40] 
had totally disappeared, and they 
alone gave the law. This was a 
situation peculiarly mortifying to a 
state that stood upon a footing of 
equality, at least, with any other in 
Italy; andof superiority to most, 
The house of Austria, though at all 
times formidable, had never been 
an object of much terror to Venice, 
not even when it united Spain and 
Germany in the same family inte- 
rests, and was, at the same time, in 
possession of the major part of Italy. 
But the turbulentand restless dispo- 
sition of the French, and their pro- 
pensify to introduce innovations 
every where, alarmed the senate 
of Venice to such a degree, that, 
knowing bow much the form of 
their government was, repugnant to 
the principles of the French, they 
doubted not the readiness of these 
to seize the first opportunity of 
overturning it. Full of this con- 
viction, they waited with anxiety 
for achange of fortune in favour of 
the Austrians, whose neighbourhood 
they had long experienced to be 
much less dangerous than that of 
the French. In the mean time, they 
rendered many good offices to, the 
former, aud clearly manifested a 
partiality to them,- which did not 
escape the notice of Buonaparte, 
who gave sufficient indications that 
he would remember it in due time. 
Hoping, however, that the extraor- 
dinary success,. which had hitherto 
attended him, acuta not last, they 
still continued to befriend them, by 
every clandestine service in their 
power. ; The resentment of the 
French’ was at last kindled, and 
their, seizure of Pergamo, in which 
‘prowince an insurrection, already 
broken out against the French, was 
the first. signal of their intentions 
jfowards Venice. Its complaints of 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1797. 
their violation of its territory were 
answered with reproaches of the 
paitial conduct of the Venetian 
senate towards the Imperialists. 
Every day produced fresh occasions 
of discontent on eaeh side; and it 
was easy to foresee that their recipro- 
cal enmity would finally terminate 
in acts of violence. 
Thus matters stood when the fifth 
army of Austria was forced to leave 
the territories of Venice, and take 
refuge in the hereditary states. As 
soon as. the French had penetrated 
into these, in pursuit of the Austri- 
ans, and were engaged in the de- 
files and difficuit passages in those 
mountainous countries, the Vene- 
tians began to look upon them as in- 
tangled in straits, from which they 
would not easily extricate them- 
selves, and where, from their local 
advantages, the Imperialists would 
probably oppose them with suc- 
cess, The French were now ata 
considerable distance from Italy, 
and the smal] number of their troops 
remaining there, many of them, sick 
and wounded in hospitals, were in- 
capable of resistance, and might 
with facility be overpowered. 
News, at the same time,, had ar- 
rived of general Laudohn’s progress 
in the Tyrol, which had been attend- 
ed with some slight advantages over 
the French, and also of general Al- 
vinzi’s march into Italy, by Carniola, 
in the rear of Buonaparte’s army. 
A report was universally circulated, 
that the French were on the point 
of laying down their arms, and that 
nothing was wanting, to render- 
victory over them complete, but a 
geveral movement and co- operation 
on the part of the loyal | subjects 
of the Venetian government. An 
opportunity now offered to inter- 
cept the communication between 
Buv- 
