LON 
plored t!ie humiliation of Audria,and the fervility of the 
archduke Charles. 
The intimation given by Bonaparte in December 
1809, of an intended change in Holland, by which it would 
become a part of the French empire, (p. 198.) was not 
long before it was aided upon French troops had begun 
to glide imperceptibly into Holland, till at lad it was oc¬ 
cupied by a French army ef 40,000 men. The Exchange 
of Rotterdam was converted into a itable for French ca¬ 
valry. This was a virtual or real annexation of that coun¬ 
try to the French empire. Yet Bonaparte appears at firft 
to have been willing that it (hould polfefs a nominal in¬ 
dependence, and his brother wear a nominal crown. A 
treaty was made (April 1.) with Louis, whereby Holland 
on the left bank of the Waal only was to be annexed to 
France. An army of 18,000 men, including 3000 cavalry, 
partly French and partly Dutch, was to be didributed at 
all the mouths of the rivers, along with officers of the 
French cultoms, for the prohibition of all trade between 
Holland and England ; the whole to be paid, provifioned, 
and clothed, by the Dutch government. About the mid¬ 
dle of June, 20,000 French troops were alfembled in the 
environs of Utrecht. On the 29th of that month, Louis 
king of Holland received official information, that the em¬ 
peror infilled on the occupation of Amlterdam, and the 
edabliffiment of the French head-quarters in that capital. 
Under thefe circumdances, Louis, on the ill of July, re- 
figned his rank and royal dignity in favour of his foils, 
Napoleon-Louis and Charles-Louis-Napoleon. Oil the 
fame day he wrote a farewell addrefs to the legiflative 
body, Hating the circumdances under which he was com¬ 
pelled to fign a treaty didated by France. “ I have the 
cruelly-grievous fatisfadion, yet now the only one I can 
have, that I have fulfilled my obligations to the end. 
That I have (if I am permitted to lpeak) facrificed to the 
exiftence and welfare of the country all that was poffible; 
but, after the refignation and fubmiffion of the ill of 
April, I ffiould be much to blame if 1 confented to retain 
the title of king, being no longer any other than an in- 
ilrument—no longer commanding in my own capital, 
and, perhaps, foon not even in my palace. My brother, 
fo violently irritated againft me, is not fo again(t my chil¬ 
dren. Perhaps I am the only obltacle to the reconcilia¬ 
tion of this country with France ; and, ffiould that be fo, 
I might find fome confolation in dragging out the re¬ 
mainder of a wandering and languifhing life at a diftance 
from the fil'd, objeds of my whole affeclion, this good 
people, and my fons. Thefe are my principal motives. 
There are others equally powerful, with refped to which 
I mud be filent, but they will eafily be divined. The em¬ 
peror, my brother, though drongly prejudiced againlt me, 
mud feel that I could not ad otherwife. He is great; 
and he ought to be jujt. As to you, gentlemen, I diould be 
much more unhappy even than I am, if poffible, could I 
imagine that you would not do jullice to my intentions. 
May the end of my career prove to the nation and to you, 
that I have never deceived you ; that I have had but one 
aim, the true intereft of the country ; that the faults I 
may have committed are to be afcribed folely to my zeal, 
which induced me to employ, not always the bed, but the 
mod practicable, means of overcoming the difficulty of 
circumdances. I cannot, gentlemen, conclude, without 
recommending to you, in the name of the interell and 
the exidence of fo many families, whofe property and iives 
would be infallibly compromifed, to receive the French 
with the attention, cordiality, and kindnefs, due to the 
brave people of the fird nation in the univerfe. In what¬ 
ever place I may terminate my days, the name of Holland, 
and the mod lively prayers for its happinels, will be my 
lall words and my lad thoughts.” 
In this addrefs, and indeed in the vvhole tenour of 
Louis’s conduct towards Holland, as was acknowledged 
by the Dutch themfelves, we recognife moral fentiments, 
the very reverfe of thofe of his brother ; a fympatby with 
the human race, and a lively regard to their fympatby 
Vol. XIII. No. 903. 
D O N. £33 
and approbation. Louis ffiowed an excellent underdand- 
ing too. He appeared in the-light of both a good and a 
lend hie man, drugging hard to do the bed he could un¬ 
der untoward and adverfe circumdances. Yet he cannot 
on any account be conlidered as a great man. He had be¬ 
come the indrument of a tyrant in fubverting the consti¬ 
tution of the country, and elfabliffiing a form of govern¬ 
ment inconfident with the habits, and repugnant to the 
opinions, of the inhabitants. How much more noble, 
lofty, and truly great, was the conduct of Luyien ; who, 
after repeatedly refufingto accept proffered crowns, with¬ 
drew from the tyranny of a defpot, though his brother, to 
breathe the air of liberty in this happy ifland ! Lucien 
Bonaparte, with his lady, feven children, and the whole 
of his fuite, which was very numerous, including a num¬ 
ber of artids and men of letters, arrived at Plymouth from 
Malta, on the 13th of December, in an Engliffi frigate. 
He has continued ever fince to refide near Worceder, un¬ 
der the protection of this government, having a range of 
parole four miles from his houfe, which includes the^city 
of Worcefter. His edabliffiment confids of about fifty 
perfons ; and he is greatly refpefted in the neighbour¬ 
hood. 
The ex-king Louis, after many conferences with Na. 
poleon at Paris, during a relidence there for fix weeks, re¬ 
ported to his miniders, by orders from the emperor, that 
there could no longer be any independence or national 
exidence for Holland, if there fliould be a continuation^ 
of a maritime war with Great Britain. But the annexa¬ 
tion of Holland, which would be fo great an extenfion of 
fea-coad to France, mud naturally be an objeit of alarm 
to the Britiffi government : it was therefore poffible, that 
the cabinet of London, rather than fufter lb fatal a ltroke, 
might be induced to make peace with France, or to change 
the meafures it had adopted relpefling commerce and the 
navigation of neutral dates. He therefore directed them 
to fend fome difcreet perfon, acquainted with the nature 
of commerce, to England, to reprefent to the minidry 
how advantageous the independence of Holland mud be 
to Great Britain. On this million mynheer Peter Ctefar 
Labouchere was fent, on the 2d of February. Having ar¬ 
rived in London on the 16th, he had leveral conferences 
with marquis Wellefley. The whole communication was 
merely verbal. The marquis expreffed his forrow at the 
aggreffions to which Holland was a prey ; “ but,” faid the 
marquis, “ we mud not facrifice our own national interelts 
and honour. The commercial war was provoked by the 
French emperor himfelf. The orders in council were not 
the caufe, but the confequence, of the decrees of Berlin 
and Milan. The decrees of France were dill in force. It 
could not be expefted that we ffiould relax in our efforts 
of felf-defence.” In another conference with Labouchere, 
lord Wellefley obferved, that it would not be convenient 
for England to admit in principle that the Britiffi mea¬ 
fures of reprifals diould be difcontinued as foon as the 
caufe that provoked them ffiould be removed. “ In fact,” 
faid Labouchere, “this minilter thinks very highly of the 
orders in council, as tending to weaken the means and 
force of France. No hopes of a change or relaxation in 
this fyltem, but in a change of miniltry. Attempts on the 
part of hodile nations to bring back the Engliffi govern¬ 
ment to other ideas, would probably have the contrary 
effect. It is not improbable that Bonaparte, on this laft 
point, was of the fame opinion. But it formed a part of 
his policy to afreCl an earned defire of peace. In his mef- 
fage to the confervative fenate, dated Thuiileries, Decem¬ 
ber 10, 1810, in which he dates his realons for annexing 
Holland and other countries beyond it to France, he men¬ 
tions this fruitless million of the Dutchman to London. 
As to the abdication of Louis in favour of his children, it 
was confidered as of no validity, not having been previoufly 
concerted with the emperor. The kingdom of Holland, 
therefore, was annexed to France on the north; and the 
Valais, on the fouth, became one of its departments. 
Thus aggrandizing his empire, and dretching the arms of 
3 O his 
