211 



SAINT-ARNAUD, MARSHAL LEROY DE. 



.SAINT-HILAIRE, GEOFFROY-ETIENNE. 



212 



him from contributing. Ho had himself published a small portion of 

 the same work, entitled ' Eutychii ^Epyptii, Patriarch Orthodoxorum 

 Alexandrini Ecclesise suao Origines,' Arab, and Lat., 4to, Lond., 1642, 

 with a learned commentary. He selected this particular chapter, because 

 his " Presbyterian prejudices " were delighted at finding in it that St. 

 Mark, in founding the church at Alexandria, appointed a college of 

 twelve presbyters, or elders, who, whenever the patriarchate was vacant, 

 elected one of their own number to fill the office. This little extract 

 of Selden's was very severely criticised in a work entitled ' Eutychius 

 Patriarcha Alexandrinus vindicatus, et suis restitutus Orientalibus ; 

 sive Responsio ad Joannis Seldeni Origines, auctore Abrahamo Ecchel- 

 lenei, Marom'ta ex Libano,' 4to, Romse, 1661. Three other smaller 

 works are mentioned in Wiistenfeld, ' Gesch. der Arab. Acrzte,' but 

 this only has been published. (Nicoll and Pusey, Gated. MSS. Arab. 

 Biblioth. Bodl. ; D'Herbelot, Biblioth. Orient.; Schnurrer, Biblioth. 

 Arab., p. 144.) 



SAINT-ARNAUD, MARECHAL LEROY DE, was born in Paris, 

 of poor parents, on the 20th of August 1798. Having entered the 

 Royal Body-Guards at the age of sixteen, he rose to the rank of sub- 

 lieutenant in the infantry of the line in 1818. Owing to some youthful 

 vagaries, he left the army shortly after and embraced the theatrical 

 profession, when he first performed at the suburban Theatre des 

 Batignolles. In this new vocation he continued upwards of ten years, 

 but the revolution of July revived his taste for martial life; he returned 

 to the army in 1831, and having entered the 64th regiment as sub- 

 lieutenant, was made full lieutenant within six weeks. The insurrection 

 of the partisans of the Duchesse de Berri, in La Vendee, soon afforded 

 him an opportunity of earning the favourable notice of Marshal 

 Bugeaud. He was subsequently appointed to the charge of the citadel 

 of St. Blaye, where theDuchesse de Berri was confined a post in itself 

 from the circumstances somewhat painful to an honourable man, and 

 his conduct in it incurred for him considerable odium. 



In 1836 Saint-Arnaud was sent to join the army in Algiers, with 

 the rank of captain ; he behaved with much gallantry at the siege of 

 Constantino, and received the decoration of the Legion of Honour. 

 The brilliant courage he displayed in these campaigns obtained for him 

 the rank of commandant of the 18th regiment of infantry in 1840, but 

 his erratic disposition induced him to quit it to enter the Zouaves the 

 same year. In 1842 he was created lieutenant-colonel ; and in 1844, 

 on the recommendation of Bugeaud, ho became colonel of the 32nd 

 regiment. Duriug the next three years he was constantly in the field, 

 his reputation increased, and he was made major-general in 1S47. In 

 1850 he was appointed to command the province of Constantina, which 

 was then in a very unsettled state ; but he subdued the whole country 

 within the year. In the early part of 1851 General Saint- Arnaud 

 was despatched on an expedition against the Kabyles, which -was entirely 

 successful, and was considered one of the most brilliant campaigns of 

 the French in Algeria. His little army did not amount to 7000 men, 

 and with this he overran that rugged country, and in spite of a 

 desperate resistance he conquered the whole province. This was the 

 service which fixed upon him the attention of the president of the 

 republic. 



Saint-Arnaud returned to Paris in the autumn of 1851 as general of 

 division. Louis Napoleon at once took him into his confidence, giving 

 him the command of the second division of the army of Paris imme- 

 diately after his arrival, and then appointing him minister of war. 

 He acted cordially with the prince-president : " Nothing," he wrote to 

 his mother, November 19, 1851 "nothing in this world is wanting, 

 but to go straight forward and be bold." In the. famous coup d'e"tat 

 of the 2nd of December following he was the prince's chief adviser 

 and instrument. Honours now accumulated upon him : he was made 

 marshal of France, then a senator, and received the grand cross of the 

 Legion of Honour in 1852. His health had gradually declined under 

 so harassing a life ; yet he so strongly solicited the command of the 

 French army intended for the east, at the outbreak of the war with 

 Russia, that his request was granted. The events of that war are so 

 recent that we need not dwell upon them. It will be enough to say 

 that Marshal Saint-Arnaud entered upon it with the utmost eagerness. 

 He evidently felt that a splendid chance was afforded of professional 

 distinction. For a time his impetuosity enabled him to bear up under 

 his constantly-increasing malady. The landing in the Crimea, which 

 he calls his " favourite idea," he tried to the utmost to hasten forward ; 

 and fearing at last that his life was ebbing, he insisted on forward 

 movements, regardless of the opinions of his colleagues. On the 

 morning of September 20, 1854, Marshal Saint-Aruaud mounted his 

 horse with gr< at difficulty, and by the constant exercise of great spirit 

 sustained all the fatigues of command during the battle of the Alma. 

 He exhibited the same energy in his despatch after the victory, but 

 the intensity of his feelings is only fully seen in his letters to his 

 wife, published in the collection referred to below. But the effort 

 proved too much for his remaining strength : his malady increased 

 daily, and on the 27th he was obliged to embark on board the Bei thollet 

 to return to Constantinople. He died on the 29th of September, whilst 

 yet on his passage. 



The career of Marshal Saint-Arnaud, almost up to the outbreak of 

 the Russian war, shows him too much in the light of a daring and 

 not very scrupulous adventurer ; and he did not live long enough, 

 when a nobler field was opened to his ambition, to show whether he 



Bioa. niv. vol. v. 



possessed the abilities of a great general. But while in his last days, 

 as in his earlier, he exhibited the moat brilliant and dashing courage, 

 combined with judgment and energy, devotion to his duty was never 

 so strongly evinced as at the close of his career. Two volumes of 

 his private letters have been published by his brother, ' Lettres du 

 Marshal de St.-Arnaud,' Paris, 1855, which, though exhibiting many 

 suppressions, give much curious information respecting the last twenty- 

 five years of his remarkable career. 



SAINT-CYR, MARSHAL LAURENT-GOUVION DE, was a 

 native of Toul, where he was born, April 13, 1764. His father, 

 though but a poor tanner, contrived to give his son a good education. 

 Young Gouvion, who had a natural taste for drawing, desired at first 

 to become an artist, and spent some years as a professional drawing- 

 master. In 1785 he was induced to try his fortune ou the stage, and 

 frequently appeared at the Salle-Beaumarchais, in the Marais, in the 

 part of a brigand. His fine stature appeared to favour his pretensions ; 

 but he was shy and nervous, and lisped a good deal. 



In 1789, after the capture of the Bastille, Saint-Cyr embraced with 

 ardour the principles of the revolution. In August 1792 he enlisted 

 as a chasseur, and was sent to the frontier; but hia large stature, and 

 the advantages he derived from a good education, drew notice upon 

 him, and in 1793 he was already a captain. He then became assistant 

 (adjoint) to the adjutant-generals, and whilst in that post served under 

 Custine, Beauharnais, Landremont, Carlen, and others, most of whom 

 were sent to the guillotine. For a time he steadily refused promotion, 

 and courted obscurity to save his life ; but the year 1794 saw him both 

 a general of brigade and a general of division. In 1796 he served 

 under Jourdan on the Rhine, and then under Morcau, both of whom 

 he has since severely criticised in his military ' Memoirs.' In 1797 

 the Directory appointed him commander-in-chief of the army of Rome, 

 where the cruel extortions of Massena had excited great murmurs. In 

 1804 he was made colonel general of the Cuirassiers, and in 1805 

 grand officer of the Legion of Honour. General Gouvion Saint-Cyr 

 behaved with great gallantry at Castel-Franco, November 18, 1805; 

 and having again distinguished himself during the campaigns of Prussia 

 and Poland, he was named governor of Warsaw in 1807. 



He was next sent to the peninsula, where he added to his repu- 

 tation by the defeat of Castro, and the capture of Barcelona. He 

 now stood very high in the confidence of Napoleon I., and having been 

 called to take part iu the campaign of 1812, on the invasion of Russia, 

 he received the command of the 6th corps d'armde, with generals De 

 Wrede and Deroi as his lieutenants. On the 18th of August 1812 he 

 fought the battle of Polotsk against Wittgenstein, defeated that general 

 with the loss of 7000 Russians, and left the field with a loss on his 

 side of scarcely 2000 men. For this brilliant achievement he was at 

 once created a marshal. After the battle of Leipzig, Marshal Saint-Cyr 

 was under the necessity of capitulating with his corps of 16,000 men. 

 He took no part during the Hundred Days ; and having joined the 

 fortune of the Bourbons, and stedfastly adhered to them, he was loaded 

 with favours by Louis XVIII. and Charles X. In 1817 he was 

 appointed governor of the 5th Military Division ; he then received the 

 grand cross of the order of St. Louis ; and was made a count, and 

 finally a marquis. Iu September 1818 he became minister of war. 

 Marshal Gouvion de Saint-Cyr died at the Hieres on the 12th of March 

 1830, and his body having been removed to Paris, he was buried in 

 the noble church of the Invalids, between Turenne and Lannes. He 

 was the author of several military works which are still held in high 

 esteem. 



ST. EVREMOND. [EVREMOND, ST.] 



* SAINT-HILAIRE, AUGUSTS, a French botanist of eminence, 

 was born at Orleans (Loire), iu France, on the 4th of October 1799. 

 He is more especially known for his travels in the Brazils and his great 

 work on the Brazilian Flora, entitled ' Flora Brasilicae Meridionales,' 

 which was published with plates in folio at Paris in 1825. He has also 

 published smaller works on the more remarkable plants of the Brazils, 

 and those which are most common in that country. His travels in 

 the diamond districts of the Brazils and in the provinces of Rio de 

 Janeiro and Minas Geraes have been published iu separate volumes. 

 They contain a large amount of information on the natural products 

 as wt-11 as of the inhabitants and other particulars of the interior of 

 this part of South America. His works have deservedly obtained for 

 him a high position amongst travellers and botanists. He is a member 

 of most of the great Societies of Europe that cultivate the natural 

 sciences. Besides the works above mentioned he has contributed a 

 large number of papers, more especially on botanical subjects, to the 

 scientific journals of Paris. Ho has also published on the plants of 

 France, and is extensively acquainted with the plants of Europe. 



SAINT-HILAIRE, GEOFFROY-ETIENNE, was born at Etampes, 

 iu France, the 15th of April 1772. He was destined by his father for 

 the church, and received the appointment to a canoury in his twelfth 

 year. He was however sent to the college of Navarre, wtiere Brisson 

 lectured on experimental philosophy, and under him he acquired a 

 taste for the natural science.?. He first devoted hims-.-lf to mineralogy, 

 in which Hau'y was his preceptor. On coming to Paris he studied 

 very diligently, and in 1793 was appointed subeurator and demon- 

 strator of the Natural History cabinet, in the Jardin des Plantes. J 

 was subsequently appointed professor of zoology, and lectured con- 

 jointly with Cuvier. In 1793 he accompanied the French expediti 



