the generals and ministers. The day after he was presented to the Emperor of Austria, who very politely "returned him thanks for the moderation and gentleness which he had on all occasions shown in his campaigns on the Rhine, adding, that his personal character had greatly contributed to diminish the evils of war." Afterwards the Emperor of Russia brought the King of Prussia, and presented him to Moreau, in these words: "General Moreau, S. M. le Roi de Prusse." All this kindness we consider as the height of wisdom and goodness on the part of such personages; for undoubtedly it is much more rare to find sovereigns laying aside their rank and dignity, and treating a truly great man as their superior, than to see them taking strong cities, and performing the other feats of what is usually called greatness. This conduct does not seem to have been thrown away upon Moreau ; but M. Suinine must always give us his words. Thus, he says, that hearing one of the generals call the Emperor Alexander" the best of princes," he replied, eagerly, "Comment, Monsieur? Dites le meilleur des hommes!" He also said, that in speaking of military matters, the emperor's "observations were so just, and his commentaries so profound," that " he could fancy himself conversing with the most experienced general." And, after more praises, he added, that "the only fault which his majesty had to diminish all these perfections, was an excess of modesty." "I professait aussi la plus haute admiration pour la grande Duchesse d'Oldenbourg. C'est, disait-il, la Grande Catherine elle-meme," &c. One feels somewhat anxious under this compliment, touching the state of health of his Serene Highness the Grand Duke of Oldenburgh. The two grand duchesses express the utmost curiosity to learn from our author, " jusques dans ses moindres details sa manière de vivre au nouveau monde."

From Prague the general proceeded with the emperor to Dresden, where the fatal event happened which even those who are compelled to lament his joining the enemies of his country, cannot fail to deplore. The eternal flattery of the author even follows him here. He makes Moreau's first words, on being wounded, to be, "Je suis perdu, mais il est si doux de mourir pour une si belle cause, et sous les yeux d'un aussi grand prince." However, he describes very well the affliction produced all over the armies by this catastrophe; the tears moistening checks furrowed with scars, and the sinking of the most courageous minds under so severe a shock. It is quite superfluous to add, that nothing could exceed the calmness with which the general bore the amputation of both legs, and the operation, if possible, yet more dreadful, of being carried for many leagues of the most frightful mountain roads, in the worst weather, and with a retreating army. Indeed, the slender hopes entertained of his recovery, rested wholly on his immovable constancy of

mind, and the excellent habit of body, derived in all probability from nature, but maintained or improved by that habitual temperance which virtuous and contemplative men delight in, as soon as the first heats of youth have boiled over.

Even on this dreadful journey M. Suinine will not leave the dying warrior alone; he must make him say, when he heard the news of Ostermann's victory, "qu'on devait attrendre les plus grandes choses des meilleures troupes du monde." But this is not the only plague which he was destined to endure; a very singu lar trait follows. He had, contrary to the advice of his attendants, insisted on writing the letter to Madame Moreau, so much celebrated; and being exhausted by the effort, they all kept away from him that he might not be induced to talk in a crisis so infinitely hazardous. "We were desirous," says M. Suinine, very naturally," of excluding every person from his chamber; nevertheless we could not refuse his royal highness the Duke of Cumberland, who remained about a quarter of an hour with him." We really believe this intrusion of princely importunity is unexampled; and can by no means bring ourselves to believe that the circumstance has been accurately reported by this Russian blunderer. We have seen how those truly magnanimous princes, the allied chiefs, treated the great man-assuming no superiority from their exalted rank, but rather paying their court to Moreau; and then, we are told, comes a person, utterly without importance, only known as a man of high rank;-and presuming on this rank, (of which let us hope he means one day to be the ornament,) thrusts himself into the general's sick chamber, at a moment when his attendants deem his life to depend on perfect quiet! It is impossible to speak temperately on such an exhibition;-as Englishmen, it is impossible not to feel the difference in the demeanour of the princes. But what passed, according to this suspicious narrative? truly a strange colloquy. The duke,who now for the first time saw him, said," he was very happy to make his acquaintance; but that his happiness would have been still greater if he had made it on the field of battle!" Then why did he not? What prevented his royal highness? The Emperor of Russia was close to Moreau when he was shot. The other sovereigns of all ranks had been on the same field of carnage. Not one of them had deemed it beneath his dignity to share in the uttermost dangers of the campaign. Where was the English prince the while? Did he not deign to show himself on this scene of blood and of honour? Possibly he was otherwise engaged--employed in some mission of importance; for he certainly had no military functions. But we had ambassadors too, of all ranks, in those great fights-the glories of which seemed so tempting, that no one could resist joining in the fray, or content him with a distant

view? Had we not the gallant Stewart wounded in that very field? Was not Lord Cathcart constantly present, and in the midst of the fire? Was Sir Robert Wilson ever to seek where the work of death was doing? But if either his occupations or his exalted station prevented him from being on the field of battle with the vulgar herd, why regret not having there met Moreau? Above all, why start up all of a sudden, never having before been heard of, and force his way into the great man's sick chamber "to make his acquaintance," and talk to him of fields of battle? The whole story, we repeat, is incredible; though the sequel is imagined with a sufficient air of probability. The general, apparently, not aware of the extreme dignity of the personage from whom he was fated to receive this visit, said, "that it was very probable they might meet in the field in six weeks." The narrator exclaims that he was the only person who had any such idea, because others then gave him over: but he does not appear to doubt the fulfilment of the prediction had he lived, nor to question the readiness of the duke to stoop to the low amusement of lounging or poking about among bullets and bayonets. This extreme reserve, and withdrawing loftiness of his royal highness, which appear never for a moment to have bent to the plebeian occupations of war, that engrossed the whole time of the allied sovereigns-has been singularly enough rewarded by an appointment, of a military -and not of a spiritual nature, as had naturally been expectedmore especially when his royal highness, in a contemplative mood, seized on the bishoprick of Hildesheim. The prince regent, in the name and on the behalf of his majesty, one of the bravest of men, has been pleased to send to the duke a field marshal's baton; being the one granted immediately after Lord Wellington's.-But to

return.

As the life of Moreau draws nearer a close, M. Suinine hastens to crowd his narrative with stronger and stronger specimens of flattery towards his court. Not content with making the general express, "avec une chaleur étonnante"-his delight at Vandamme's capture in these words, "Il est bien temps que ce monstre soit mis hors d'etat de faire du mal!" he adds, that an act of rigour on the part of the Grand Duke Constantine gave him "le plus grand plaisir." The Emperor Alexander, it seems, had, by an "excess of kindness," allowed Vandamme to retain his sword; but this was speedily redressed by the grand duke, who answered the complaints of the prisoner at being publicly exposed to the insults of the populace, by observing, that the worst treatment would be generosity towards such a wretch. This anecdote of his imperial highness, it seems, gave Moreau, then on his deathbed, the utmost satisfaction. The moment of his decease now drew onapace; he had been seized with the hiccough and vomiting. During the night, he was restless, though without much pain. He

constantly kept striking his watch, and calling his aid-de-camp, Rapatel, or this author, to write, under his dictation, "a letter to the emperor." At length the morning of this awful night dawned; --he felt that he had not many moments to live; when about seven o'clock, "observing (says M. Suinine) that I was alone with him, he made me take the pen, and dictated the following lines."Now, it is singular, that just at this critical moment, the faithful Rapatel, and all others except the author, were removed. But it must be confessed that he makes the best use of the opportunity; for he writes--" to the dictation of Moreau," the following half sentence: "Sire-Je descends au tombeau avec les memes sentiments d'admiration, de respect et de devouement, que V. M. m'avait inspiré dès le premier moment de notre entrevue.' ..." He paused, (continues this man,) and shut his eyes. thought he was meditating on what was to follow, and kept my pen ready to follow-but he was no more." We only marvel that the Grand Duke Constantine was not hooked in by the same means into the compliment;-we verily believe that so gross an outrage to a great man's memory never was committed as this flatterer here offers to General Moreau. Does the reader desire to see how he reflects on his handiwork? "Ainsi finit ce heros, en consacrant sa dernière action et sa dernière pensée au souverain qu'il regardait avec raison comme le principal réparateur des maux de l'Europe, comme celui à qui la France devrait un jour la chute de son tyran et le rétablissement de son bonheur sur les bases justes et solides de la légitimité. Ce fut l'observation que je fis à mon souverain quand je lui annonçai cette triste nouvelle."

Next follows the letter of the emperor to Madame Moreau, which has been so generally read, and deservedly so much admired, for the simple and touching expression of his feelings conveyed in it. Our author, as usual, does his utmost to destroy its effect by extravagant praises; calling it" the noblest language ever employed by greatness, and the softest consolations ever used by pity;"-affirming, that all we shall ever see written on Moreau will never do his memory so much honour as these "immortal lines;"-and that they have "restored the afflicted widow to existence, and recalled her from the gates of death, and prevented her from sinking under the most poignant grief of which the human heart is susceptible." Among the general's papers, were found part of an intended proclamation to the French; from which, and from other circumstances, M. Suinine positively contradicts the one published in the newspapers under his name, and known to be a mere fabrication.* He also mentions a journal of

The story of his taking the rank of major general in the Russian service, was absurdly fabricated by the same inventors, M. Suinine states positively, that he refused every offer of this sort which was made to him.

VOL. IV. New Series.

5

the operations of the campaign, which the general had begun :---But the author adds, what we shall believe when we see it so written under General Moreau's hand, that he was keeping it to send to the Duchess of Oldenburgh. In short, every thing in this narrative is daubed over with a flattery, so nauseous, because mixed up with, and attached to, most interesting facts, that we have rarely seen a performance relating to the life of a great man, more calculated to offend all readers of right feelings.

The work closes with a biographical notice of Moreau, which is below criticism, and apparently introduced only to swell the volume. The only part which has any interest, is the account of the conspiracy which led to Moreau's exile; and if this is at all correct, it distinctly admits the general to have been engaged in Pichegru's plot, and in the scheme of Georges. The author attempts, indeed, but very feebly and unsatisfactorily, to show that Moreau did not come into these designs, until after Pichegru's arrival at Paris; but he describes him as a coadjutor, and ready to come forward as soon as Georges should have succeeded in the first step of the conspiracy, which was to attack "Bonaparte on his way to St. Cloud, and carry him off by main force." We are quite confident that this is incorrect;-such a project bears far too near a resemblance to assassination, (in which most probably it would have ended,) to make it credible that so good a man as Moreau would engage in it. Of this consideration, however, our author, accustomed to the details of Russian history, is, perhaps, wholly unaware. He adds, that the general's plan was by degrees to prepare the way for restoring the Bourbons-and how? By first restoring the power of the republican party! This is really too tiresome to dwell upon.

Before concluding the present article, we must remark, that, high as the veneration may be in which all good men hold the memory of its illustrious subject, there can be only one opinion among those who allow themselves to reason upon the last and fatal act of his life. He ought not to have borne arms against his country. This is an inflexible rule; and he who can admit exceptions to it, must be prepared likewise to defend assassination. But it was against Bonaparte, and to free the French from his yoke, that Moreau joined the enemy. How could he answer for the intentions of the allies? In truth, short as the time is which has elapsed since his death, we have seen proof that no such scheme is entertained by them. They have, in the moment of victory, recognised the tyrant of France, and offered him a larger empire over Frenchmen than the Bourbon kings enjoyed. For whom, and for what was Moreau, then, fighting? For Russians and Germans seeking the liberation of their own countries, and justly seeking it--but their liberation from a French yoke; and this was