188] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



in time. The provisions were entirely 

 exhausted; even the last horses and 

 dogs were nearly consumed, wlien 

 general Massena received a letter 

 from general Meias, inviting hira 

 to an interview with lord Keith, 

 and the generals Otto and St. Ju- 

 lian, who offered him a capitulation 

 on the most honourable terms. To 

 this first overture, he replied, that 

 he would consider of it; though he 

 had, in truth, nothing farther to 

 consider. The day after, he re- 

 ceived another message with the 

 same terms. He then sent the 

 adjutant-general Andreaux, under 

 pretence of some business relating 

 to the prisoners, to Rivolo, to re- 

 ceive the proposals of the enemy, 

 and to enter, without any farther 

 delay, into a negociation for peace. 

 The first article of capitulation 

 proposed by the allies, was, that 

 the army should return to France, 

 but that the general should remain 

 prisoner of war — " You, sir," said 

 lord Keith to Massena, "are worth 

 twenty thousand men." But, Mas- 

 sena said, that no negociation 

 would be gone into, if the word 

 capitulation was to be made use 

 of. On the fourth of June the al- 

 lied generals, having departed from 

 their first proposal, resumed the ne- 

 gociations. In the mean time, 

 while this was going on, the city 

 of Genoa* containing a population 

 of one hundred and sixty thousand 

 souls, though a prey to all the hor- 

 rors of famine, remained quiet. A 

 great number of old people, wo- 

 men and children, reduced to the 

 necessity of attempting to sustain 

 nature by herbs, roots, and impure 

 animals, died of disease or inani- 



tion. This melancholy picture, 

 was often exhibited to view, by the 

 rising sun. Mothers were often 

 found dead with hunger, and chil- 

 dren at the breast also dead, or 

 dying. 



On that day, the fourth of June, 

 the principal articles for the evacu- 

 ation of Genoa were agreed on 

 between the French adjutant- gene- 

 ral Andreaux on the one part, and 

 major-general Rest, a staff officer in 

 the imperial service, with the Eng- 

 lish captain Rivera, on the other. 

 And it was settled that the chiefs 

 of the opposite armies should meet, 

 on the day after, being the fifth of 

 June, for signing a definitive treaty. 

 At nine o'clock in the morning of 

 that day a conference was held by 

 the opposite parties, in a small cha- 

 pel, which is situated in the middle 

 of the bridge of Comegliano, and 

 between the posts of the Austrians 

 and the French, Here lord Keith, 

 commander of the combined naval 

 forces in the Mediterranean, gene- 

 ral Otto, commander of the block- 

 ade of Genoa, with general St. 

 Julian, who was charged with the 

 political part of the negociation, 

 were met by general Massena, com- 

 mander- in-chief of the French army 

 in Italy. Each of these parties 

 was accompanied by only two or 

 three gentlemen. 



In this conference Massena dis- 

 played much finesse, under the cloak 

 of an apparent gaiety, which form- 

 ed a complete contrast with the 

 gravity of the other contracting 

 party, and was attended with this 

 advantage, that it did not look as 

 if he were greatly alarmed for the 

 situation of his army. And it is. 



• Including d'Albaro, St. Martin, Bisagno, and St. d'Arena, containing forty 

 thousand. Genoa, proper, contains about one hundred and twenty thousand. 



