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him as soon as the day appeared. Hearing some cavalry, he started up hastily; and when he complain ed to his landlord that he had not waked him early enough, the man told him that it was the emperor's cuirassiers who had passed under the windows, and that the allies had surprized the town. The major immediately took his pistols, and observing every thing as diligently as he could, in order to make choice of a favourable opportunity to escape without being attacked, he at last found one, and was so happy as to get safe to his regiment.

The count de Revel sent orders to M. d'Arenes to march along the ramparts, on the side of the chapel of Santa-Maria-Nuova, which is between the Milan gate and that of All Saints. He saw at that time on his right, the battalions of Dillon and Bourk, who marched, with major Mahony at their head, pa the side of the Po gate. Count Merci had seized a battery of cannon, which was on the left of that gate. M. d'Arenes, instead of following his first orders, put himself at the head of the two Irish regiments, with M. Mahony, They charged the Imperialists, who were masters of the rampart on the left of the Po gate, and of the battery, and behaved with such gallantry, that, after a long and obstinate engagement, they obliged the Imperialists to abandon that post and the battery about noon, and killed them a great number of men, although the Irish were almost all of them naked to their shirts. He posted a considerable body of infantry in this place, and put the remainder of the Irish into a convent of Franciscans, which was on the left of the rampart. M. d'Arenes went after this to the Po gate, in order to post there the regiment of Beaujolois. M. Mahony and M.Wacoup, lieutenant-colonel of the regiment

of Bourk, and other Irish officers, called on him, and presented to him an officer of their own nation, who was the same Macdonald who had taken M. de Villeroy; he came to speak to them, and to offer them good terms from prince Eugene. That officer told M. d'Arenes, that M. Villeroy was taken, that above five thousand of the garrison were killed upon the spot, and that there was nothing better for him to hope for than the quarters offered him, because Prince Eugene only waited his return to come and attack them. M. d'Arenes told him in answer, that he was very much out in his reckoning, that in a short time prince Eugene and his troops would be beaten out of the town, and that if his highness waited for his return to begin the attack, it would be somewhat of the longest before he began it, because he thought it necessary to secure him. He sent him to the castle with the other prisoners, whom the Irish had taken. M. d'Arenes having thus put the Irish and the regiment of Beaujolois into order, went to join the count de Revel, to inform him of what he had done, and to receive his orders. He found him on the esplanade with the M. de Praslin, who were getting together as many of the troops as they could, and in half an hour's time he re-assembled a considerable part of the garrison. The count de Revel put himself at the head of the infantry, and having made several detach ments, he assigned them their at tacks.

Y 2.

The M. de Praslin on his side. drew together the cavalry, and as they came out of their caserns he put them into order of battle on the esplanade, and then marched to attack the horse of the allies; while the regiment of marines, and that of Medoc, who had all along kept their posts, fell upon

the

the Imperialists in the lesser square, but they found them so numerous that they could not drive them from thence. It was in this action that messieurs d'Entragues and de Montandre were wounded and carried off. M. de Praslin in the interim charged the allies at the head of the cavalry. He found all the streets so fall of the Imperial horse, that it was not in his power to clear them; but the Marquis de Fimarcon, at the head of his regiment, taking them in flank through a street which came directly upon them, attacked them six times successively, with such success that the Imperialists began to give way. While the horse were engaged, the count de Revel took all, the measures necessary for clearing the ramparts and re-taking the posts in the possession of the allies. He was joined by Don Diego de Concha, governor of the place, who run out at the first noise. He fell unluckily into the middle of a body of Imperialists, and being abandoned by the small guard he had about his person, received two musquet shots, one in the belly and one in the arm; this however did not hinder his joining the count de Revel, who was also seconded by M. d'Arenes, Mes. sieures des Cailus, de la Chetardie, de Courlandon, de Langais, and several other officers. The count de Revel, in order to attack the Imperialists with greater regularity, established a communication with the post possessed by the Irish, and caused several streets to be barricaded, in order to cover his forces from the cuirassiers. He then ordered the regiment of marines, and what remained of the royal regiment of Franche Comte, to march, and with these he attacked the church of Santa Maria Nuova, and the house of the provost, which they carried, as also a bastion ad joining to it, of which the grena,

diers had possessed themselves They immediately followed up this advantage; and these troops, sustained by four companies of horse of the regiment of the Dauphin, and a squadron of the regiment of Nar bonne, marched to the gate of All Saints. They attacked the forces posted there, defeated them, and made themselves masters of it; they advanced next to the square tower, which was defended by an old church, and by several houses filled with foot soldiers; this post was attacked and defended with 'extraordinary bravery. The count de Revel was obliged to send to the castle for two several pieces of can non, in order to carry it the better. As there were no horses to be had, the officers and soldiers drew them to the place themselves. As soon as they got them thither, they bat tered the tower of the church, and began a second attack; but the M. de Fimarcon being by that time come up at the head of his tegiment, he ordered them to dismount and attack the Imperialists sword in hand, and immediately carried the place.

There remained now only St. Margaret's gate to be taken, and then the Imperialists had been effectually shut into the town; but prince Eugene, who knew of what consequence the preserving that passage was, had taken care to post a great number of troops in its neighbourhood, and to see them well intrenched; and placed also a great number of foot in the houses adjoining to the gate, who made a continual fire. However M. d'Arenes proposed to M. de Revel to atrack that gate, in order to try if they could carry it. M. de Revel readily consented: M. d'Arenes caused then a battalion of the ma. rines to advance, and put himself at the head of a battalion of the roy al regiment of Franche Comte. He

caused

caused all the streets to be lined that were in the neighbourhood of the gate; but in the very instant as he was bringing up the foot to fall upon the allies in their posts, he received a musquet shot in the middle of his stomach, which striking a large silver button, was thereby hindred from entering. This con. tusion, though it was not dange rous, disabled him for the time, by hindering his respiring freely. The count de Revel caused the post however to be attacked by M. de Beaulieu, lieutenant colonel of the regiment of Medoc, but the Impe rialists repulsed them with all the vigour imaginable, and forced them at length to retire. M. de Revel made yet another effort, but in vain; it was impossible to force the allies.

But to return to what passed dur ing this time on the side of the Pó gate: after M. Mahony had driven the allies from the ramparts on that side, and had retaken eight pieces of cannon with his two Irish regiments, he received orders from the count de Revel, at ten o'clock in the morning, to leave a hundred men in the battery, and to do.his utmost to force his passage to the gate of Mantua, where he should receive fresh orders. He marched with the Irish immediately, and with them drove about two-hundred grenadiers to a corps de garde, where the Imperialists had a considerable body of troops, who made from thence a terrible fire. In the mean time several troops of the Im perial cuirassiers hearing a noise, advanced as fast as they could, and with several other bodies of horse and foot, charged the Irish in their flank and rear. The baron de Freiberg, lieutenant colonel of Taat's regiment, who commanded the cuirassiers, having put the first ranks into disorder, broke into the batallion of Dillon. M. Mahony

seizing the bridle of his horse, proposed to him his rendering himself prisoner; but the baron replied fiercely, that this was not the day of clemency, and that he should do his duty, endeavouring as he spoke these words to spur his horse to the charge; he was killed in an instant. The curiassiers, as soon as they saw the death of their commander, began to be in great confusion.~ Theflrish pursued their advantage, by making frequent discharges of their small arms, whereby numbers of the cuirassiers were laid at their horses' feet, so that at last they were obliged to retire. The regi ment of Bourk, in this attack, had, seven officers, and forty-two soldiers killed, and nine officers and fifty soldiers wounded; the regiment of Dillon had one officer and forty. nine soldiers killed, and twelve officers, and seventy-nine soldiers wounded.

M. Mahony did not think it proper to pursue the Imperialists farther, or to march on as he had been directed to the gate of Mantua, foreseeing that he should meet with new obstacles, and that the battery would be infallibly taken. These apprehensions of his were well founded, for the allies returned with fresh troops to attack the Irish, and fired very briskly upon them in their retreat. They made themselves masters of houses from whence they fired upon the Irish with advantage; but M. Mahony, who was posted near the battery, caused the cannon to be played upon that house, which immediately obliged them to abandon it. He directed also the firing upon the Imperialists, who were coming on with cartridge shot, which obliged them instantly to retire. They ceased not however firing from eminences, from the angles of bastions, and from all other places where they were under cover.

Prince

Prince Eugene heard, with regret, the news of the baron de Freiberg's death, and the retreat of the curiassiers; he was likewise perfectly sensible of the disadvanages his troops were under on all sides; he resolved therefore to bring the inhabitants of the town into his interest, if possible, and to engage them to assist him against the French. Prince Commerci, to whom he communicated this design, gave into his sentiments. As he had chosen the town-house for his post, he immediately caused the alarm bell to be rung, in order to assemble the magistrates; but in spite of all he could say to them, either in harsh terms, by threatening them that their houses should be plundered, or in smoother lan guage, by assuring them of the fullest protection from the emperor, he could draw from them no other answer than this, that in the state things were in, they were able to do nothing; but that they would receive the Imperialists, when they should be absolute masters of the place, as they had received the French.

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Notwithstanding all these disappointments, the enterprise had yet succeeded, if the prince of Vaudemont could have passed the bridge over the Po; but the dust which his troops raised in their march giving the enemy to understand that succours were coming to prince Eu

gene on that side, the French were obliged to withdraw the detachment they had in the redoubt, and to break, or rather burn their bridge of boats. This rendered the six thousand men commanded by prince Vaudemont absolutely useless, and put an end to the efforts which prince Eugene had hitherto made to maintain himself in the possession of the place. As soon as he understood the bridge was destroyed, he began to think it necessary to provide for his retreat, which he performed with such order and resolution, that the enemy, though they assembled from all parts, durst not pursue him, though he halted about a mile from town, and was encumbered with a great number of prisoners, among whom were a hundred officers, at whose head was a marshal of France, the Duke of Villeroy, and a lieutenant general, the Marquis de Grenant, who died of his wounds, whose fate the marshal envied, so auch ashamed was he of being taken in the manner he was. As to prince Eugene, it may be justly said that he acquired as much glory as if the affair had succeeded, since nothing could have been better concerted, and since his project was rendered abortive by mere accidents, which it was impossible for him to pre vent.

LIFE OF BOSSUET.

Jacques Benigne Bossuet, born at Dijon, on the 27th day of September, 1627, was descended from a family distinguished in the parliament of Burgundy. From his early infancy, he addicted himself to study, with the avidity of a rising genius, that seizes on and devours

every thing. The Jesuits, who were his first instructors, did not fail to perceive in such a disciple the seeds of future greatness. Accordingly, they made use of the most adroit insinuations to attract him, in order that he might become a member of their society,

practising

practising on this occasion those arts by which they have obtained so many able men. The fathers already flattered themselves with the hope of including young Bossuet in the circle of their conquests; but his uncle, who watched over his interests, and was well acquainted with the plans of those who superintended his studies, dissipated all their intrigues, by carrying away his ne. phew to Paris.

As he was destined to become an ecclesiastic, he cultivated all the branches of education either useful or necessary to the state for which he was destined, from the bible to profane authors, and from the fathers of the church, to the scholastic theologians, and the mystic writers. The lively interest, or rather passion, with which he addicted himself to the sacred records, already announced the future prelate, who was destined to preach up re"Ngion with all the zeal of the apostles, and to celebrate it with all the eloquence of the prophets. Among the doctors of the church, St. Augustine was most admired by him. He knew every passage of that writer by heart, quoted him unceasingly, discovered in him an auswer to all his difficulties, (in reponse á tout) and always carried his works along with him, whenever he travelled.

In respect to profane authors, in which his eloquence searched at once for masters and for morals, he gave the preference to Homer, whose elevated but unconstrained genius had most affinity to his own. He was also greatly pleased with reading Virgil and Cicero; but he cared little for Horace, whom he judged of rather as a severe critic than as a man of taste: the morals of the epicurean effaced, in his eyes, all the merits of the poet, and rendered him insensible to all those graces which

only appeared calculated either to seduce, or to alarm his virtue. He carried the austerity of his principles still further. It is well known, that certain rigid casuists have considered as a species of apostacy, that liberty, which most of the christian poets have allowed themselves, of employing the imagery of the pagan divinities in their productions. Bossuet did these valuable doctors the honour of being of the same way of thinking, although Des Preaux, in his Art Poetique, has made them the first answer that a great poet can oppose to such scruples: in short, he has refuted them in harmonious verses, and the poetry of Boileau will be recollected, when the judgment of the rigorists will be forgotten. The agree able and philosophical fictions of the ancient mythology, which confer life and soul on every thing, will continue, notwithstanding the arret of Bossuet, to furnish our great poets with new and interesting images, in consequence of those charms, and that interest with which they abound. But as to the croud of versifiers, whom you cannot bereave of Flora, and Zephyr, or Love and his wings, without reducing their barren muses to extreme distress, I shall say nothing although even these, to a man of his talents, ought to have appeared rather fastidious than criminal.

Of a the profane studies, that of the mathematics was the only one which our young ecclesiastic thought himself entitled to neglect, not from scorn) for we will not hesitate to say such a sentiment would have been a stain on the memory of Bossuet), but merely because geometrical knowledge did not appear to him to be of any utility in respect to the interests of religion.

Yet, although this great man exhibited but little attachment to mathematical

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