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political existence. Although our author is evidently an admirer of Buonaparte, he does not hesitate to attribute bis fall to the causes to which we have alluded. It was his ambition that led him into Spain; it was this same ambition, coupled with his desire of injuring England, that carried him into Russia. In neither of these leading transactions. of his reign can we discover any traces of enlarged views, or of profound policy. We agree, indeed, with Mr. L. in considering his unceasing batred of England as one of his greatest political errors; and as conducive, in a great degree, to the downfall of his power.

"Cette haine de Napoléon pour l'Angleterre, fut l'une de ses plus grandes erreurs. Je crois qu'il s'exagéra trop à lui-même la position dans laquelle son idée supposoit l'Angleterre. Il crut que l'assistance du coutinent lui étoit indispensable. Il ne la considéra que comme une maison de commerce on de banque, dont la banqueroute devient forcée si on lui ferme les caisses de tous les capitalistes. La prohibition, et surtout la combustion des marchandises Angloises étoit la plus fausse, la plus vicieuse, et la plus funeste de toutes les mesures."-p. 346.

Still Mr. L. believes him to have been a great sovereign; and thinks that he might have been a good one, had not the base adulations of his courtiers corrupted the natural greatness of his mind. The unjust invasion of Spain is considered as a foul stain on the fair fame of Buonaparte. Mr. L. laments that the man who had shewn, till then, so much frankness and magnanimity in his treaties with Austria, Prussia, and Russia; and whose, moderation in prosperity was considered by many as bordering on imprudence, should suddenly have abandoned the glorious path he had pursued, have descended to the mean expedient of kidnapping a faithful ally, and have invaded the country of an unprepared and confiding people. A change of character so singular is attributed by our author to the perfidious counsels of a set of men, who were plotting in silence the. destruction of his power, and who, therefore, sought to render him odious in the eyes of Europe. If such was the plan of his advisers, it was ultimately crowned with the most complete success. An aggression upon a friendly power, so unjust and so unprovoked, alarmed the sovereigns of Europe, and induced them to seize the first opportunity of destroying the power of a man whom no treaty could bind, and who, in the plenitude of his power, evidently aimed at universal domination. His unexampled reverses in Russia gave the signal of general defection. Prussia was the first

to shake off her degrading yoke, and her noble example was soon followed by Austria. Then, a close alliance was formed, which had for its object the annihilation of that gigantic power which threatened the independence of Europe. The decisive battle of Leipsic broke entirely the charm of invincibility, which had hitherto attended his arms; and effected the emancipation of the continent from the galling yoke of France. But even the sacred territory of France was not respected by the allies. The Russian, Austrian, and Prussian forces inundated that country, proud of the laurels which they had reaped in the plains of Germany; and eager to revenge the excesses which the French had committed in their respective countries. The same infatuation still presided over the plans, and guided the actions, of Buonaparte, who seemed now irresistibly impelled towards inevitable destruction. But all the errors of these last months of his reign, the rejection of the terms of peace offered to him at various times during the arduous contest; and the disasters which attended him in his last campaigns, are attributed by Mr. L. to the faction which was preparing his ruin, and at the head of which he seems inclined to place Talleyrand. If France still placed her forces at the disposal of Buonaparte, it was less for the purpose of defending him than with a view to protect its territory from the horrors of foreign invasion but the legislative body was no longer the submissive slave of the tyrant. The situation of their country, and a deep sense of their duty, or, as the author imagines, the insinuations of the faction hostile to Buonaparte, induced M. Lainé and others to express their sentiments with a boldness which amazed France and all Europe. It is, however, to be regretted, if this faction did really exist, (and we confess that we do not entirely disbelieve its existence,) that it did not then boldly avow its intention of rejecting the common enemy, and of recalling the Bourbons; since it might, by such a declaration, have averted the evils of invasion.

At length, the allied troops invested the city of Paris.Preparations had been made for its defence; but they are considered by M. Lavellée as inadequate to the intended purpose; and be insinuates that the fidelity of Marmont was more than doubtful on that occasion. However this may be, the name of the Bourbons had not yet been mentioned, nor did any one entertain even the most distant idea of their approaching return. A council of regency is formed, with

Talleyrand at its head. The déchéance of Buonaparte is decreed and announced; and, after some hesitation, the tyrant consents to exchange the throne of France for the sovereignty of Elba. It was not till then that the name of the Bourbons was mentioned, and their intended return officially announced. Our author, who is now a good Bourbonist, assures us, that this event, so fortunate for France, was hailed with rapture by all the people; but he regrets that it should have been accomplished by means of a faction: and such is his determination to save the credit of the emperor, that he ventures to assert that Cardinal Fesch, Lucien Buonaparte, and even Madam Mère, were leagued against him on this occasion; and that to their influence, and to that of the leading men of the Bourbon party, the dethronement of Buonaparte must be attributed.

The same men who had accomplished his ruin in 1814, led him once more to destruction in 1815. This, if true, may throw some light on the conduct of Louis XVIII. towards many men, whom we should have rejoiced to see receiving the reward due to their crimes. Our author is, however, angry with them.

"Le gouvernement auquel la France obéissoit lors de cette invasion inattendue, légitima leurs actions. Ils agirent cette fois sans être flêtris du nom de factieux; mais cette honte de moins ne rendit pas les moyens qu'ils employèrent plus nobles et plus généreux. La ruse, la duplicité, la perfidie étoient leurs armes ordinaires, et ils en usèrent pour soutenir une cause légitime. Sauvez le monarque, dit l'homme le plus marquant, ou l'un des plus marquant de cette faction. Sauvez le monarque, je réponds de la monarchie.' Mais pour sauver la monarchie, il étoit inutile de voler dans les bras de l'usurpateur, d'aller l'accabler de perfides caresses, et de le servir pendant trois mois."-p. 438—9.

Little notice is taken by Mr. L. of the means which facilitated the return of Buonaparte to France, and enabled him to reach Paris unmolested. He hastens to the last catastrophe. The usurper, attacked by all Europe, rushed to the field of Waterloo, where his star set, we hope, for ever. Of the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo, our author speaks in the following ambiguous terms.

"La bataille de Waterloo prononça entre un homme et le monde. Le dénouement de cette journée est un problême. De long tems il ne sera résolu. De part et d'autre toutes les heures de ce grand jour appartinrent à la bravoure, et un seul instant à la trahison; quelques minutes dévorèrent une gloire de 25 ans. Un quart de siècle fut comme non avenu; et dix millions d'hommes en sortant de leurs tombeaux auroient pu demander à l'Europe, pour quoi donc avons nous versé notre sang?"--p. 439.

This great event, destructive of the hopes of Buonaparte, was followed by a second abdication of the power which he had usurped; by his surrender to the British nation; and by bis subsequent transportation to the Island of St. He lena. What narrow limits now confine the man, who once found all Europe too small for the immensity of his ambition! Future ages alone can judge of him with impartiality; but we are inclined to believe that posterity will consider him rather as an extraordinary man than as a great one. We are not prepared to deny him some good qualities as a Sovereign and as a general. He encouraged, in some degree, the arts of peace, as well as those of war. The resto

ration of Lyons, the embellishments of Paris, the public works at Boulogne and at Cherbourg, and the astonishing road across the Simplon, will long remain monuments of his glory and greatness. The amazing activity of his mind, and the vigour of his constitution, gave an energy to his councils, which ensured the success of his enterprises; but it was the energy of lightning, rapid in its progress, and destructive in its course. We uniformly perceive more *quickness than elevation in his ideas; and in the consciousness of power we ever see him despise the dictates of prudence and caution. He wished to be feared and admired, but not to be loved. Hence he sought to amaze rather than to captivate the world. Impelled by unbounded ambition, be formed the plan of renewing the Western Empire; and considered the population of France only as the means which were to raise him to the summit of greatness. Hence be learnt to reflect without emotion upon the many thousand lives he might sacrifice in each attempt, and unfeelingly strewed the continent of Europe with the mangled bodies of the instruments of his power. His successes were no doubt wonderful; but much of our astonishment will vanish, if we consider the immense means he had at his disposal, and the boldness with which he trampled under foot the laws of nations, whenever they impeded his course. He armed the whole population of one half of Europe against the military power of single states, and he was successful: but when these states, to save their independence, adopted the same plan, and fought with him in his own way, he was driven from the throne, and became a captive. His invasion of Spain and his attack on Russia will enable posterity to judge of his merits as a politician; and from his last campaigns in Germany and in France, his military talents

will be estimated. The murders of Wright, of Pichegru, and of the Duke d'Enghien, and the proscription of the Spanish princes, are stains on his character, which nothing can efface. We are, however, willing to allow, that he was eminent in some respects-eminent for his ambition, which was more. unbounded than that of Cæsar or of Alexander; eminent as a destroyer of the human race, in which character he will rank above Attila, Tamerlane, or Ghengis Khan; eminent for the enormity of his crimes, which exceeded that of any tyrant of ancient Rome; and eminent for the rapidity of both his rise and his fall, neither of which has a parallel in the history of mankind.

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ART. IV. An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India; comprising a View of the Afghaun Nation, and a History of the Dooraunee Monarchy. By the Hon. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE, late Envoy to the King of Caubul, &c. Longman and Co. 1815. 4to.

Of the causes which have led mankind to seek an acquaintance with the numerous productions of the globe, and with the manners, customs, and character, of its inhabitants under their diversified forms, war has ever been the most efficient. Its motives are usually the most urgent-its views and its plans the most comprehensive; and the additions which it has made to the stores of human knowledge, directly or indirectly, are, therefore, the most extensive and valuable. It is, however, far from our intention to become the advocates of war; peace is the ardent desire of our hearts: but, when the evil must be borne, it would be folly to reject the good with which it is accompanied, and not to enjoy the bloodless trophies which it is capable of affording, while others wear the laurels gained in the ensanguined field,

The last twenty years, to which we referred in noticing Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia, forms a period in the modern history of the world, never, perhaps, surpassed in the magnitude and variety of its events; and seldom equalled in the greatness of its plans. The principal circumstances which gave rise to this and the other missions that took place about the same time, and the effects

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