, though interesting work of Las Casas. able young men devote themselves to this fas-They are not nearly so impassioned or rancinating species of composition, which pos- corous; facts are not so obviously distorted; sesses the interest of history without its dry-party spirit is not so painfully conspicuous. ness, and culls from the book of Time only With regret, we must add, that even these the most brilliant of its flowers. Booksellers genuine memoirs, dictated by Napoleon himengage in the wholesale manufacture, as a self, as the groundwork for the history of his mercantile speculation; an attractive name, achievements, contain the marks of the weakan interesting theme, is selected; the relations nesses as well as the greatness of his mind; of the individuals whose memoirs are pro- an incessant jealousy of every rival who ap fessed to be given to the world, are besought proached even to his glory; an insatiable to furnish a few original documents or au- passion for magnifying his own exploits; a thentic anecdotes, to give an air of veracity to disregard of truth so remarkable in a person the composition; and at length the memoirs gifted with such extraordinary natural sagaciare ushered forth to the world as the work of ty, that it can be ascribed only to the poisonone who never wrote one syllable of them ous moral atmosphere which a revolution prohimself. Of this description are the soi-disant duces. The Memoirs of Thibaudeau perhaps Memoirs of Fouché, Robespierre, Une Femme exhibit the most valuable and correct, as well de Qualite, Louis the Eighteenth, and many as favourable picture of the emperor's mind others, which are now admitted to be the work In the discussions on the great public meaof the manufacturers for the Parisian book-sures which were submitted to the Council of sellers, but are nevertheless interspersed with State at Paris, and, above all, in the clear and many authentic and interesting anecdotes, luminous speeches of Napoleon on every subderived from genuine sources, and contain inject, whether of civil or military administraconsequence much valuable matter for future history.

In considering the credit due to any set of memoirs, one main point, of course, is, whether they are published by a living author of

Memoires du Maréchal Ney, publiés par sa Famille.

tion, that occurred during his consulship, is to be found the clearest proof of the vast grasp and great capacity of his mind; and in their superiority to those of the other speakers, and, above all, of Thibaudeau himself, the best evidence of the fidelity of his reports.

Paris, Fournier; Londres, E. Bul', 1833. Blackwood's Thibaudeau, we are inclined to place those of Next in value to those of Napoleon and

Magazine, Oct. 1833.

Bourrienne and the Duchess of Abrantes. The | and papers in their possession; and the aneo first of these writers, in addition to consider- dotes with which they are interspersed have able natural talents, enjoyed the inestimable ad- plainly been collected with great pains from vantage of having been the school-fellow of all the early friends of that illustrious warrior. Napoleon, and his private secretary during If they are not published, therefore, under the most interesting period of his life; that the sanction of personal, they are under that which elapsed from the opening of his Italian of family responsibility, and may be regarded, Campaign, in 1796, to his accession to the as we would say in England, as "the Ney Pathrone in 1804. If Bourrienne could be entire-pers," connected together by an interesting ly relied on, his Memoirs, with such sources biography of the character to whom they of information, would be invaluable; but un-refer. fortunately, it is evident that he labours under In such a production, historical impartiality a feeling of irritation at his former school- cannot be reasonably expected. To those of fellow, which renders it necessary to take his his family who still mourn the tragic end of statements with some grains of allowance. the bravest of French heroes, his character Few men can forgive the extraordinary and must still be the object of veneration. Failunlcoked-for elevation of their former equals;ings which would have been acknowledged, and, in addition to this common source of pre- defects which would have been pointed out, if judice, it is evident that Bourrienne labours he had descended to an honoured tomb, are under another and a less excusable feeling. forgotten in his melancholy fate; and his It is plain, even from his own admission, that family, with hearts ulcerated at the supposed he had been engaged in some money transac-injustice and perhaps real illegality of his tions of a doubtful character with M. Ouvrard, condemnation, are rather disposed to magnify which rendered his continuing in the highly his character into that of a martyr, than acconfidential situation of private secretary to knowledge its alliance with any of the weakthe emperor improper; and his dismissal from nesses or faults of mortality. In such feelit has evidently tinged his whole narrative ings, there is not only every thing that is with a certain feeling of acrimony, which, if natural, but much that is commendable; and it has not made him actually distort facts, has the impartial foreigner, in reviewing the hisat least caused them to appear in his hands tory of his achievements, will not forget the through a medium coloured to a certain de- painful sense of duty under which the British gree. government acted at the close of his career, or the mournful feelings with which the axe of justice was permitted to descend on one of the bravest of the human race, under the feeling-whether right or not it is the province of history to inquire-of imperious state necessity.

The Duchess of Abrantes, like most of the other annalists of Napoleon, labours under prepossessions of a different kind. She was intimate with Napoleon from his childhood; her mother had the future emperor on her knee from the day of his birth; and the intimacy between the two families continued so Marshal Ney was born at Sarrelouis, on the great, that when Napoleon arrived at the age 10th January, 1769; consequently, he was of twenty-six, and felt, as he expresses it, the twenty years old when the Revolution first "besoin de se fixer," he actually proposed for broke out. His father was an old soldier, who the duchess's mother himself, who was a per- had served with distinction at the battle of son of great natural attractions, while he Rosbach; but after his discharge, he contiwished at the same time to arrange a mar-nued the profession of a cooper, to which he riage between Joseph and the duchess, and Pauline and her brother. It may readily be imagined that, though these proposals were all declined, they left no unfavourable impression on the duchess's mind; and this, coupled with her subsequent marriage to Junot, and his rapid advancement by the emperor, has filled her mind with an admiration of his character almost approaching to idolatry. She sees every thing, in consequence, in the consular and imperial government, in the most favourable colours. Napoleon is worshipped with all a woman's fervour, and the days of triumph for the Grand Army looked back to as a dream of glory, which has rendered all the remainder of life worthless and insipid.

had been early educated. At school, his son, the young Ney, evinced the turbulent vigour of his disposition, and the future general was incessantly occupied in drilling and directing his comrades. Napoleon gave tokens of the same disposition at an equally early period: there is no turn of mind which so early evinces itself as a taste for military achievements. He was at first destined for a notary's office; but in spite of the earnest entreaties of his parents, he resolved to change his profession. At the age of fifteen, our author gives the following interesting account of the cir cumstances which led to his embracing the profession of arms.

"So early as when he was fifteen, Ney had The Memoirs of Marshal Ney appear under a presentiment of his future destiny. His different auspices from any others which have father, incapable alike of estimating his powyet appeared regarding this eventful era. They ers, or sharing his hopes, in vain endeavoured do not profess to have been written by him- to restrain him. The mines of Assen wider at self; and, indeed, the warlike habits, and that period were in full activity; he sent his sudden and tragic death of the marshal, pre- son there, to endeavour to give a new direcclude the possibility of their being ushered tion to his thoughts. It had quite an opposite forth to the world under that character. But, effect. His imagination soon resumed its on the other hand, they are unquestionably wonted courses. He dreamed only of fields published by his family, from the documents of battle, combats and glory. The counsels

H

of his father, the tears of his mother, were | go on as you have begun, you will make your alike ineffectual: they lacerated without mov- fortune.' Perfectly, marshal,' replied his old ing his heart. Two years passed away in this commander; 'I had the honour to command manner; but his taste for arms became every a man infinitely my superior. Such good forday more decided. The places where he tune is not easily forgotten.' dwelt, contributed to strengthen the natural bent of his genius. Almost all the towns on the Rhine are fortified; wherever he went, he saw garrisons, uniforms, and artillery. Ney could withstand it no longer; he resigned his humble functions, and set out for Metz, where a regiment of hussars was stationed, with the intention of enlisting. The grief which he well knew that sudden determination would cause to his mother, the chagrin which it would occasion to his father, agitated his mind; he hesitated long what to do, but at length filial piety prevailed over fear, and he returned to Sarrelouis to embrace his parents, and bid them adieu.

quality which the marshal possessed; but troops, worn out with the fatigues of war, achose who were nearer his person, and better customed to make light of dangers, were much acquainted with his character, will concede to ruder in their manners, and haughty in their him greater qualities than the enthusiasm ideas, than those of these times, who lead a which captivates and subjugates the soldier. pacific life in great cities and garrisons. The Calm in the midst of a storm of grape-shot-marshal was incessant in his endeavours to imperturbable amid a shower of balls and discover and correct the abuses which affected shells, Ney seemed to be ignorant of danger; them. He ever endeavoured to prevent their to have nothing to fear from death. This rashness, which twenty years of perils have not diminished, gave to his mind the liberty, the promptitude of judgment and execution, so necessary in the midst of the complicated movements of war. This quality astonished those who surrounded him, more even than the courage in action which is more or less felt by all who are habituated to the dangers of war. One of his officers, whose courage had repeatedly been put to the proof, asked him one day if he had never felt fear. Regaining instantly that profound indifference for danger, that forgetfulness of death, that elasticity of mind, which distinguished him on the field of battle, 'I have never had time,' replied the marshal with simplicity.

"Nevertheless, this extraordinary coolness in danger did not prevent his perceiving those slight shades of weakness, from which it is so rarely that a soldier is to be found entirely exempted. On one occasion, an officer was giving an account of a mission on which he had been sent: while he spoke, a bullet passed so near him that he involuntarily lowered his head, but nevertheless continued his narrative without exhibiting emotion-You have done extremely well,' said the marshal, but next time do not bow quite so low.'

wishes, and to convince the officers who com manded them, that by elevating the soldier in his own eyes, and treating him with the respect which he deserves, but without any diminution of the necessary firmness, it was alone possible to obtain that forgetfulness of himself, that abandonment of military discipline, which constitutes so large a portion of military force. "Avoiding, therefore, in the most careful way, the imposition of unnecessary burdens upon the soldiers, he was equally careful to abstain from that vain ostentation of authority, that useless prodigality of escort, which generals of inferior calibre are so fond of displaying. His constant object was to spare the troops engaged in that fatiguing service, and not to diminish, but from absolute necessity, by such detachments, the numerical strength of the regiments under his orders. That solicitude did not escape the soldiers; and among their many subjects of gratitude, they ranked in the foremost place the continual care and perseverance with which their general secured for them the means of subsistence. The prodigies he effected in that particular will be found fully detailed in the campaign of Portugal, where he succeeded, in a country repeatedly devastated, in providing, by incredible exertions, not only provisions for his own corps, but the whole army, during the six months that it remained in Portugal. Constantly in motion on the Mondego, incessantly pushing columns in every direction, he contrived to procure bread, clothes, provi sions, in fine, every thing which was required. The recollection of these things remaine engraven on the minds of his soldiers, and when his division with Massena caused him to resign the command of his corps, the grief of the soldiers, the murmurs, the first symptoms of an insurrection ready to break forth, and which a single word from their chief would have blown into a flame, were sufficient to prove that his cares had not been thrown away on ungrateful hearts, and that his multi

"The marshal loved courage, and took the greatest pleasure in producing it in others. If he had witnessed it in a great degree in any one on the field of battle; if he had discovered vigour, capacity, or military genius, he never rested till he had obtained their promotion; and the army resounded for long with the efforts which he made for this purpose."-I. 21. But it was not mere valour or capacity on the field of battle, which distinguished Ney; he was attentive also to the minutest wants of his soldiers, and indefatigable in his endeavours to procure for them those accommodations, of which, from having risen from the humblest rank himself, he so well knew how to appreciate the value. Of his efforts in this respect we have the following interesting ac-plied attentions had won all their affections.

count:

"Quick in repressing excesses, the marshal omitted nothing to prevent them. A private soldier in early life, he had himself felt the sufferings endured by the private soldier, and when elevated to a higher station he did his utmost to assuage them in others. He knew that the soldier, naturally just and grateful to those who watched over his interests, was difficult to manage when his complaints were neglected, and it was evident that his superiors had no sympathy for his fatigues or his privations. Ney was sincerely attached to those great masses, which, though composed of men ofch different characters, were equally ready every day to meet dangers and death in the discharge of duty. At that period our

"But his careful attention to his soldiers did not prevent him from maintaining the most rigorous discipline, and punishing severely any considerable excess on the part of the troops under his command. An instance of this occurred in the country of Darmstadt. The Austrians had been defeated, and retired near to Swigemberg, where they were broken anew. The action was warmly contested, and our soldiers, irritated by so much resistance, broke open several houses and plundered them. The circumstances in which it occurred might excuse the transgression, but Ney resolved to make a signal example of reparation. While he proceeded with the utmost severity against the offenders, he published a proclamation, in which he directed that the damage should be

estimated; and in order that it should not be merce paralyzed, and for how long? For an

fixed at an elusory sum, he charged the Landgrave himself with the valuation.

indefinite time; for there are many requisi tions which have been laid on a month ago, "When Governor of Gallicia and Salamanca, and on which nothing has yet been demanded; these provinces, notwithstanding their hatred and during that whole period the inhabitants at the yoke of the stranger, cheerfully acknow- were unable to purchase any articles even of the ledged the justice of his administration. One first necessity. If such measures are not cal only object of spoil has been left by the mar- culated to produce a counter-revolutionary shal to his family, a relic of St. James of Com-reaction; if they are not likely to rouse against postella, which the monks of the convent of us the indignation of all mankind, I ask you St. Jago presented to him, in gratitude for the what are? humanity with which he treated them. He did Safety and fraternity.-GELLIT." I. 53. not limit his care to the protection of property Contrast this conduct on the part of the from pillage; he knew that there are yet Friends of the People, as detailed by one of dearer interests to which honour is more their own representatives to his democratic nearly allied, and he never ceased to cause rulers, with the conduct of the Duke of Welthem to be respected. The English army will | lington, paying high prices for every article bear testimony to his solicitude in that parti- required by the English army in the south of cular. Obliged, after the battle of Corunna, to France, and we have the best proof of the difembark in haste, they were unable to place on ference between the actions of a Conservative board the women by whom they were followed, and Revolutionary Government. and in consequence, fifty were left on the shore, where they were wandering about without protection, exposed to the insults of the soldiers. No sooner was Ney informed of their situation, than he hastened to come to their succour; he assembled them, assured them of his protection, and directed that they should be placed in a female convent. But the Superior refused to admit them; she positively refused to have any thing to do with heretics; no entreaties could persuade her to extend to these unfortunates the rites of hospitality.

"Be it so,' replied the marshal; 'I understand your scruples; and, therefore, instead of these Protestants, you shall furnish lodgings to two companies of Catholic grenadiers.' Necessity, at length, bent the hard-hearted Abbess; and these unhappy women, for the most part the wives or daughters of officers or non-commissioned officers, whose bravery we had experienced in the field, were received into the convent, where they were protected from every species of injury."-I. 39-41.

We have no doubt of the truth of this last anecdote, and we may add that Ney not only respected the remains of Sir John Moore, interred in the ramparts of Corunna, but erected a monument to his memory. It is soothing to see the Freemasonry of generous feeling, which subsists between the really brave and elevated, under all the varieties of national rivalry or animosity, in every part of the world.

The life of a soldier who spent twenty years in camps, of course furnishes abundant materials for the description of military adventure. We select, almost at random, the following description of the passage of the Rhine, opposite Ehrenbreitzin, by the corps of Kleber, in 1795.

"The fort of Ehrenbreitzin commanded the mouth of Moselle; the batteries of the right bank swept all the shores of the Rhine. The enemy were quite aware of our design; the moon shone bright; and his soldiers, with anxious eyes and listening ears, waited the moment when our boats might come within reach of his cannon. The danger was great; but that of hesitation was still greater; we abandoned ourselves to our fate, and pushed across towards Neuwied. Instantly the forts and the batteries thundered with unexampled violence; a shower of grape-shot fell in our boats. But there is something in great danger which elevates the mind. Our pontonniers made a sport of death, as of the batteries which were successively unmasked, and joining their efforts to the current which swept them along, at length reached the dikes on the opposite shore. Neuwied also opened its fire. That delicious town, embellished by all the arts of peace, now transformed into a warlike stronghold, overwhelmed us by the fire of its batteries. We replied with vigour, but for long felt a repugnance to direct our fire against that charming city. At length, however, necessity compelled us to make the attack, and in a few hours Neuwied was reduced to ashes.

It is a pleasing task to record traits of generosity in an enemy; but war is not composed entirely of such actions; and, as a specimen "The difficulties of the enterprise nevertheof the mode in which the Republican troops, less remained. It was necessary to overcome in the first years of their triumphs, oppressed a series of redoubts, covered by chevaux-dethe people whom they professed to deliver, we frize, palisades, and covered ways. We had subjoin the following account of the mode in at once to carry Dusseldorf and beat the Count which they levied their requisitions, taken d'Hirbauch, who awaited our approach at the from the report of one of the Envoys of Go-head of 20,000 men. Kleber alone did not desvernment to the Convention.

"Cologne, 8th October, 1794. "The agents sent to make requisitions, my dear colleagues, act in such a manner as to revolt all the world. The moment they arrive in a town, they lay a requisition on every thing; literally every thing. No one thereafter can either buy or sell. Thus we see com

pair; the batteries on the left shore were ready, and the troops impatiently awaited the signal to land. The dispositions were soon made. Lefebvre attacked the left, Championnet the centre, Grenier the right. Such leaders could not but inspire confidence in the men. Soldiers and officers leapt ashore. We braved the storm of grape-shot; and on the 5th September, at