682 



MARFORIO MARGARET OF ANJOU. 



June 13th, IVsaix arrived from Egypt, at the head- 

 quarters of Bonaparte ; the' main body of the army 

 Mas ronrriitrau-tl at Marengo : Desaix commanded 

 the consular guard. On the 14th the battle was 

 fought, in which Desaix was killed, and the Austrian 

 army, under Melas, was driven beyond the Bormida, 

 with a loss of 1200 killed, and 7000 taken prisoners. 

 About noon, on the day of battle, the French 

 columns, under Lannes and Victor, destitute of am- 

 munition, and reduced to half their number, were 

 compelled to retreat. They retired under cover of 

 Kellermann's brigade of cavalry. The slow advance 

 of the Austrians, anoV the false direction of their 

 numerous cavalry, gave the remains of the French 

 army time to rally behind the corps of Desaix, which 

 the first consul had already ordered to Novi, to cut 

 off the enemy's retreat to Genoa, but which was now 

 recalled in haste. Desaix had taken his position at 

 St Giuliano, on the left side of the road from Tortona 

 to Alexandria, when Kellermann arrived with his 

 brigade of cavalry, having received from the adjutant 

 Savary the command to support the attack of this 

 general. Thus the battle was renewed. Kellermann 

 had only 400 horse, and those fatigued by an eight 

 hours' contest. The infantry of Desaix was about 

 3000 or 4000 strong. The enemy was certain of 

 victory. Desaix was mortally wounded at the first 

 attack, and his little corps, unable to resist, retreated. 

 Behind the vineyards which covered him, Keller- 

 inann saw 6000 Hungarian grenadiers break their 

 ranks in pursuit of the French. He threw himself 

 into the midst of the enemy, who, terrified by this 

 unexpected attack, cut off from their cavalry, and 

 thinking themselves surrounded, threw down their 

 arms before the little band. The Austrian main 

 body supposed that the enemy had received a power- 

 ful reinforcement, and fell back, in haste and disorder, 

 to Bormida. Thus Kellermann decided the victory. 

 This defeat led to the armistice of Alexandria, be- 

 tween Bonaparte and Melas, according to the terms of 

 which the Austrians evacuated within fourteen days, 

 the citadels of Alexandria, Tortona, Milan, Turin, 

 Pizzighitone, Arona, and Piacenza, with the fortified 

 places of Genoa, Coni, Ceva, Savona, and Urbino, 

 and retired beyond Piacenza, between the Po and the 

 Mincio. 



MARFORIO; a colossal statue, representing the 

 river Rhine, in a lying posture, and standing in the 

 court of a wing of the Capitol at Rome. The name 

 Marforio is said to be a corruption of that of the 

 Mamerline prison or of the temple of Mars, which 

 were near the spot where this statue originally stood, 

 on the forum Romanum. The Marforio is famous 

 for having served, like the Pasquino, as the place 

 where the Roman satirists placed their sallies. 



MARGARET, queen of Denmark, Norway, and 

 Sweden, very justly called the northern Semiramis, 

 the daughter of Waldemar III., king of Denmark, 

 was born nt Copenhagen, in 1353, and married to 

 Haquin or Hacon, king of Norway, in 1363. The 

 talents, firmness, and beauty of the princess rendered 

 her popular among her countrymen, and, on the death 

 of her father, she succeeded in placing her son Olaus 

 on the throne of Denmark. The death of her hus- 

 band in 1380, put the government of Norway in her 

 hands, and the plan of uniting the three kingdoms, 

 which was favoured by the imbecility of the Swedish 

 monarch, seems now to have occupied the mind of 

 this princess. Olaus died in 1387, and Margaret, by 

 her addiess, caused herself to be declared queen. 

 Taking advantage of the domestic dissensions in 

 Sweden, and flattering the nobles with the prospect 

 of greater power, she raised a party in that country 

 who. recognised her as queen ; and having defeated 

 the troops of Albert, the Swedish king, at Falkoeping, 



she soon obtained possession of the throne. Looking 

 forward to a permanent union of the three crowns, 

 she endeavoured to effect her purpose by the cele- 

 brated act of union, or treaty of Cahnar (1397). 

 She restored tranquillity at home, and was successful 

 against the foreign enemies of her kingdom, but her 

 peace was disturbed by the ingratitude of Eric, whom 

 she had nominated her successor. She died in 1412, 

 after having, by her prudence, energy, address, and 

 foresight, raised herself to a degree of power and 

 grandeur, then unequalled in Europe from the time 

 of Charlemagne. See Norway, Sweden, and Den- 

 mark. 



MARGARET OF ANJOU, daughter of Regnier, 

 or Rene the Good, titular king of Sicily, was mar- 

 ried in 1443, to the imbecile Henry VI. of England. 

 By the marriage articles, Maine was given up to 

 her uncle Charles of Anjou, and this cession facili- 

 tated the conquest of Normandy by the French. The 

 loss of this important province was attributed to 

 Margaret, and the house of commons accused Suffolk, 

 the author of her marriage and the favourite minister 

 of the queen, of high treason. He was banished the 

 kingdom. Soon after the sentence, and without 

 having quitted the country, he was murdered. In 

 the war of the roses, which soon began to desolate 

 England, Margaret played a conspicuous and impor- 

 tant part. The bold, active, and even fierce temper 

 of this princess, contrasted singularly with the feeble 

 character of her husband. She was for a long time 

 the life of the Lancastrian party. She defeated the 

 duke of York, a-nd, placing a paper crown on his 

 head, exposed him at the gates of the city of York. 

 In 1461, the princess defeated Warwick, at St 

 Alban's, and her victories were always stained with 

 numerous executions. The son of the late duke of: 

 York, the gallant young Edward, soon appeared at 

 the head of the Yorkists, who now became victorious. 

 Margaret's army was annihilated at Towton, and 

 Edward was declared king. (See Edward IV.) 

 The unhappy queen succeeded in obtaining assistance 

 from Louis XI. of France, but was again defeated, 

 and compelled to flee. After concealing herself in 

 the wildest parts of the country, where she was often 

 compelled to suffer the greatest privations, and even 

 endured the greatest indignities from the lawless 

 bands, with which the distracted kingdom was ther 

 infested, the queen finally took refuge in France 

 It was not long before Warwick became embroiled 

 with the young king, and determined to replace 

 Henry on the throne. Edward was in turn obliged 

 to escape to the continent, but, having obtained as- 

 sistance from the duke of Burgundy, reappeared in 

 England after a few months, and defeated Warwick 

 at Barnet, on the very day that Margaret landed in 

 England with her son, then eighteen years of age. 

 On hearing of the defeat and death of her champion, 

 the courage of Margaret seemed for once to forsake 

 her, and she took refuge in the monastery of Beau- 

 lieu. But her undaunted and masculine spirit again 

 led her to the field ; having collected her partisans, 

 the hostile forces met at Tewksbury, and the Lan- 

 castrians were totally defeated. Her son was car- 

 ried before the king. " How dare you," said Edward, 

 " enter my realm with banner flying?" " To recover 

 my father's kingdom,'' answered the prince, with the 

 spirit of his mother, " and heritage from his father 

 and grandfather to him, and from him to me lineally 

 descended." Edward pushed him back, and the 

 barbarous lords despatched him. Henry soon after 

 died, if he was not murdered, in the Tower, and 

 Margaret remained in prison four years. Louis XI. 

 ransomed her for 50,000 crowns, and, in 1482, she 

 died, " the most unhappy queen, wife, and mother," 

 says Voltaire, "in Europe." Her courage, her suf- 



