f 93 L O N 
ex-generals, fa id to have been of the republican party, 
Mallet, Lahorie, and Guual, having framed a fictitious 
fenatus confultum, went to the barracks occupied by the 
firft divifion of the national guards and the dragoons of 
Paris, and, having read a proclamation, informing them 
of the pretended death of the emperoron the 7th, ordered 
thefe troops, in the name of the regent, to follow them. The 
troops obeyed, and fuffered themfelves to be led to different 
pofts, where they relieved the guards. The confpirators then 
prefented themfelves at the apartments of the minifter of 
the police and the prefectof the police, whom they arretted, 
and carried to prifon under an efcort of 300 men. Ano¬ 
ther divifion, in the mean time, was marched to the houfe 
of the commandant of Paris, general Hullin, when Mallet 
informed him that he was no longer commandant; and, 
on Hullin’s hefitating to refign his authority, Mallet fhot 
birfi in the neck with a piftol. Mallet then proceeded 
with the defign of arrefting the chief of the etat-major of 
Paris; but this perfon had feveral officers in his apart¬ 
ment, who, proving too powerful for Mallet, arrefted 
him. They then harangued the troops which had accom¬ 
panied him; and, having fucceeded in convincing them that 
the emperor was not dead, and that this was a confpiracy, 
they laid down their arms. The troops cantoned in Ver- 
failies and the neighbourhood were then fent for, the bar¬ 
riers were ffiut, and the confpirators, being, belides the 
three generals, about twenty officers and fub-officers, 
were arrefted and committed to prifon ; and in a ffiort 
time Paris was perfectly tranquil. It is afferted by autho¬ 
rity, that not a fingle citizen of Paris or the departments 
was fufpefted of being an accomplice in this affair. A 
military commiffion was convoked to try the culprits, 
which declared the three ex-generals and eleven others 
“guilty of the crime againlt the fafety of the ftate,” and 
adjudged them to death, acquitting the reft. The execu¬ 
tion took place on OHober 30, in the plain of Grenelle, 
in the midft of a numerous concourfe of fpeClators; and 
thus the confpiracy feems to have been completely extin- 
guifhed, no relics of it having fmce been brought to light. 
The defertion of Mofcow by Napoleon (who quitted 
it the day after the defeat of Murat) was equally a J'ubjett 
of furprife and fpeculation at Paris, the public papers of 
which exhauffed their ingenuity in finding excufes and 
motives for this event. One of them thus concludes its 
reafoningss “To fay that the emperor has left Mofcow, 
is only to fay, that this father of the foldiers marches 
wherever great operations demand his prefence. His pre¬ 
fence commands victory ; it will Hill watch over the fafety 
of the victorious army.” We ffiall fee in the iequel how 
well this expectation was verified. 
The firft proof of the great change of fituation between 
the two armies, was the million of Laurifton to Kutufoff, in 
ordertopropofean armiftice, and treat of peace. Theanfwer 
given was, that no negociation of this kind could be en¬ 
tered upon till the French had repaired the Viftula; and, 
when Laurifton obfervsd in reply, that they muft then 
retire fighting every inch, fince the Ruffian armies were 
marching on all fides, Kutufoff rejoined, that, as the French 
had not "been invited to Mofcow, they muft get back as 
they could. Murat alfo is ftated to have gone to the ad¬ 
vanced pofts, and held a conference with general Milar- 
dovitch, probably for the purpofe of bringing about an 
armiftice, but from which he derived no fatisfaciion. At 
this time the Ruffians had cleared both banks of the Bu¬ 
na, as far as Witepfk, from the invaders; and the pro¬ 
vince of Volhynla was entirely freed from the enemy. 
The French grand army firft direfted its march upon 
Kaluga; but, finding obftacles in that quarter, the route 
was changed towards Mojaifk. The Ruffians preffing 
upon it, an engagement was brought on at Malo-ya- 
roflavetz, on the 24th, in which, as ufual, the French 
claim a victory; at lealt, it appears that they checked 
their purfuers. On November 9, Napoleon arrived with 
the imperial guard at Smolenlko. Of the encounters in 
D 0 No 
this interval, between the retreating and the purfulng at 8 * 
mies, the relations by the two parties are fo irreconcileabie, 
that we (hall not attempt to form them into a confident 
narrative. It is only certain that much lofs was fuflained 
by the French which they were not in a condition to re¬ 
pair. The Ruffian winter, which began on the 7th with 
deep fnow, greatly added to their difficulties and bufferings $ 
and their bulletins acknowledge the lofs of many men by 
cold and fatigue in their njght-bivpuackings. Two in¬ 
tercepted letters from the viceroy of Italy, Eugene-Napo- 
leon, to the prince of Neufcliatel, afford undeniable evi¬ 
dence of the extreme diftrefs to which the retreating French 
were reduced. In the firft, dated November 8, he fpeaks 
of an attack on the head, rear, and. centre, of his columns, 
by the enemy, in which two of his cannon were carried 
off; and, after mentioning his embarraffments, and his 
critical fituation, he fays, “ I muft not conceal from your 
highnels, that, after uiing every effort in my power, I 
have yet found it impoflible to drag my artillery, and that, 
in this refpedt, great facrifices muft be expeCted.” In the 
fecond, on the following day, he mentions the incredible 
efforts he has made for a fmall advance ; and fays, “Thefe 
three laft days have coft us two-thirds of the artillery of 
this corps of the army. Yefterdav about four hundred 
horfes died; and to-day perhaps double that number have 
perifhed, exclufive of the great number which I haye 
caufed to be put on for the military baggage, and for that 
of individuals. Whole trains of horfes have perifhed iu 
the harnefs at once. I muft not conceal from your 
highnefs, that thefe three days of buffering have fo difpi- 
rited the foldiers, that I believe them at this moment very 
little capable of making any effort. Numbers cf men are 
dead of hunger or cold ; and others, in del'pair, have fuf¬ 
fered themfelves to be taken by the enemy.” In this 
dreadful condition he was again attacked by general Pla- 
toff, at the head of his Cofiacks, who, in his report to 
marfhal Kutufoff, fpeaks of three thoufand prifoners, and 
fixty-two pieces of cannon, as the refult of his victory. 
The purfuit of the retreating army, on its route to 
Smolenfko, llill continued ; and on the 10th, a body of 
2000 men, with 60 officers, being a divifion of general 
Augereau’s corps, was furrounded by the cavalry of count 
Orloff Denizoff, and laid down their arms, after a feeble 
refiftance. On the 14th, count Wittgenliein, who had 
made himfelf mafter of Witepfk, was attacked by marfhal 
Victor, in confequence of an order to drive him beyond 
the Duna. After an obftinate aCtion, which continued the 
greateft part of the day, the French retired with confider- 
able lofs, having failed of their purpofe. Several other 
aCtions took place, which are reprefented as being uni¬ 
formly favourable to the Ruffians, and were preludes to 
much more important fuccefl'es. The French, who, after 
blowing up the fortifications of Smolenfko, were march¬ 
ing upon Krafnoi, a town to the fouth-weft of that city, 
were overtaken by the advanced troops of marfhal Kutu¬ 
foff ’s army, which had made prodigious exertions for that 
purpofe; and, on November 16, the corps of marfhal Da- 
vouft, which had been turned by prince Galitzin, was 
brought to action. The battle laited the whole day, Na¬ 
poleon himfelf being in the field, which he quitted with¬ 
out waiting for the ifl'ue. It terminated in the complete 
deftruction or difperfion of Davouft’s army, which, befides 
a very heavy lofs in killed and wounded, had above 9000 
men, with two generals and many inferior officers, taken 
prifoners, and loft 70 pieces of cannon. An additional 
force was then fent to reinforce general Milardovitch, in 
order to flop the advance of marfhal Ney with the rear- 
divifions of the French. On the 17th, under cover of a 
thick fog, Ney’s troops got unperceived to the foot.of the 
Ruffian batteries, and endeavoured to pierce through the 
lines of their opponents. Their efforts, however, were 
ineffectual ; and,after great carnage from the Ruffian can¬ 
non and mufketry, the remainder, in number 12,000, at 
midnight, laid down their arms, giving up their cannon, 
baggage, 
