only they could expect security and protection. The knowledge that such were the sentiments of the principal Neapolitans, determined Bonaparte to make known, without further delay, his ultimate intentions with respect to Naples. He had already declared, that the exiled family should never return to occupy the throne which they had abandoned. He now issued a decree, conferring the crown of Naples on his brother Joseph and his legitimate heirs-male; without prejudice to their eventual claim to the throne of France; but with a proviso, that the crown of France and that of Naples should never be u nited on the same head. In pursuance of this decree, which was communicated to the French senate on the 30th of March, Joseph Bonaparte caused himself to be proclaimed king of Naples, and made all the constituted authorities of the kingdom, take an oath of fidelity to him. The city of Naples was illuminated on this occasion, with every demonstration of joy and satisfaction on the part of the nobles, who were eager to shew their at tachment to their new king, and accept of offices and distinctions in his service, in order to mark, not so much their devotion to him, as their aversion for the exiled family. That those, whose families had suffered in the former revolution, and who had since lived in banishment or retirement, should join heartily in support of the new government, is not to be wondered at, nor blamed. But there was a want of decency and propriety in the conduct of those, who having recently held employments under the late govern ment, and enjoyed its favours and confidence, took this early oppor. tunity of renouncing all connection with it, and of attaching themselves to the fortunes of their new king.The marquis di Gallo, for example, must have offended every man of honour, by the political profligacy he displayed, in accepting the office of minister of foreign affairs from Joseph Bonaparte, within three days after his return from Paris, where he had been ambassador of Naples, under the former government. Nor can the duke of St. Theodore, who accepted of a place in the household of the new king, be excused for his desertion of the exiled monarch, on account of his near relationship to Caraccioli, when it is considered, that, subsequent to the melancholy fate of his kinsman, he had been ambassador of Naples at the court of Madrid, and so much in the confidence of their Neapolitan majesties, as to have been se. lected for that post, to serve as a counsellor and director to their unfortunate daughter, married to the heir apparent of the Spanish monarchy. From cardinal Ruffo no person ever expected either honour or consistency; and his apostacy was received without the smallest surprise. The assumption of the regal dignity in Naples by Joseph Bonaparte, and the defection of so many persons of distinction, excited the liveliest indignation at the court of Palermo. Instead of profiting by their past misfortunes, the queen and duke of Calabria listened to no counsels, but such as flattered their anger with plans of vengeance, or soothed their impatience with idle projects for regaining their lost. doniinions. Though driven from Naples by their inability to resist the French arms, they were pow eager to attempt the recovery of that kingdom, and confident of ex pelling from it an enemy, whose invasion they had not ventured to oppose, or even dared to await. No event had happened since their dight, to encourage them in so wild and unpromising an enterprize. They had no foreign succour to reckon upon, nor prospect of any diversion of importance in their faTour To the efforts of their Neapolitan subjects alone, could they look for assistance; but, to expect a prosperous issue to their attempts, without farther aid than their late subjects could afford, was to suppose, that Neapolitans fighting to subvert their government, were more formidable than Neapolitans fighting in its defence. Plans founded on such expectations, terminated as might have been foreseen. In some of the provinces of Naples, emisaries from the court of Palermo were successful in exciting insurrec. tions against the French, and in all they produced a spirit of restlessBess and insubordination, which gave to the new government great disquietude. But no permanent good resulted from these distur; bances, to compensate the present evils to which they led. Abruzzo and Calabria were delivered for a short time from the French yoke. But, though the insurgents fought with unparalleled courage and intrepidity, and were successful in any encounters, the numbers and discipline of the French prevailed in the end; so that after a fruitless waste of blood and perpetration of atrocities, on all sides, disgraceful to humanity, these provinces were again compelled to acknowledge Jo., seph Bonaparte for their sovereign. The provinces of Abruzzo, though naturally poor, are inhabited by a more respectable and less indigent peasantry, than the other parts of the kingdom of Naples.The late government, which stood in awe of the Abruzzese, had been careful not to violate their privileges, nor in any sort to oppress them; and had, on the contrary, relieved them from some local taxes unfavorable to their industry. So easy is it for princes to gain the affections of their subjects, that these slight favours had kindled a lively spirit of loyalty and attachment to the exiled family in the breasts of the Abruzzese. When, therefore, a successful sally from Gaeta had enabled part of the garrison of that fortress to cut its way through the besieging army, and reach the mountains of Abruzzo, the flames of insurrection spread rapidly over the province. Little is known of the subsequent history of this war. appears, however, that Civitella del Tranto, in the further Abruzzo, was compelled, after a long resistance, to surrender to the French; and that an unsuccessful attempt was made by the English to open a communication with the insurgents.~~ But, though destitute of foreign succour, such is the natural strength of the country, which is mountain, ous, and full of defiles and strong positions, that the Abruzzese, who had taken up arms, defended themselves for many months against the French, and submitted at length on honourable terms of capitulation. It Calabria is a mountainous, woody and unhealthy region, well adapted for defensive war. Its proximity to Sicily affords frequent and casy means of communicating with that island; and, when the theatre of hostilities, its extensive coast assures incalculable advantages to the party, who are masters at sea. The Calabrians were, indeed, but little influenced by sentiments of loyalty or attachment attachment to their late govern ment but they were a warlike, ferocious people, easily excited to take up arms. Persons of property in Calabria, lived in towns, and were little inclined to engage in commotions. But, the peasants and villagers were a miserable, savage, and rapacious race, ready to embark in any service, which promised to gratify their thirst for plunder, or to afford them means of indulging their private animosities and resentments. Divided into separate communities or townships, among which there prevailed the most inveterate feuds, they were unaccustomed to order of repose, and engaged often in open hostilities with one another, or with the inhabitants of the towns. So slight was the intercourse between different parts of the country, that some Albanian refugees, having settled in the heart of Calabria, soon after the death of Scanderbeg, their descendants still used a Greek dialect, and, in some places, followed the ritual of the Greek church. Feudal institutions still prevailed in Calabria, and were enforced with rigour. But, as the no. bles resided not on their estates, their authority over their vassals, was inconsiderable; and the peasants, who were strangers to their persons, and unacquainted with their existence, except through the rents and services exacted in their name, were under the direction of men of inferior condition, whom the money and promises of the court of Palermo had attached to its interests. The recollection of their former expedition to Naples, was fresh in the minds of the Calabrians; and the plunder they had made, and the licence they had enjoyed on that occasion, disposed them to embark again willingly in the same cause. Assistance was also to be expected from the troops of banditti and free-booters, who had their haunts in Calabria, and who were but too ready in this, as they had been in the former war, to exercise their trade under the sanction of a lawful government. Disbanded galley slaves and malefactors escaped from justice, were employed as emissaries, to work upon these materials and stir them to insurrection. But, notwithstanding many propitious circumstances, such was the universal dread of the French arms, that the court would hardly have attained its ends, had not an English army landed on the coast of Calabria, and begun its military operations by a most splen did and glorious victory. moment when sir Sidney came in sight of Naples, that city was illuminated on account of Joseph Bonaparte, being proclaimed king of the two Sicilies. It was in the power of the English admiral to have disturbed their festivity; but, as the sufferers from his interference must have been the inhabitants of Naples, and not the French troops, or the new king, he wisely and hu. manely forbore, and made for the isle of Capri; of which he took possession, after a slight resistance, and placed in it an English garrison.He then proceeded southward along the coast, giving the greatest annoyance every where to the enemy, obstructing by land, and intercepting entirely by sea their communication along the shore, so as to retard their operations against Gaeta, which was the chief purpose for undertaking this expedition. On the return of sir Sidney to Palermo, after the conclusion of this service, he was led, from the active turn and danguine temper of his mind, to enter with eagerness into the projects of the court, and to second its views on Calabria, to the utmost of his power. Finding him favorably inclined to their schemes, and anxious to distinguish himself by some great exploit, their Sicilian majesties in. vested the British admiral with the the most ample authority in Calabria, and even constituted him their viceroy in that province. But, though active and indefatigable in the duties of his new department, and successful in distributing money, arms, and ammunition among the Calabrians, he soon found, that, unless an English army made its appear ance in the country, there was no chance of his producing an insurrection against the French. It be came, therefore, necessary for the court of Palermo, either to abandon the fruit of all its intrigues and machinations, or to prevail on the commander of the English forces in Sicily to invade Calabria with part of his army. It After the evacuation of Naples, sir James Craig had retired with the English army to Sicily, and established his head quarters at Messina, as the station best adapted for protecting the island from invasion.— There he remained till April, when bad health compelled him to resign. his command to sir John Stuart, who was soon after entrusted by his Sicilian majesty with the defence of the east coast of Sicily from Melazzo to Cape Passaro, and with the command of the Sicilian troops in that district. The army continued in its position at Messina till the end of June, without attempting offensive operations against the enemy. was of the utmost importance to England, that Sicily should not fall under the dominion of France; and, therefore, sir John Stuart, when solicited by the court of Palermo, to assist in its schemes on Calabria, hesi tated long, and deliberated maturely before he complied. He considered, that an expedition to Calabria, however it night gratify their Sicilian majesties, could not, on the most favourable supposition, lead to their re-establishment at Naples, nor even secure to them the possession of any part of their continental dominions; whereas if it failed, it must weaken the defence and endanger the safety of Sicily. He was, therefore averse to such an expedition, and refused to engage in it when first proposed to him. But, overcome by the urgent and repeated instances of the Sicilian government, encouraged by flattering flattering accounts of the disposition of the Calabrians, and foreseeing that, if success attended his first operations, he should be able at any rate to destroy the stores and ammunition,collected in Calabria for the invasion of Sicily, he consented at length to land with part of his army on the continent, and make trial of the loyalty and affection of the people to their former masters. The enterprize, which sir John Stuart thus reluctantly undertook, he conducted with singular judg. ment and ability, and brought to a fortunate conclusion, with infinite glory to the British arms, but without any of those advantages to the court of Palermo, which it had fondly anticipated from the experi ment. The troops destined to this expedition by sir John Stuart, amounted to about 4800 effective men.With this small force he landed on the morning of the 1st of July, in a bay in the gulph of St. Eufemia, near the northern frontier of lower Calabria. Little opposition was made to his landing by the enemy, who had not yet collected their forces. A proclamation was imme. diately issued by the English general, inviting the Calabrians to join the standard of their lawful sovereign and offering them arms and ammunition for their defence. Few or none, however, obeyed the summons. Disappointed in his expectations from the inhabitants, sir John Stuart was hesitating whether to re-embark his troops, when intelligence was brought to him that general Regnier was encamped at Maida, about teu miles off, with an army nearly equal to his own. Understanding at the same time that the French general was in daily expectation of rein forcements he determined to ad vance next morning, (July 4th) and attack him before they arrived. The two armies were separated by a plain from four to six niles in breadth, extending from sea to sea, and bounded on the north and south by chains of mountains. The French occupied a strong position on the sloping side of a woody hill, below the village of Maida, having the river Lamato in front, and their flanks strengthened by a thick, impervious underwood. In numbers they were greatly superior to the English, having received the expected reinforcement before the battle. Their force is supposed to have been about 7000 men, while that of the English did not amount to 4,800. Had Regnier remained upon the heights, the English must have attacked him with great disadvantage, and though the event of the engagement would have been probably the same, the loss on their part must have been more considerable. But, fortunately, blinded by an excess of confidence in his own troops, and an undue and unbounded contempt of the enemy, he quitted his strong position, and drew up his army on the plain. The English, surprised at the number of his troops, which was greater than they expected, but in no wise dismayed by their appearance, advanced with undiminished alacrity to the attack. The action began on the right of the English army. After some firing, both sides prepared to charge with the bayonet, and advanced with apparently equal resolution; but the French, who had probably imbibed from their general his contemptuous opinion of the enemy, were so astonished at the firmness with which the English advanced to the charge, that |