dropping his tone of persuasion, he assumed that of a man who knows who to ensure obedience, and exclaimed with a loud voice," Marseillees, as you assure me that I possess your confidence, I will prove to you that I deserve it: I then absolutely declare, that I will not allow you to dishonour yourselves by a most base assassination. If the Colonel is guilty, the law will render justice: citizens and soldiers are not executioners; request you then to retire, as before you will obtain the head of our Colonel, you must deprive me and the brave men who surround me of ours."

These few words, pronounced with energy, seconded by the resolute countenance of Bernadotte and his comrades, who from assailants had become protectors, overawed the multitude, who immediately dispersed. This conduct of Bernadotte did not remain long unrewarded; he was made a Sub-lieutenant. He passed rapidly through the different stages of promotion to that of Colonel, which he obtained in 1793, in the Army of the North. He commanded the 72d regiment of line infantry.

The death of his intimate friend General Goguet, afforded him another opportunity of displaying that superior strength of mind and character with which nature had endued him. Prior to the Revolution Goguet was a Physician. A desire of making his fortune had led him to the army: abilities, considerable information, daring spirit, and exalted patriotism, brought him through in the space of a year, from the rank of a common soldier to the eminent station of General of Division. With all his talents, he was deficient in the experience necessary in the rank he held, in order successfully to command his troops. This defect proved fatal to him. In a route, his soldiers, deaf to his voice, running away with the utmost precipitation, he lost his presence of mind to that degree, as to endeavour to rally his soldiers by blows of the sabre: a soldier whom he had thus struck, fired straight upon him with his musket, and killed him upon the spot.

Bernadotte informed of the sad fate of his friend, in whose division he was employed, went the very same day to the regiment's camp in which the assassin served, and required that he should be arrested and punished in the most exemplary manner. Both officers and soldiers answered him, that the author of Goguet's death was not guilty, as he had only repelled force by force. The impunity attending such a circumstance, might give rise to the most dangerous consequences to discipline: this powerful motive, and an anxious desire to avenge his friend, induced Bernadotte to persist in his demand: he requested the Colonel to assemble the Officers and Subalterns; they in consequence met immediately. Bernadotte convinced them how reprehensible they would be in shielding the assassin of their General and their friend from the severity of the laws, and proved to them, that the result of this culpable indulgence would expose them to a similar fate, should they act in conformity to a regulation which authorizes the striking of any one running away from the enemy. The murderer was then arrested, condemned, and immediately shot.

Bernadotte commanded, in 1794, Kleber's advanced-guard, consisting of six battalions of grenadiers of old troops of the line: that corps was encamped near the Abbey of Lanes, upon the right bank of the Sambre. For some days the rain had been falling in torrents, and the camp, stationed in a field freshly ploughed, was one complete heap of mud. Several jacobinical under-officers met together, and determined that a deputation of twelve Ser

jeants should repair to General Kleber, in order to represent to him, "that he was in the wrong, to suffer them to be stationed on so unwholesome a spot, whilst at the same time there were in the vicinity of his position a number of very rich villages, where they would be very comfortably quartered." A Serjeant-Major, a very fine declaimer, was chosen as the orator of the band. Kleber made no other reply than by sending for Bernadotte, and ordering him, in the presence of the deputation, "teach your grenadiers that a camp is not a club." Notwithstanding the dreadful lesson afforded him by the tragical death of Goguet, he was no longer master of himself, but fell upon the body of deputies with heavy strokes of the sabre; and these gentlemen, thus re-conducted to the camp, were received by the hisses of their comrades, which took from them all inclination of again asking to change their quarters.

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Some few days after, Kleber marched with the Army of the Ardennes, to attack an Austrian corps posted near Marchienne-au-Pont. Bernadotte had the command of the right. This was the first time he exercised the function of General in the field of battle. General Duhem, who commanded the troops of the centre, wished to avail himself of this circumstance, to cover his attack, and expose Bernadotte's, by ordering him to stretch himself more on the right. Bernadotte replied, that he had received his orders from Kleber, and that he would, in no instance, change his arrangements. Kleber, who happened to step in, censured Duhem, and approved of Bernadotte's conduct. The engagement having taken place, both parties fought with great fury: the position of the Austrians was very strong : their line was placed upon a hillock, protected by defiles and ravines; their right leaned upon the Sambre, and their left was covered by redoubts and abatis. General Lorge's column, detached to turn their left, had been retarded by the badness of the roads. Kleber, impatient at this delay, conceived he would be successful without that succour, and had ordered a general attack to be made. He remained himself with the right. After a very brisk fire of musketry, the position of the Austrians was carried at quick march. The enemy's troops being chosen ones, effected a very orderly retreat by Marchienne-au-pont, and posted themselves upon the left bank of the Sambre, in order to protect Charleroi. Kleber, who had never lost sight of Bernadotte during the whole of the action, was delighted with the coolness and presence of mind with which he directed the troops, and availed himself of the advantages of the ground. Although that General was very sparing of his compliments, he said to Bernadotte, in the presence of the army, "You have manœuvred like an old General; and I shall find it equally a pleasure, as it is also a duty, to announce to the Representatives, that, though it is only your first attempt as a General, you have, by your ability, shewn yourself worthy of commanding your brave grenadiers.” -Saint Just and Duquesnoi, two great partisans of Robespierre, were with the army. During the battle they remained in an inn, with the General-inChief, Charbonnier. As soon as they learnt the retreat of the enemy, they immediately ran to the field of battle. In the name of the Convention, they returned hearty thanks to the troops, and, upon Kleber's report, bestowed on Bernadotte the fraternal embrace. Such was then the strength of opinion, that these two individuals, who were red-hot Jacobins, possessing no other real merit but their impudence and boasting, were as much respected,

and much more, in another way, dreaded, by every one in the army, than Lewis the Fourteenth could possibly have been, when that Monarch put himself at the head of his troops; from which we may conclude how much their embrace tended to accredit Bernadotte.

Jourdan's arrival with 40,000 men of the Army of Moselle, furnished the means of laying siege to Charleroi. Bernadotte continued serving under Kleber in the left wing of the Army of the Sambre and the Meuse. He maintained his reputation in the battle of Fleurus. At the siege of Maestricht he was charged with the attack of the fort of Wyck. At that period he had no knowledge of the operations of a siege: this he frankly acknowledzed, and confided entirely in his Artillery and Engineer Officers. He, every day, whatever might be the weather, visited the trench, and encouraged the workmen. They entreated him to retire, observing to him, that he ran very great risque, without any prospect of advantage. His answer was, "that, considering his soldiers as his children, it was his greatest pleasure to share in their dangers, and witness their zeal in well executing his orders." This adroit behaviour received a double recompense; first, by attaching more and more the officers and soldiers, who, whatever they may say, are always fond of seeing their Generals at their head; and, secondly, by inducing the workmen to hasten their work. There was but one general cry among them-"Let us be of good cheer, and work double tides, to shelter our brave General, who thus exposes himself as one of us."—I have seen Bernadotte shedding tears of the sweetest sympathy in seeing himself thus beloved by his troops. I had brought General Jourdan the news of the taking of Coblentz by Marceau. Kleber retained me with him until the end of the siege; and I had often opportunities of seeing Bernadotte, and of examining the progress of his attack, directed by the Colonel of Engineers, Detroye, an officer of great merit, who was killed in 1799, at the siege of St. Jean d'Acre.

Upon the reduction of Maestricht, Kleber's corps advanced to the borders of the Rhine, and took the left of the army. Bernadotte's division successively occupied Cologne, Bonn, and Coblentz. At the period of the first crossing of the Rhine in 1795, Bernadotte was charged with the blockading of Mentz, on the Cassel side, upon the right bank of that river. He had his head-quarters at Biberich, in the Prince of Nassau's castle, who had taken his flight. Not a single devastation was made, nor was any contribution exacted. The Prince's steward had but to praise the honourable proceedings of Bernadotte, who confined himself to obtaining only the mere necessaries for the troops of his division. Whilst the Army of Italy gave itself up to every excess, the French upon the Rhine observed a discipline unexampled in the times of Turenne, of Condé, of Saxe, &c. A peasant having preferred a complaint, that two Staff Officers had broken open his granary, to get oats for their horses, Saint Just ordered them to be shot at the head of the army. The inhabitants, in consequence, offered up their prayers for our success against the Austrians, whose custom was then to ask, and pay with blows of the cudgel; which method the French did not delay to adopt, as soon as they were freed from the presence of the Deputies of the Convention.

Jourdan, equally a novice in politics as in war, could not persuade himself that Clairfait would dare to violate the neutral territory of Hanau, and

his astonishment was at its height, when he learnt that the Austrians had crossed the Maine above Frankfort, and directing their march towards Wetzlar, threatened to turn the French camp by its left. Instead of immediately marching with the army 80,000 strong, which he could dispose of, still continuing to blockade Mentz, he made the most disgraceful retreat ever recorded in history. Kleber, Marceau, and Bernadotte, were for giving battle, which Jourdan opposed. When Clairfaït saw that our retreat was real, he retrograded, and forced the lines of Mentz. Bernadotte's division was dispatched to the Hundsruck, to oppose the corps sent by Clairfaït in that direction, to prevent our impeding him in the pursuit of the Army of the Rhine. On the taking of Creutznach, a small town upon the Nahe, Bernadotte experienced the mortification of seeing his advanced-guard repulsed, owing to the fault of its commanding officer, who, presuming he had only to do with light troops, had dashed into the town without first causing it to be searched by his sharp-shooters. Whilst the enemy was making a stout resistance upon the bridge of the Nahe, some Pandours (troops half barbarians) rushed from an ambuscade, and succeeded in taking some French, whose heads, agreeable to their usual custom, they cut off, a few paces distant from their comrades, who not being sufficiently in force to rescue them, were obliged to retire to the main of the division, spread upon the heights round Creutznach. On hearing of this barbarous conduct, Bernadotte felt the strongest indignation: he put himself at the head of his infantry, attacked the Austrians, overthrew them, and pursued them so closely, that he crossed the bridge pell-mell with them: General Caffarelli, Chief Engineer of the right wing of the army, an officer of great distinction both for his talents and virtues, had a leg carried off by a cannon-ball by the very side of Bernadotte.

The following fact will afford an idea of the terms on which the French Generals lived with their troops. Whilst Bernadotte was pursuing the enemy, General Poncet was marching through Creutznach with his division, in order to support them as a corps of reserve; Poncet was informed that several Officers had quitted the ranks, and were refreshing themselves at an Inn. The General hastened thither, and ordered the Officers to rejoin their regiments; they refused to do so, alledging that they had ate nothing for 36 hours. Poncet fell upon them with flat strokes of the sabre, and many of them took to flight. One more obstinate than the rest, placed his hand upon his sword, and said haughtily to Poncet, " that he had always been partial to the point and not the blade." The General, an excellent fencer, answered him," as you like," and attacked the Officer, who parried in the presence of more than twenty witnesses. After five or six thrusts without effect, Poncet run his sabre through the body of his adversary, who fell dead at his feet. "It is thus," said Poncet, wiping his sabre on the clothes of the deceased, "I treat all arguers." It will be easily supposed that the spectators of this catastrophe took quickly to their heels. Poncet quietly rejoined his division, and claimed a deal of merit to himself for this adventure, although it was a dreadful censure upon a General reduced to a similar extremity! Had Bernadotte found himself in a such-like predicament, all the Officers of his division would have done themselves a gratification, in making a rampart for him of their bodies.

(To be continued.)

CAMPAIGNS IN THE PENINSULA.

[Continued from Vol. II. page 649.]

SOULT, after his flight from Portugal, and his retreat from Galicia, occupied Zamora, Salamanca, and Leon, with the remains of his army, which he had now completely rested, and found means to re-equip. Ney's corps was quartered at Astorga, Benevente, and Leon; Mortier's at Medina del Campo and Valladolid. Soult, who was well apprised of the movements of the British, issued orders on the 20th of July, for the concentration of the whole French force at Salamanca; and, on the 24th, by instructions from Jourdan, in the name of Joseph Buonaparte, he prepared to advance with the utmost speed upon the rear of the English, by way of Placentia. Sir Arthur Wellesley, satisfied in his own mind that a considerable force of the enemy's existed in the northern provinces, and his own army being too small to act with advantage against them, applied to Cuesta for detachments sufficiently strong to secure the passes of the mountains which the French must pass to put in practice their operations against him: Sir Arthur demanded of Cuesta troops to perform this service, so important to the security of both armies. Cuesta dispatched the Marquis de la Reyna with two battalions from the army of Beja and two from his own, to occupy the Puerto de Banos; and ordered the Duke del Parque to secure the Puerto de Pereles by detachments from the garrison of Cuidad Rodrigo. The former point was now considered by Sir Arthur as in a state of security, but he was not fully satisfied of the Duke del Parque's ability to spare a force sufficiently powerful to effect the latter object; he therefore directed General Beresford to defend this pass with the Portuguese troops, and this service, considering their state of discipline, was as much as they were capable of performing. Two days after the battle, intelligence was brought to Talavera that 12,000 rations had been ordered at Fuente Duenas for the 28th, and 24,000 at Los Santos on the same day for a French army, which it was supposed was on its march to the Puerto de Banos. When the news arrived, Cuesta betrayed much anxiety for the security of that post, and proposed that Sir Robert Wilson should be dispatched thither with his corps in order to maintain it; but his corps being at that time stationed in the mountains near Escalona, whence he kept up a communication with Madrid, it was deemed impolitic to withdraw him from a point from which the army and the patriots derived so many important advantages. Of this VOL. III.

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