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"the Pope, or before they could have time to "march towards the Po, with a view of causing a diversion there*." Thus the confederacy did not prosper, but the Austrian armies failed through treachery, and their counsels were turned into foolishness; because the end should be at the time appointed.

The result was equally disastrous as it affected the Pope. The events which took place in the Papal territories on this occasion are thus described. General Colli, who was

sent by the Emperor to take the command of the Papal forces, had not reached Rome until "the 12th of January, 1797, when he immedi

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ately bestowed his attention on the organization of the Papal forces; but our warriors" (the French) "gained so rapid successes, that the commander-in-chief of the troops of the "Holy See was soon left without an army "command. In a few days the French made

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themselves masters of Romagna, the duchy "of Urbino, and the marquisate of Ancona." And the greater part of the Ecclesiastical State was occupied by the French arms; when the Pope, in order to save his capital, was obliged to " give unreserved consent to all the proposi"tions made to him by Buonaparte.-With re"spect to General Colli, he had reason to con

History of the Campaign of 1796, p. 333.

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gratulate himself on the resolution which the Pope had taken of terminating so unfortunate "a war with all possible speed. Never had a "campaign been of shorter duration, never "mission less successful." It did not prosper, for the end was to be at the time appointed.

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"Then shall he return into his land with great "riches; and his heart shall be against the holy "covenant; and he shall do exploits, and re"turn to his own land." "The French general having no longer any opponents in Italy, re"sumed the execution of those plans of plun"der and dismemberment, which had been "concerted either by himself, or by the leaders "of the French Republic. He laid under fur"ther contribution the Pope and the Grand "Duke of Tuscany," and was able to boast, as has been already mentioned, "that besides "paying all the expenses of the army of Italy,

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during eleven months, from the spoils of the "conquered countries, he had sent 30,000,000 "of livres" (1,250,000%)" into France."

In these verses then, namely, from the 22d to the 28th, we have a brief but comprehensive history of the campaign of Buonaparte in Italy in the year 1796. We have found it divided into two periods, "the former," and "the "latter;" the first period beginning early in

* Memoirs of Pope Pius VI. p. 330.

April, when the French under Buonaparte commenced their operations against the Austrians, commanded by General Beaulieu; the Austrian army is represented as being completely broken" or routed by Buonaparte, upon which General Beaulieu was obliged to retreat into the Tyrol. Buonaparte, taking

advantage of his absence, is next described as reducing the Pope (or the "Prince of the Co"venant") to submission; and as spreading his troops and raising contributions, or ast

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scattering among them the prey, and spoil, "and riches;" and as consolidating his power in Italy, "entering peaceably upon the fattest places of the province." This period of the

war terminated with the investment of Mantua by Buonaparte on the 18th of July, during the absence of the Austrian army, when he "fore"cast his devices against the strong holds, even ́ for a time."

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The second period commenced on the 29th July, when Field Marshal Wurmser, having been recalled from the army of the Upper Rhine to take the command of the army of Italy, advanced to the relief of Mantua. The defeat of

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that " very great and mighty army," which the Emperor or King of the South" collected together, is mentioned, as well as that his counsels should be betrayed, or that those who fed of the portion of his meat should destroy him. The

last thing spoken of is the alliance formed between the Emperor and the Pope, during part of the months of December, 1796, and January, 1797, when they are said to speak lies at one table. The period ends on the 16th January, 1797, on which day the Austrians received a severe defeat in the neighbourhood of Mantua; "after which they retired from Italy, giving up the contest and on the 2d of February, 1797, the fortress of Mantua surrendered.

It appears to me that a more bold and comprehensive view of the actions of this campaign could not be given than that which is contained in these few verses of the Prophet Daniel. Short as his account is, it tells more of the real history of the war than the usual details of the historians of the time; two of those which I have examined make no mention of that circumstance, upon which the whole event of the war turned; and were it not that we have another more detailed history of this campaign, written by an officer who states himself to be well acquainted with several persons in the Austrian service, we might have remained ignorant that, in the year 1796, Austria fell through treachery, for there would then perhaps have been no where any decided mention of this circumstance except the prediction of it, which is to be found in the prophetic history of Da

niel. But ample as the details are which are given by the military writer whom I have above referred to as noticing this event, there is one particular in the history of this campaign which lay out of his province, as belonging only to its moral character. He could trace the reverses that the Austrian armies sustained to the treachery of those who were employed in the service of the Emperor; but that cause had itself a cause, which is to be found revealed only in the Scriptures. It was this, that the "time appointed" for the fall of Papal Power was now approaching, and all these second causes were but means in the hands of God for producing this event. The Austrian armies failed through treachery, and the mutual counsels of the Pope and of the Emperor were turned into foolishness, because the end should be at the time appointed. Long had the souls of the Martyrs been heard crying from beneath the altar, saying, Lord, how long, O Lord, holy "and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our "blood on them that dwell on the earth?" and the time of vengeance upon the inhabitants of the earth, so long delayed, being now come, vain were the efforts of man to arrest its progress; and vain indeed must those efforts be

Rev. vi. 10.