to general Suchet, and to the firft conful, with an account of his fituation, were taken by the enemy. In the mean time, Maffena became acquainted with the march of the army of referve, under Buonaparte. He was not lefs encouraged by the courage of his troops. There was not a day that paffed without (kirmishing between advanced pofts, in forced reconnoitrings, and efforts to penetrate within the pofitions of the befieging army.

On the thirtieth of April, the Auftrians, who by this time had carried the poft of Deux Frere's, and fort Quezzi, blockaded Fort Diamant, and commanded the works of Fort Eperon. In this pofture of affairs, Maffena, perceiving that they had in view to take the, poft of la Madona del Monte, from whence they might drive the French from Alboro, the only point from which they would be able to bombard Genoa, he formed a refolution to make a laft effort with his corps of referve, which had not yet been brought into ferious action, and to force the enemy to abandon their most advanced pofitions. In this he fucceeded, but it was at the expense of a series of bloody actions, defperate and obftinate, and lofs on both fides; infomuch, that the combatants being too near each other to make use of muskery, had recourfe to their bayonets, the butt ends of their mufkets, and even to ftones. The lofs in killed, on both fides, was great. The French made a great number of prifoners, even to the amount of feveral thousands, and took all the fealing-ladders deftined for the efcalade of Genoa, and the forts adjaThe fealing-ladders were fo

cent.

formed as to admit of three men abreast. They were burned by the French in the night. General Soult carried the poft of DeuxFreres, and the route of the Auftrians was complete. The fituation of the Auftrian prifoners in Genoa was dreadful. The French suffered extreme privations themselves; their prifoners, after attempting to prolong life by eating their fhoes and knapfacks, died of hunger.

J

This day, the moft memorable in the fiege, the victory, which was fo decidedly on the fide of the French, only ferved to haften its conclufion. Such combats, fo deftructive to both parties, added to the miseries of the French and Genoefe, by the increafe of prifoners without an encreafe of provifions. The army of Buonaparte was yet at too great a diftance to come to the relief of Maffena before the laft of his foldiers fhould have perifhed with hunger. In the forties, which he made in the courfe of the month of May, he loft a great many of his officers, and among these some of the generals of his ftaff, in killed and feverely wounded.

The city of Savona had furrendered to the Auftrians on the fifteenth of May. The English fleet began now to bombard Genoa every night. The populace, particularly the women, running about the ftreets, fet up frightful cries for peace. And a general infurrection of the people of Genoa against the French, would have enfued, if the e^forts of the French foldiers to restrain it, had not been feconded by a number of individuals among the inhabitants. The illufions of hope at last vanished. There was no longer the fmallest expectation that the fuccours fo long looked for would come

in time. The provifions were entirely exhaufted; even the last horses and dogs were nearly confumed, when general Maffena received a letter from general Melas, inviting him to an interview with lord Keith, and the generals Otto and St. Julian, who offered him a capitulation on the most honourable terms. To this firft overture, he replied, that he would confider of it; though he had, in truth, nothing farther to confider. The day after, he received another meflage with the fame terms. He then fent the adjutant-general Andreaux, under pretence of fome bufinefs relating to the prifoners, to Rivolo, to receive the proposals of the enemy, and to enter, without any farther delay, into a negociation for peace.

66

The first article of capitulation propofed by the allies, was, that the army fhould return to France, but that the general thould remain prifoner of war-" You, fir," faid lord Keith to Massena, are worth twenty thousand men." But, Maffena faid, "that no negociation would be gone into, if the word capitulation was to be made ufe of." On the fourth of June the allied generals, having departed from their firft propofal, refumed the negociations. In the mean time, while this was going on, the city of Genoa* containing a population of one hundred and fixty thoufand fouls, though a prey to all the horrors of famine, remained quiet. A great number of old people, women and children, reduced to the neceflity of attempting to fuftain nature by herbs, roots, and impure animals, died of dileafe or ineni

tion. This melancholy picture, was often exhibited to view, by the rifing fun. Mothers were often found dead with hunger, and chil dren, at the breaft alfo dead, or dying.

On that day, the fourth of June, the principal articles for the evacuation of Genoa were agreed on between the French adjutant-geneAudreaux on the one part, and major-general Reft, a staff officer in the imperial service, with the Englifh captain Rivera, on the other. And it was fettled that the chiefs of the oppofite armies fhould meet, on the day after, being the fifth of June, for figning a definitive treaty. At nine o'clock in the morning of that day a conference was held by the oppofite parties, in a small chapel, which is fituated in the middle of the bridge of Cornegliano, and between the pofts of the Auftrians and the French. Here lord Keith, commander of the combined naval forces in the Mediterranean, general Otto, commander of the blockade of Genoa, with general St. Julian, who was charged with the political part of the negociation, were met by general Maflena, commander-in-chief of the French army in Italy. Each of thefe parties was accompanied by only two or three gentlemen.

In this conference Maffena difplayed much fineffe, under the cloak of an apparent gaiety, which formed a complete contraft with the gravity of the other contracling party, and was attended with this advantage, that it did not look as if he were greatly alarmed for the fituation of his army. And it is,

perhaps,

perhaps, owing to that eafe and gaiety of manner that he obtained, in the end, all that he had demanded. A degree of misunderstanding had taken place for fome time between the English, as individuals, and the Auftrians. The former reproached the latter with the great length to which the fiege had been protracted. Maflena endeavoured to widen and to take advantage of this want of harmony, by flattering the pride of one party at the expenfe of the felf-love of the other. He faid to lord Keith, "Do you, my lord, only permit a little grain to be carried into Genoa, and I give you my word that these gentlemen (looking at the Auftrian generals) fhall never fet foot there." Toward the end of the conference he again addreffed lord Keith, perfonally: "My lord, if France and England could only understand one another, they would govern the world."* In the whole of this conference, lord Keith treated' Maflena, as the general often acknowledged, in a very civil and handfome manner. His lordship difclaimed all hard conditions. He always faid, General, the defence you have made has been fo heroic, that it is impoffible to re

fufe you any thing that you ask.” At length, at feven o'clock at night, Maffena figned the treaty for the evacuation of Genoa, and the contracting parties mutually gave hoftages. The fubftance of the treaty was, that the right wing of the French army, charged with the defence of Genoa, and the commander-in-chief with his staff, fhould go out of Genoa with their arms and baggage, in order to rejoin the centre of the faid army by land.-The fame liberty was granted to eight thousand one hundred men, who had permiffion to enter France by Nice. The reft were tranfported by fea to Antibes, and were duly provided with provifions.Due attention was alfo paid to the hofpitals and the prifoners. Pailports were granted to the Genoese patriots. The Auftrians took polfeffion of the gates of the city, and the English of the entrance into the harbour. French commiffioners remained at Genoa to fee the articles, that had been agreed on refpecting the fick, and the hofpitals, duly executed. Maflena was allowed to fend a courier, with a paffport, to Buonaparte, to announce the evacuation of Genoa.

CHAP.

HA

AD any disaster happened to the army of Moreau, on opening the campaign, Buonaparte might have been induced to balance the neceffity of fending relief to the army of Italy, with that of fending fuccours to Germany. The fplendid fucceffes of Moreau, left him at liberty to do that to which he was moft inclined: to fend the army of referve into Italy. This army was ordered to Geneva, through the Païs de Vaud, and the lower Valais to Martigny, a village fix leagues from the Great St. Bernard, where the first conful, leaving Paris on the fixth of May, joined it, and made a stay of three days, during which preparations were made for the afcent of the mountain.

The firft conful had determined upon the measure of marching an army to Italy with the utmost expedition, on account of the fituation in which Maffena was then placed; who was fhut up in Genoa, and reduced to great ftraights, by general Melas. In this extremity, Buonaparte had refolved to fur. mount every difficulty in the paffage of the Alps, in order to attack the rear of the Auftrian army.

Fortunately, about this time, general Deffiix had arrived at Paris from Egypt; and, as the first con

fil was well acquainted with the skill and abilities of that officer, he was glad of his affiftance in this enterprize.

The principal part of the army was intended to pafs by Mount St. Bernard; other divifions were intended to cross by Mount Cenis, the Simplon, and Mount St. Gothard.

On the fifteenth of May, Buonaparte paffed St. Bernard, and at Remi, diftant fix leagues from the monaftry, firft faw the Austrians, who, though inferior in numbers, difputed the ground ftep by step with the republicans, until they faw another part of the army defcending, as if with intent to attack them in the rear.

No part of the artillery of this army had at that time crossed the mountains. It had been collected at the village of St. Pierre, and it may be fuppofed it was a work of no fmall difficulty to tranfport it acrofs the Alps. It was, however, effentially neceffary that fuch a transport fhould be made, and the following means was used to effect it:

Every piece of cannon was difmounted, and placed in troughs hollowed out of trees cut down for the purpose. These were drawn by five or fix hundred men, according to the fize and weight of

the

the piece. The wheels fixed to poles, were borne on mens' fhoulders; the tumbrils were emptied, and placed on fledges, together with the axle-trees. The ammunition, packed up in boxes, was carried on the backs of mules. To encourage the men, from four to five hundred franks were allowed for every piece of artillery thus tranfported. One half of a regiment was employed in drawing cannon, whilst the other half bore the neceffary baggage belonging to their corps. The men proceeded in fingle files, it being impoffible for two to draw abreaft, or to pafs each other without danger of falling down the precipices on the fide. The man who led, ftopped, from time to time, when every one took the refreshment of buifcuit, moiftened in fnow water. It was the labour of five hours to reach the monastery of St. Bernard, when each man was refreshed with a glafs of wine. They had then eighteen miles of defcent, by far the most difficult and hazardous, which they did not accomplish till nine the next night, being ten hours in performing it. Buonaparte, and his staff, marched on foot, and were in feveral places obliged to flide down feated on the fnow.

On the fixteenth of May, the vanguard reached Aofta, garrifoned by a Hungarian battalion, which, after fome lofs, evacuated the place, when a deputation from the town waited upon the conful to surrender it.

The van-guard now proceeded to the attack of Chatillon, near which place general Lannes was imformed the Auftrians were preparing to oppofe his paffage over a bridge thrown across a precipice; but the Auftrians were fo vigorously at

tacked by a body of huffars, that they were foon driven off the bridge with a confiderable lofs, and fhut themfelves up in Fort De Barre, built on an inacceffible rock.

This fort, from its fituation in a narrow neck, appeared to stop the progrefs of the whole army; and, if it could not be reduced in four days, every foldier must have perifhed through hunger, as the provifions were nearly exhaufted, and no means left of procuring an additional fupply. Had general Melas foreseen this obftacle, he might, by a timely oppofition, have fruftrated the fuccefs of Buonaparte's expedition..

The rock on which the fort is built, is in the fhape of a fugarloaf; the pafs at its foot is fkirted by a deep and rapid river, called the Doria; on the oppofite fide of which is a steep inacceffible rock. There was no alternative; the fort muft either be taken or another palfage fought.

Each had its difficulties, but Buonaparte's genius furmounted them.

The fuburb was taken poffeffion of by three companies of granadiers previous to an attack on the fort, which was defended by five hundred men, and twenty-two pieces of cannon. The attack was made at night, when the republicans climbed up the rocks and over the pallifade amidft a fhower of balls, and drove the Auftrians from the works, but were at laft obliged to retreat them felves.

This check made the conful refolve to find out another paffage, when a way was difcovered up the rock Albaredo; which afcent gained, might with a like difficulty, be defcended. But the artillery could not poffibly be tranfported this way; it was therefore refolved, at