GENERAL HISTORY. 
emperor of Austria to-exert his 
influence with the court of France, 
in order to procure him this justice. 
That the French cabinet had be- 
fore this time formed the design 
of obliging Murat to resign the 
crown of Naples to king Fer- 
dinand, was rendered apparent 
by a letter made public, from the 
prince of Benevento ( Talleyrand), 
to lord Castlereagh, proposing a 
plan of attack upon him. The 
duke of Campochiaro, when he 
presented his note, informed the 
Austrian minister, that he was 
directed to ask for a passage for 
80,000 men into France through 
the Austrian dominions in Italy, 
who should pay for all which they 
consumed ; which request induced 
the emperor’s cabinet to take 
measures for the security of Italy, 
and to reinforce their troops in 
that country. 
At this period, as already ob- 
served, an active correspondence 
was carrying on between Naples 
and the isle of Elba; but it may 
be doubted whether Joachim was 
entrusted with Buonaparte’s de- 
sign of landing in France. As 
soon as the intelligence of this 
event reached Naples, he called 
together his council, and informed 
them of his determination to ad- 
here to his alliance with the em- 
peror of Austria, and to remain 
faithful to the system of the allied 
powers. An assurance to this 
Erenoee was communicated to the 
mperial ambassador at his court, 
and also to the plenipotentiaries 
at the congress of Vienna. The 
whole of the Neapolitan army was 
now in movement towards the 
frontier, and it was announced, 
that Joachim was immediately to 
follow, and establish his head- 
[75 
quarters at Ancona. For some 
days he appeared to be in a state 
of great agitation. He held fre- 
quent interviews with some French 
officers at Naples, several of whom 
he dispatehed to France ; but he 
delayed his own departure from 
Naples, and the advance of his 
troops, which was attributed to 
the news of the failure of Buo- 
naparte’s attempt to gain pos- 
session of Antibes. In fact, he 
seems to have been under the im- 
pression of all that doubt and 
fluctuation which naturally at- 
tends a man acting a double part, 
and irresolute which side to take, 
When, however, the news arrived 
of Buonaparte’s entrance into Ly- 
ons, he made known that he con- 
sidered the cause of Napoleon as 
his own, at the same time re- 
quiring a passage through the 
Roman states for two of his divi- 
sions. The pope protested against 
this violation of his territory, and 
withdrew to Florence. 
On March 19, king Joachim 
arrived et Ancona, and put him- 
self at the head of his troops- 
He entered the pope’s domi- 
nions on the 22nd, and, with 
his main body, proceeded from 
the Marches to the Legations, 
where, on the 30th, he began 
hostilities, by attacking the im- 
perialists posted at Cesena,, who 
retired before him. The consc- 
quence was, a declaration of war 
against him by Austria. He is- 
sued at Rimini, on the 3lst, a 
proclamation addressed to the 
Italians, calling upon them uni- 
versally to assert their indepen- 
dence, and liberate themselves 
from the dominion of foreigners ; 
and asserting thateighty thousand 
Neapolitans, under the command 
