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

230 LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
It was now the time for Venice to tremble. She some of the crew to have been killed. The news
had declared against the French in their absence; of these fresh aggressions did not fail to aggravate
her vindictive population had murdered many of his indignation to the highest pitch. The terrified
them; tile resentment of the French soldiers was deputies ventured to touch with delicacy on tile
excited to the utmost, and-the Venetians had no subject of pecuniary atonement. Bonaparte's anright to reckon upon the forbearance of their ge- swer was worthy of a Roman. "If yoa could proffer
neral. The treaty of Leoben left the senate of that me," he said, "the treasures of Perul-if you could
ancient state absolutely without support; nay, as strew the whole district with gold, it could not atone
they afterwards learned, Austria, after pleading for the French blood which has been treacherously
their cause for a certain time, had elided by stipu- spilt."
lating for a share of their spoils, which had been Accordingly, on the 3d of May, Bonaparte deassigned to her by a secret article of the treaty. clared war against Venice, and ordered the French/.'I':e doom of the oligarchy was pronounced ere minister to leave the city; the French troops, and
Bonaparte had yet traversed the Noric and Julian those of the new Italian republics, were at the same
Alps, for the purpose of enforcing it. By a letter time commanded to advance, and to destroy in their
to the doge, dated from tile capital of Upper Styria, progress, wherever they found it displayed, the wingNapoleon, bitterly upbraiding the senate fobr requit- ed Lion of St Marc, the ancient emblem of Venetian
ing his generosity with treachery and ingratitude, de- sovereignty. The declaration is dated at Palmla No% a.
manded that they should return by his aide-de-camp It had been already acted upon by the French
vho bore the letter, their instant choice betwixt who were on the Venetian fiontier, and by La Hotze,
war and peace, and allowing them only four-and- a remarkable character, who was then at the head
twenty hours to disperse their insurgent peasantry, of the army of the Italian republics of the new
and submit to his clemency. model, and the forces of the towns of Brescia and
Junot, introduced into the senate, made the Bergamo, which aspired to tile same independence.
threats of his master ring in the astounded ears of' This commander was of Swiss extraction; an exthe members, and by the blunt and rough manner cellent young officer, and at that time enamotred
of a soldier, who had risen from the ranks, added of liberty on the French system, though he afterto the dismay of the trembling nobles. The senate wards saw so much reason to change his opinions,
returned a humnble apology to Bonaparte, and dis- that he lost his life, as we may have occasion to
patched agents to deprecate his wrath. These mention, fighting under the Austrian banners.
envoys were doomed to experience one of those The terrified senate of Venice proved unworthy
scenes of violence, which were in some degree na- descendants of the Zenos, Dandolos, and Morosinis,
tural to this extraordinary man, but to which in as the defenders of Christendom, and the proud opcertain cases he seems to have designedly given posers of papal oppression. The best resource
way, in order to strike consternation into those they could imagine to themselves, was to employ at
whom he addressed. "Are the prisoners at liberty?" Paris those golden means of intercession which Bolie said, with a stern voice, and without replying naparte had so sturdily rejected. Napoleon assures
to the hulmble greetings of the terrified envoys. They us, that they found favour by means of these weighty
answered with hesitation, that they had liberated arguments. The Directory, moved, we are informthe French, the Polish, and the Brescians, whohad ed, by the motives often millions of French francs,
been made captive in the insurrectionary war. "I transmitted from Venice in bills of exchange, sent
will have them all-all!" exclaimed Bonaparte- to the general of Italy orders to spare the ancient
"' all who are in prison on account of their political senate and aristocracy. But the account of the
sentiments. I will go myself to destloy your dun- transaction, with the manner in which the remitgeons on the Bridge of Tears-opinions shall be tances were distributed, fell into the hands of NTaiiree-I will have no Inquisition. If all the pri- poleon, by dispatches intercepted at Milan. The
soners are not set at instant liberty, the English members of the French government, whom these doenvoy dismissed, the people disarmned, I declare cumnents would have convicted of peculation and
instant war. I might have gone to Vienna if I had bribery, were compelled to be silent; and Bonalisted.-I have concluded a peace with the emperor parte, availing himself of some chicanery as to cer-I have eighty thousand men, twenty gun-boats- tain legal solemnities, took it on him totally to disI will hear of no Inquisition, and no senate either regard the orders he had received.
-I will dictate the law to you-I will prove an The senate of Venice, rather stupified than stiAttila to Venice. If you cannot disarm your popu- mulated by the excess of their danger, were holding
lation, I will do it in your stead-your government on the 30th April a sort of privy council in the
is antiquated-it manst crulmble to pieces." apartments of the doge, when a letter from the coinWhile Bonaparte, in these disjointed yet signifi- mnudant of their flotilla informed them, that the
cant threats, stood before the deputies like the French were erecting fortifications on the low
Argantes of Italy's heroic poet, and gave them the grounds contiguous to the lagoons or shallow chanchoice of peace and war with the air of a superior nels which divide from the mainland and fiom each
being, capable at once to dictate their fate, he had not other the little isles on which the amphibious risyet heard of the massacre of Verona, or of the bat- tress of the Adriatic holds her foundation; and proteries of a Venetian folrtonthe Lido having fired upon )osillg, in the blunt style of a gallant sailor, to
a French i essel, who had run into the port to escape batter them to pieces about their ears before tile
the pumrsut of two armed Austrian ships. The vessel works could be completedl. Indeed, nothing would
was alleged to have been stink, and the master and have been more easy than to defend tile lagoons