350 LON 
the earned: of a truly golden era, an era of peace and 
abundance, which fhouid repair the long ravages of war, 
and in which the principles of improvement, which, after 
beginning to unfold theinfelves, had been crufhed beneath 
the temped, would fpring up and flouriffi anew. Never 
perhaps, in the annals of hiltory, had fo juft a caufe been 
crowned with fo fignal a triumph. 
The retreat of Bonaparte w as of fuch a nature as might 
be expected, with fo powerful an army behind, and clouds 
of light troops far advanced before him. A daily lofs of 
artillery, baggage, and prifoners, marked his courfe from 
the Saale to the Maine. On approaching the laft-men- 
tioned river, a new obftacle prefented itfelf.—We have 
noticed the defection of Bavaria. That power feemed 
anxious, by the molt extraordinary efforts, to efface the 
recollection of all that it had done again ft the liberties of 
Germany. General Wrede inftantly fet out, and, march¬ 
ing with almoft unprecedented rapidity, arrived on the 
Maine before the French army. After poffefTing himfelf 
of Wurtzburg, he proceeded, and took a pofition in ad¬ 
vance of Hanau, by which it was neceffary that the French 
army fhouid pais. Bonaparte was now certainly in very 
imminent danger of total deftruftion. Had Blucher fol¬ 
lowed by the fame route which he had taken, this ifl'ue 
could fcarcely have been averted. But the Pruflian ge¬ 
neral, by an unfortunate though very natural calculation, 
had fuppofed that, as the Bavarian army was on the Maine, 
Bonaparte would not retire by that route, but would crofs 
the Rhine at Coblentz, upon which place he directed his 
inarch. Bonaparte therefore, on approaching Hanau, 
could turn his whole remaining military force, amounting 
to 70 or 80,000 men, again ft the Bavarian army, which 
did not exceed 30,000. Wrede however, with the mod 
gallant determination, refolved to ftand the unequal con- 
teft ; and for two days this army maintained it glorioufly, 
with fevere lofs indeed, but without any decifive defeat. 
Wrede himfelf received a wound, which threatened to 
prove mortal, but from which he fortunately recovered. 
Meanwhile, it was impoffible, with forces fo inferior, to 
avoid being puflied fo far afide, as that Bonaparte might 
be able to proceed on the road to Frankfort. He did not 
flop in that city, but continued his march 5 on the 7th of 
November crofted the Rhine with his whole army ; and 
on the 9th reached St. Cloud in fafety. 
It is pleafing to refieff, that that power which had been 
the rnoft degraded, infulted, and fcorned, by Bonaparte, 
had the greateft fhare in infli&ing this punifhment and 
difgrace upon him. The Pruffians more than redeemed 
the reproach, and revenged the defeat, of Jena. As for 
their veteran commander, Blucher, his character was not 
to be redeemed—it had never fuffered reproach. He re¬ 
mained faithful amidft the faithlefs ; and preferred figh- 
ing over the degradation of his country in a diftant land, 
to the enjoyment of rank and honours as the inftrument 
of French ambition. He has had his revenge upon the 
enemies of his country. No officer contributed fo much 
to the prefent happy pofture of the affairs of the allies. 
Like Gen. Kutufoff, he has given the extreme of old age 
to the labours and dangers of the field ; and, like him, he 
has lived to fee the complete deliverance of his country, 
and the deftrudlion of its enemies. 
On the 13th of November, at noon, Napoleon, being 
on his throne, received the fenate; when count Lace- 
pede, the prefident, fpoke in thefe terms : “ Sire ; The 
thoqghts of the fenate have conftantly accompanied your 
majefty in the midft of the memorable events of this cam¬ 
paign j it has fhuddered at the dangers which your ma- 
jelty ran. The efforts of the enemies of France have in 
vain been feconded by the defection of the allies, by trea- 
fons unexampled, by extraordinary events, and by fatal 
accidents. Your majefty has furmounted them all—you 
have fought for peace. Before the refumption of hoftili- 
ties, your majefty offered the affembling of a congrefs, to 
which all the powers, even the moft infignificant ones, 
Jhould be called, to conciliate all differences, and lay 
DON. 
down the bafis of a peace, honourable to all nations. 
Your enemies, fire, oppofed the affembling of this con¬ 
grefs. It is upon them that the whole blame of the war 
muft fall. Your majefty, who knows better than any 
erfon the wants and the fentiments of your fubje&s, 
nows that we delire peace. However, all the nations on 
the continent have a ftill greater occalion for it than we ; 
and if, notwithitanding the wiffi and the intereft of 
130,000,000 of fouls, our enemies, refufing to treat, ffiould 
wiffi, by impofing conditions, to preferibe to us a fort of 
capitulation, thefe fallacious hopes would be rendered 
abortive! Frenchmen will ffiow, by their devotion and 
by their facrifices, that no nation has ever better under- 
ftood its duties towards the country, honour, and the fo- 
vereign.” 
His majefty replied, “Senators, I accept the fenti¬ 
ments which you exprefs towards me. All Europe was 
with us a year ago; all Europe is now again ft us; it is 
becaufe the opinion of the world is regulated by France 
or by England. We ffiould, therefore, have every thing 
to dread, but for the energy and the power of the nation. 
Pofterity will fay, that, if great and critical circumllances 
prefented themfelves, they were not fuperior to France 
and me.” 
The allies continued to advance. At Frankfort, on 
Dec. 1, they publiffied, jointly, the following Declaration, 
which was greatly admired for its moderation : “ The 
French government has ordered a new levy of 300,000 
confcripts. The motives of the fenatus conlultum to that 
effeft contain an appeal to the allied powers. They there¬ 
fore find themfelves called upon to promulgate anew, in 
the face of the world, the views which guide them in the 
prefent war; the principles which form the bafis of their 
conduft, their wiffies, and their determinations. The al¬ 
lied powers do not make war upon France, but again ft 
that preponderance, haughtily announced,—againlt that 
preponderance which, to the misfortune of Europe and of 
France, the emperor Napoleon has too long exercifed be¬ 
yond the limits of his empire. Viftory has conducted 
the allied armies to the banks of the Rhine. The firft 
ufe which their imperial and royal majefties have made of 
victory, has been to offer peace to his majefty the empe¬ 
ror of the French. An attitude ftrengthened by the ac- 
ceffion of all the fovereigns and princes of Germany, has 
had no influence on the conditions of that peace. Thefe 
conditions are founded on the independence of the French 
empire, as well as on the independence of other ftates of 
Europe. The views of the powers are juft in their ob- 
je£V, generous and liberal in their application, giving fe- 
curity to all, honourable to each. The allied lovereigns 
defire that France may be great, powerful, and happy 5 
becaufe the French power, in a ftate of greatnefs and 
ftrength, is one of the foundations of the focial edifice of 
Europe. They wiffi that France may be happy.—that 
French commerce may revive—tiiat the arts, thole bleff- 
ings of peace, may again flouriffi 5 becaufe a great people 
can only be tranquil in proportion as it is happy. The 
powers confirm to the French empire an extent of terri¬ 
tory which France under her kings never knew; becaufe 
a valiant nation does not fall from its rank, by having in 
its turn experienced reverfes in an obftinate and fangui- 
nary conteft, in which it has fought with its accultomed 
bravery. But the allied powers alfo wiffi to be free, tran¬ 
quil, and happy, themfelves. They defire a ftate of peace 
which, by a wife partition of ftrength, by a juft equili¬ 
brium, may henceforward preferve their people from the 
numberlefs calamities which have overwhelmed Europe 
for the laft twenty years. The allied powers will not lay 
down their arms, until they have attained this great and 
beneficial refult, this noble object of their efforts. They 
will not lay down their arms, until the political ftate of 
Europe be re-eitabliffied anew—until immovable princi¬ 
ples have refamed their rights over vain pretenfions—un¬ 
til the famStity of treaties ffiall have at laft feeured a real 
peace to Europe.’’ 
On 
