A U STRI A. 



141 



Austria. France or Holland, would relieve him from more 

 ' - v ' than one half of their forces. While these puerilities 

 passed, the terrible armies of France rushed like a 

 torrent upon Swabia, Franconia, and Bavaria. Dis- 

 regarding the neutrality of Prussia, they traversed 

 Anspach, annihilated the army of General Mack at 

 Ulm, and on the 15th of October, the third day after 

 firing the first shot, decided the fate of this war, and 

 ruined the third coalition, which had for its profess- 

 ed object the deL erance of Europe. 



It was now in vain that the brave Archduke Charles 

 defeated Massena with the French Italian army at 

 Caldiero, and that the Emperor of Russia put him- 

 self at the head of his auxiliary force for the salvation 

 of Austria. It was in vain that Nelson got the bril- 

 liant victory of Trafalgar. Prussia would not stir ; 

 and England, as on many other occasions, sent her 

 gallant troops to fight against the storms of the north 

 sea, and the winters of Germany, long after any thing 

 they might atchieve could possibly avail herself or 

 her allies. One disaster succeeded another. Bona- 

 parte entered Vienna ; passed the Danube on the same 

 day, with infinite pleasure and composure, by the 

 Tabor-bridge, which the Austrian commander Prince 

 Auersperg had politely left free and entire for his 

 accommodation ; and in a very few weeks afterwards, 

 discomfited and disgraced the Emperors of Austria 

 and Russia at Austerlitz. 



Of all the blunders committed by Austria since 

 the commencement of the revolution war, fighting 

 this battle, before the arrival of the Archduke Charles, 

 was the most notorious. That gallant prince was 

 at the head of a victorious army of 95,000 effec- 

 tive men, within six days march of the French, and 

 was rapidly advancing to put Bonaparte between 

 two fires, at the very time when the action, so fatal 

 to Austria, was resolved upon. He accordingly en- 

 tered Neustadt, took the military chest of the French 

 army there, within 30 miles of Vienna, on the 10th 

 of December. It was too late. The field of Aus- 

 terlitz had produced, on the 2d of that month, an 

 armistice, which, on the 4th, consummated the shame 

 of Russia, and the degradation and political death of 

 the Austrian monarch. 

 Peace of By the treaty of Presburg, which was signed six 



Presburg, mon ths after the commencement of hostilities, Aus- 

 l80s' e ' tr ' a ^ 08t ' besides other provinces, her right arm of de- 

 fence, Tyrol and the Swabian principalities. These 

 might be considered as a vast fortress towards Italy, 

 Germany, and France. They had been, for 300 years, 

 constituent parts of the monarchy ; and their popu- 

 lation, brave, magnanimous, and warlike, had been 

 for ages conspicuous for their attachment to the 

 house of Austria. Their country had long been 

 deemed impregnable, and, indeed, might justly be so 

 reckoned, when backed by the resources of a power- 

 ful empire. Francis II. also lost Dalmatia, Istria, 

 Frioul, and Cattaro j and, in short, cut himself off 

 from every prospect of becoming the head of a ma- 

 ritime power in the Mediterranean. 



In return for these sacrifices, and for heavy con- 

 tributions paid in specie to the French armies, he 

 received for his brother, the late elector of Salzburg, 

 the bishopric of Wurtzburg, with its dependencies, 

 and annexed Salzburg and Berchtolsgaden, which 



his brother had enjoyed since the treaty of Luneville, 

 to the Austrian crown. 



The treaty of Presburg was the most humiliating 

 and disastrous to which Francis had hitherto been 

 obliged to submit. It was talked of at Vienna in a 

 style rather inconsistent with the apathy usually ma- 

 nifested on such matters by the public. Many per- 

 sons spoke their minds freely against it ; and the 

 best friends of government seemed to be ashamed of 

 the condition to which a powerful empire had so sud- 

 denly been reduced. The same feeling pervaded the 

 court, and all the princes of the imperial family ; 

 especially the archdukes, who had shared in the cam- 

 paign in Italy, and who attributed wholly to misma- 

 nagement the reverses which had produced this scan- 

 dalous and disastrous peace. Meanwhile, however,, 

 the finances had gone into the most alarming disor- 

 der. The florin in paper had fallen, between the- 

 breaking out of the war and the signing of the peace, 

 from 2s. sterling to Is. 2d., and specie of every sort 

 had totally disappeared. The armies were destitute 

 of all supplies. Hungary had manifested symptoms, 

 if not of disaffection, yet, at least, of lukewarmness 

 towards the emperor, and had not exerted herself, 

 during the war, in any degree proportionable to her 

 resource*. Officers in high situations had proved 

 unworthy of their trust, and were to be tried. The 

 arsenals of the empire were empty. Every necessary 

 for carrying on the war was scarce, and extravagant- 

 ly dear. Nothing could be expected from Prussia 

 or Russia. Repose became indispensably necessary. 

 In 1806- and 1807, France occupied the period of 

 Austrian palsy, occasioned by the war of 1805 and 

 the treaty of Presburg, in destroying Prussia, and 

 humbling Russia. It is foreign from our purpose to 

 dwell upon the phrensy of those powers, who timed 

 their exertions precisely in a way to accommodate 

 their enemy, and to ruin their own resources. When 

 Russia, in particular, which had on foot 435,000 men 

 in her European states, chose to meet the French ar- 

 mies, upon her own frontier, with only 78,000 men, 

 (as appears from her own statements of the battles 

 of Pultusk and Eylau,) and when, after the enemy 

 had spent many months inactive in her neighbour- 

 hood, she did not call forth above 40,000 men to re- 

 cruit her wasted forces, and to enable her to drive 

 him back from her dominions ; Austria plainly saw, 

 that there must have been some radical defect, some 

 ruinous and irretrievable evil in the Russian councils, 

 which would speedily lay that country, as well as 

 Prussia, prostrate at the feet of France. Any exer- 

 tions which she might make, were therefore consi- 

 dered as inexpedient and unavailing, and were ac- 

 cordingly withheld. 



The summer of 1808 exhibited to Europe and the 

 world a new scene in the modern revolutionary tra- 

 gedy. France trampled upon Spain, and Spain strug- 

 gled to resent the indignity, and make it recoil upon 

 its authors. A nation, and not merely a cabinet as 

 heretofore, appeared to start up with an astonishing 

 degree of unanimity, and in language unknown for 

 ages, to assert her rights, which had been perfidious- 

 ly violated. Her enemy and oppressor poured his 

 myriads of disciplined veterans into her territory ;, 

 but although generally successful in the field, these 



Austria. 



