The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French. By Sir Walter Scott.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 589.
rations, he woild be exposed to be taken il flank I leon must have been well aware that he must fight
by tile immense armies of Austria descending upon out the battle with Russia, Prussia, and Sweden,
the valley of the Elbe, from the passes of tile Bohe- the instlrgent Germans ready to arise on every hand,
mian mountains. and all the weighty force of Austria to back them.
Another, and a very oppos'te course of measures It' peace wvas to be established on any terms, the dewould, said the same counsellors, be at once a gua- sti s tionti of the unnatural ilnfluence of' France on the
rantee to Austria, of the French Emperor's peace- right side of the Rhine must have been an indisable intentions, and tend to check and intimidste I peini-:ble article, anl it was better fi)r Napoleon to
the other allies. Let Napoleon evacuate of fi'ee mike thle cessiou voluntarily, than to waittill, throulgh
will the blockaded fortresses upon the Oder and the insarrection of the people, and the discontent of
Elbe, and thereby add to his army fifty thousand the mlonalchs lately his dependents, tile whole sysveteran troops. Let him, with these and his pre- ternl sliould explode and go to pieces of itself;
sent army, fall back on the Rhine, so often acknowr- Ennl;and:vould, doubtless, insist on the liberation
ledged as the natural boundary of France. Wlho of'lollanlid; yet even this could be no great sacriwould dare to attack him on his own strong frontier I fice on the part of Napoleon, who would lhave rewith such an army in front, and all the resources of' tuined Flanders, and the whole left side of the Rhine,
France in his rear? Not Austria; for, if assured fromn Huningen to Cleves, including the finest territhat Napoleon had abandoned his scheme to make tories of the ancient Dukes of Burgundy, awhich had
France victorious, and limited his views to making never belonged to the former Kings of France. The
her happy, that power would surely desire to main- emancipiation of Holland might have been also comtain a dynasty connected with her own, on a throne pensated, by the restoration of some of the French
wlhich might become a protection and ornament to colonies. EnIgland has never made hard balrgains
Elllrope, instead of being her scourge and terror. on occasion of a general peace.
The northern nations, Russia, Prussia and Sweden, There might have been difficulties on the subject
would have no motive to undertake so wild a cru- of Italy; but tile near connexion betwixt the Enrsade as a march to the Rhine; and Great Britain, perors of Austria and France offered various means
her communerce restored, and the peace of the Conti- of accoinimodating these. Italy might, for example,
nieit established, could not, if she were desirous, have made an appanage for Eugene, ol, in the case
find any sound reason for protracting the war which of sich existing, for Bonaparte's second son, so as
shle had always carried on against the system, not to instire the kingdoms of France and Italy passing
the 1person, of Bonaparte, until events showed that into distinct and independent sovereignties in the
they were indivisible. Thus, France, by assuming next reign; or, it is believed, that if Austria had
an attitude which expressed moderation as well as been absolutely determined to break ol' the treaty
firmnlless, might cause the swords of the allies to for this sole object, she would have found the bellidrop fiom their hands without another drop of' blood gerent powers incliied in their turn to act as media.
being sIled. tors, and been herself corimpelled to listen to modeIndeed, although it may appear, that by the course rate terms.
recommrlended Napoleon must have made great sa- From what has been said, it would appear that
crifices, yet, as circumstances stood, he resigned such cessions as ]lave been hiiiited at would at once
claims dependent on the chance of war, rather than have put an end to the wvar, leaving Napoleon still
advantages in possession, and yielded up little or in possession of the fairest kingdom of Europe,
nothing that was firmly and effectually part of his algmented to an extent of territory greatly beyond
empire. This will appear from a glance at the terms what her most powerfiil monarchs before hint had
of the supposed surrender. ever possessed; while, on the other hand, the counSpain he must have relinquished all claim to. But tries and claims wlhich, in the case slupposed, lie waas
Napoleon had just received accounts of tie decisive called upon to resign, resembled the wounded toast
battle of Vittoria, which sealed the emancipation of in the tempest, which the seaman cuts away purtihe Peninsula; and he must have been aware, that posely, as endangering the vessel which it ihas ceased
in this long-contested point he would lose nothing of to assist. But it uniolrtuntely happened, that Bonnwhich the fate of war had not previously deprived parte, generally tenacious of his own opiuiion, andal
him, and would obtain for the south-western pro- particularly when his reputation was concerned,
vinces of France, protection against the army of the imiagined to himself that he cotiJd not cut awvry the
Duke of Wellington, which already threatened in- mast without striking thle colours which;were nailed
vasion. to it; that he could not resign his high preten.sions,
Germany was indeed partly in Napoleon's pos- hovever tunreasonable, without dimrmiag his persession, as far as the occupation of fortresses, and sonal glory, in the lustre of which he placed his
such treaties as he had imposed on his vassal happiness.
princes, could give him influence. But the whole lie would not, therefore, listen to those, who, with
nation, in every city arid province, was alienated such arguments as we have above stated, pressed
from France and her ruler, on account of the para- him to make a virtue of necessity, and assume a
mount sovereignty which he had assumed, and the merit from giving up what lie could not attempt to
distresses which he had brought upon them by the hold, without its being in all probability wrested
unceasing demand of troops for distant expeditions, from himn. He persisted in mnaintainirng the contrary,
and by his continental system. Besides, the en- referred back to the various instances in which he
franchisement of Germany was the very question of had come off in triumph, when every other person
war and peace; and that not being granted, Napo- had despaired of his safety, and had previously pro.