HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



89 



by all the art of tactics acjainst the 

 expected rage of the people whom 

 they v.'cre coming to destroy. The 

 Vf^ndeans were not wanting to 

 themselves in so terrible a crisis. 

 They omitted no means of defence 

 which they were aci' to provide ; 

 and they fought with their usual 

 courage ; but their enemies came 

 upon them with such extraordinary 

 preparations, that all their efforts 

 to resist them were unavailing. 

 They were compelled to abandon 

 every postthey occupied, and which 

 they had hitherto considered as in- 

 expugnable. They were gradually 

 chacedjStep by step, from everv po- 

 sition they took, in order to make a 

 stand against this dreadful and mer- 

 ciless attack : but they could main- 

 tain themselves nowhere, and were 

 forced to retire on every side ; 

 while they beheld, in their retreat, 

 all the houses, habitations, and ham- 

 lets around them, committed to the 

 flames. 



In this desperate extremity their 

 only care at last was to save them- 

 selves and their families from the 

 fur)' of an implacable foe, deter- 

 mined to shew no commiseration 

 and to give no quarter. The num- 

 bers of the Vendtans collected for 

 this purpose amounted to about 

 one hundred thousand. They 

 withdrew to the banks of the river 

 Loire, almost destitute of provisions 

 and necessaries. The most resolute 

 would have stood their ground, and 

 presented a front to the enemy, 

 who was close upon their rear; but 

 the majority advised to cross the 

 river, as the surest method of secu- 

 ring the immense multitude of wo- 

 men, children, and aged people, by 

 whom they were accompanied. 

 This resoliitiou was taken, and exe- 

 cuted witli all possible speed. They 



had the good fortune to gsin the 

 other side, before the enemy ha<f 

 reached th< m. Tiiis escape was, iit 

 their forlorn condition, esteemed a 

 singular and critic.d deliverance ; 

 and, though labouring under the 

 extremes (jf want, they began to 

 resume their spirits, and to form 

 new plans of proceeding. 



The only method that appeared 

 practicable, and held out any rea- 

 sonable prospect of retrieving their 

 affairs, was, to make the best of 

 their way to the sea-side, where 

 they would be nearest at hand to 

 receive those succours from Eng- 

 land they had long been promised 

 and expected. This was truly an 

 arduous undertaking, as they had 

 their way to fight through an hosi 

 tile country. The length of the 

 journey reached from the spot on 

 which they were, at the banks of 

 the Loire, to the northern coast of 

 Brittany, a space above an hundred 

 miles. But they were now reco- 

 vered from the terror they had ex- 

 perienced on the sudden and un- 

 expected manner of the irruption 

 into their country by the republi- 

 can army, and were prepared to en- 

 counter all dangers and difficulties 

 in the execution of their present 

 project. The greatest misfortune 

 that had befallen them while con- 

 tending with the republican army 

 in La Vendee, was the loss oi the 

 three principal commanders Delbee, 

 Bonchamp, and Lescure, who were 

 mortally wounded in the last action 

 that preceded the retreat to the 

 Loire. They were highly esteem- 

 ed and respected by the royal party, 

 and no less dreaded by the repub- 

 lican. Barrere declared openly in 

 the Convention, that the fall of 

 these chiefs of the insurgents was 

 equivalent to many victories over 



them. 



