To the counsels of these persons, who, perhaps, with pure intentions, were the most dangerous enemies of the government, not to the violence or treachery of the sovereign, may be ascribed those acts capable of being misinterpreted, which furnished a pretence to his enemies for effecting a counterrevolution.

To the particular causes of dissatisfaction we have just enumerated, and which applied severally to each of the firstmentioned three parties in the state, we may add, that the national pride was humbled by the impression, which the enemies of the government inculcated, that she had received her sovereign from the hands of conquerors, and that that monarch, from the impulse of a gratitude which did honour to the nobleness of his feelings, had ascribed his restoration to his royal benefactor in this country, had dated his first proclamation in the 20th year of his reign, and had granted, as of his own personal authority, the charter of the liberties of France.

Having thus stated the leading causes of the discontent which existed in France soon after the accession of Louis XVIII., (on the validity of which there can be but little question,) it is fair to add, that this dissatisfaction, whether well or ill-founded, was the result rather of general deductions than of specific facts, with the exception of the restriction on the liberty of the press; that the domestic government of Louis is allowed by every impartial person to have been, in various and most important respects, honourable to himself and useful to his country. The air of liberty was once more breathed by Frenchmen; the system of espionage had ceased; the reign of terror was no more; the conscription no longer darkened the land with mourners; order was established in the finances; to the extent of its pecuniary means, the administration was strictly just; and public credit revived. France respected abroad, only required tranquillity at home. Time and patience, and the wise and moderate character of the princes, might have remedied any imperfection in the charter at all events, we must allow that the restoration had materially increased the civil rights, and of necessity, therefore, had multiplied the defences of the personal liberty, property, and life of every Frenchman.

:

After this digression, (which was absolutely necessary to explain the extraordinary events we are now to record,) we return once more to Napoleon, who, on his arrival at Elba, devoted himself, for some time, to all appearance, exclusively to the administration of the affairs of his little empire, projecting and originating various improvements, and amusing himself with the occasional society of strangers of high rank, who crowded to see and converse with him. In these colloquies he was often facetious; rarely seen dejected. He seemed to have.discarded all recollections of that towering eminence to which fortune and talents had conducted him, and from which he had been hurled by the excess of imprudence, combined with the excess of moral and political crime. His little fleet safely navigated the Mediterranean; and it is likely that he might have been permanently reconciled to his destiny had not the discontents in France held out a temptation, which a haughty and aspiring spirit like his could not withstand. Besides, he complained that his allowance, stipulated in the treaty of abdication, had been very irregularly paid, and that the Emperor of Austria had sequestered the Duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, which were, by that treaty, to be the inheritance of his son.

A sudden change was remarked in his demeanour: he became thoughtful and abstracted, and would no longer be approached, with his former facility, by strangers. The ame liorations he had designed in Elba were relinquished. It was evident to those who approached him, that his mind teemed with some great enterprize. Indeed, a regular conspiracy was now formed in France against the Bourbons: it comprehended an immense number of subaltern and many superior officers of the line; but the principal civil agitators were the Jacobins, who feared and disliked Napoleon, and would gladly have resorted to another leader, could they have selected a man possessing sufficient influence and energy to embark and prosper in such an enterprize. It was necessity only which compelled this party to identify their cause with the restor ation of the Ex-Emperor, and in the arrangements stipulated between them and him, it was decided, that the government

to be established in France, upon the expulsion of the Bourbons, should be a monarchy strictly limited.

The conspiracy now became more formidable. The wellknown symbol of the violet was the badge of the conspirators, and the motto "Il reviendra au printemps," the watch-word by which they communicated with, and identified each other. Another characteristic of the combination was its secrecy. The correspondence with Napoleon was chiefly conducted by means of his sisters, who resided in Italy; and the plot was matured and ready to be carried into execution ere the government of Louis received any intimation of their danger. The completion of it was postponed until the arrival of the French regular troops, who had been taken prisoners in Germany and Russia, and whose enthusiastic attachment to their leader ensured their immediate accession to the conspiracy.

Every preliminary measure having been taken, Napoleon, with four vessels, comprising the small garrison of Elba, (about 1000 men), and accompanied by his faithful follower, Count Bertrand, quitted that island on the evening of 26th February, 1815, and steered for Frejus, in Provence. On his passage, and very near to Elba, he was encountered by a French armed ship. The soldiers who were on board Napoleon's squadron, received orders to lie down on the deck, while one of his suite, who was personally acquainted with the captain of the vessel, hailed her, and amused him with a relation that the flotilla was bound for Genoa. Another, and a much more formidable obstruction presented itself; this was no other than a fleet of 6 or 7 English ships, which was descried from the mast-head, but which did not appear to notice the flotilla.

On the 1st March he landed at Cannes, near Frejus, in Provence. The astonishment of the people cannot be described; but his first reception was unfavourable, and a detachment which he sent forward to Antibes, was captured. Embarked in one of the boldest and most hazardous enterprises ever undertaken by man, delay was defeat; hesitation was ruin. He therefore immediately departed for Dauphiné, and marched on 2d May 60 miles. Pursuing his rout with extraordinary rapidity, and generally in advance of his little army,

he arrived on the 5th May at a small village in Dauphinè, where he met the advanced guard of a column of 6000 men, sent from Grenoble to oppose his progress. This detachment was chiefly composed of old troops, who had served under Napoleon in Italy. As soon as he descried them, he advanced before his escort, who had shouldered their arms, and spoke nearly as follows: "Soldiers, it has been reported that I am a coward: here I am," opening his waistcoat; "if you think so, shoot your Emperor." The dramatic effect of this scene realized all the hopes of Napoleon. The soldiers unanimously shouted Vive l'Empereur! and fell into his ranks.

At the same moment Colonel Labedoyere, who commanded one of the regiments composing the garrison of Grenoble, joined his standard. Thus reinforced, he proceeded with all expedition to Grenoble, whither the remainder of the garrison had re-entered.

The same feeling appeared to animate the garrison as had electrified the detachment. The gates, which had been closed, were taken off the hinges and brought to the Ex-Emperor, who entered the fortress in triumph. It was in vain that General Marchand endeavoured to recall the soldiers to their duty; his life had nearly paid the forfeiture of his allegiance to his lawful sovereign. The acquisition of Grenoble, one of the strongest places in the south of France, and filled with military stores, was of the highest utility to Napoleon. It gave an eclat to his enterprise, and enabled him to proceed to Lyons with a force of nearly 10,000 veteran troops.

In the mean time the government of Louis took the most strenuous measures to repel the danger. By a royal decree Napoleon was declared a traitor and an outlaw. The Duke of Tarentum, accompanied by Monsieur and the Duke of Orleans, proceeded to Lyons, whither a large body of troops had been directed by forced marches. In a public order of the day, signed by the minister at war, (the Duke of Dalmatia,) and addressed to the French army, Napoleon was stigmatized as a deserter and an enemy to France. The Chamber of Peers and Deputies avowed the most fervent loyalty to Louis. The Prince of Moskwa departed from Paris to repair to Lons le

Saulnier, a town to the north-east of Lyons, where a considerable corps was assembled, promising that he would bring Napoleon to Paris dead or alive: but under all these fair professions treason generally lurked.

On the arrival of the French prisoners at Lyons, they were well received by the national guards; but the troops of the line preserved a gloomy and a dreadful silence. As a last effort, an attempt was made to seize upon two of the bridges of the city; but it failed: and now deserted by the troops of the line, to whom the national guard could offer no effectual resistance, Monsieur, the Duke of Orleans, and the Duke of Tarentum quitted the city, which was entered in triumph by Napoleon on 11th March, to whom the garrison immediately deserted, and their example was speedily followed by the national guard. The populace were decidedly in his favour. On the 13th he resumed his march. Wherever he appeared, vast multitudes crowded around him, and in the vicinity of Auxerre, he was joined by the troops under the Prince of the Moskwa, who himself sanctioned the defection of his corps by a proclamation.

Although now at the head of nearly 30,000 men, Napoleon still continued to precede the troops, either in an open carriage or on horseback; and, until he reached Montereau, nothing like resistance had been opposed to him. Here a detachment of the royal body guards had been ordered to destroy the bridge; but they were anticipated by the insurgent army. The royal guard fled, and lost two prisoners.

On approaching Paris a most extraordinary scene occurred. As a dernier resort, the King had assembled all the forces in the capital, on whom he thought he could depend, and united them to the national guards; thus constituting an army of upwards of 30,000 men, with a formidable train of artillery. This force was drawn up on the road to Fontainbleau, in order of battle, awaiting, in profound silence, the arrival of the insurgent army: opposite to its position, and in the centre was a range of heights. Suddenly a body of cavalry appeared slowly descending the heights, and before them an open carriage with Napoleon, without any military escort. Before the