190 



ANNUAL REGISTER, IW; 



which they had at first expected. 

 The roval party, after the most 

 Spirited efforts, was entirely crushed. 

 The -violent repulilican party, after 

 overcoming all its opponents, had 

 seized all the power of the state, 

 and exercised it with such conduct 

 and energy, as to have rendered 

 the French antis victorious almost 

 everywhere. From their vast suc- 

 cesses, they had acquired universal 

 cor.ridence in their abilities ; their 

 authority was uncontrouled both in 

 civil and military aftairs ; soldiers, 

 officers and generals paid them im- 

 plicit obedience ; and the nation at 

 Lrge was not'only submissive, but 

 zcalou.s in its comphance with their 

 decrees. 



Hopes had been entertained by 

 our ministry, tliat the finances of 

 France must prove inadequate to 



'tin the siip^ort of the stupendous 

 mass that had risen in its defence : 

 but those hopes had been totally 

 frustrated. Means had been found 

 to provide amply for all the neces- 

 ^ sary demands of those immense 

 multitudes that had been brought 

 into the field ; and instead of^^imi- 

 nishing, the strength of the French, 

 since the beginning of the war, had 

 increased. Could the same be as- 

 serted of the coalition ? Were 

 their arms not surprisingly decrca- 



4U sedj.aiTd^ what was much worse, 

 their spirit fallen by the niur.erous 

 defeats they had suff"ered from an 

 enemy whom they had been taught 



•jjS to despise, on account of his inex- 

 perience and ignorance in tactics ? 

 The Austrians and Prussians, long 

 reputed the best disciplined troops 

 in Europe, had however been re- 

 peatedly foiled by the raw French 

 levies, collected on the spur of the 



f> occasion, whoUv unpractised in the 

 - usages of war, and led to battle 



merely by the necessity of* defend- 

 ing their country^ but inspired at 

 the same time with an enthusiastic 

 resolution to be victorious, or to 

 lose their lives. 



After mentioning the Austrians 

 and Prussians^ the other branches 

 of the confederacy were beneath 

 notice. What had Spain effected 

 worthy of consideration ? What 

 h^d been done by Sardinia ? To 

 what, in short, had amounted the 

 efforts of a confederacy foniied, 

 with few exceptions, of all the pow- 

 ers in Europe ? The answer was 

 fatally too mortifying to reflect 

 upon it with patience, when we ap- 

 preciated the treasure expended 

 Slid the blood that had been shedj 

 against the paltry successes they 

 had purchased, and which were far 

 outweighed by the disgraces that so 

 quickly followed them. But the 

 efforts of a mighty combination 

 against France amounted to some- 

 thing still more alarming: they had 

 proved that France alone, under 

 the influence of those maxims it 

 had embraced, was able to encoun- 

 ter the united force of all Europe) 

 This surely was a most important 

 though mortifying discovery; yet 

 not surprising to those who, con- 

 sidered with a cool and philosophic 

 eye the consequences naturally 

 flowing from a spirit of enthusiasm 

 in a causCj of the rectitude of which 

 men were intimately convinced, 

 and who examined at the same 

 time the organization of that great 

 force which France had raised fof 

 its protection. 



Contrarily to the long standing 

 ptsctice ill the European armies^ 

 of confining rewards and promo- 

 tion to men of family and interest^ 

 soldiers were raised from the ranks 



1 



for their valour ; 



they were pre*' 

 ■-, ferrcd 



