They now moved their cantonments behind the Lavifio and the Piava, and advanced against the French, who, after ineffectually ftriving to oppofe their paffage of thefe rivers, yielded to their fuperior force, and fell back to the Adige. General Davidovich, who commanded the Auftrians in this quarter, was thereby enabled to recover Trent, and other towns in its vicinity; while marfhal Alvinzi proceeded as far as Vicenza, in the Venetian territories, where he was fure of meeting with every clandeftine aid which that ftate, could afford.

From the beginning of November, a variety of actions took place between the Auftrians and the French, who were generally fuccefsful and made a number of prifoners; not, however, without fuffering on their fide.

The plan of marthal Alvinzi, who had the chief command, was, to form a junction with the Auftrian troops that were on their march from the Tyrol, and with thofe that had forced the French to retire from Trent. To this intent, he drew near to Verona, where, he hoped, they would joined him. Buonaparte, apprifed of this movement, crofled the Adige, on the fourteenth of November, and approached the Auftrians pofted at Caldaro. Alvinzi, judging that he would be vigorously attacked, and that the day would probably prove decifive, difpofed his troops with great fkill. The village of Arcola, through which the French were to pafs, was fituated in the middle of a marfh, and acceffible only by a caufeway. This poft he occupied in great force, lining with troops. every spot on each fide, from whence the French could be annoyed in their march. They fucceeded, however, by dint of intrepidity and perfeverance, and penetrated to a bridge on a canal that flanked the village: here stood a numerous body of chofen men, who repulfed them in repeated attacks: they had alfo to encounter a tremendous fire from the houses near the bridge, which were filled with troops that kept up a continual difcharge of mufketry. The French generals, who faw the neceflity of carrying this poft, placed themfelves at the head of their men, who feemed to lofe courage at the numbers

that

that fell, and to defpair of fuccefs. Augereau, who had the chief command in this defperate attack, feeing moft of thofe generals carried off wounded, advanced himself, with a ftandard in his hand, to the foot of the bridge. He had the good for tune to escape unwounded, but his men could gain no ground. Buonaparte, on receiving intelligence of this ill-fuccefs, came himfelf to the fpot, and reminding his troops of their paffage over the bridge of Lodi, difmounted, and, feizing a standard, rufhed towards the bridge at the head of the grenadiers, crying out, "follow your general." The troops advanced again to the bridge, but were not able to ftand the fire of the Auftrians. Two other generals were wounded, and Buonaparte's aid-de-camp was killed at his fide; he himself, who had again mounted to rally his men with the more speed, fell from his horfe into marfhy ground; after extricating himfelf he continued to prefs forward his men: but ftill they made no impreffion upon the Auftrians, who, nevertheless, did not dare to move from their pofition, in order to improve their advantage.

Buonaparte had, in the mean time, difpached general Guiaux, a remarkable bold officer, at the head of a ftrong body, with orders, by a circuitous march, to proceed to Arcola, and affail it upon the rear of the Auftrians, where it was more acceffible. This officer executed his orders with the completeft fuccefs. He carried the villages, taking feveral pieces of cannon, and making a great number of prifoners. This he effected the more readily, that while he fell upon their rear, the Auftrians were threatened by the troops in their front, who were again advance

ing upon them, and whom they now could not have withstood.

Thus terminated the action, of the fifteenth, which, though it ended fuccessfully for the French, was undecifive. On the fixteenth, at break of day, the Auftrians made a general attack upon the French. They were vigorously repulfed every where but at Arcola, of which they had retaken poffeffion on the feventeenth. It was again affailed, in the fame manner as on the two preceding days, by general Augereau, who commanded the right wing, facing which stood this celebrated fpot. The centre of the French army was, in the mean time, fo furioufly charged that it gave way; but Buonaparte, while it was retreating, placed a large body in a wood that flanked it, which, as foon as the Auftrians, preffing on the centre, were preparing to turn it, fallied forth upon them unexpectedly, and routed them with vaft flaughter. The left wing of the Auftrians, covered with inárshes, food its ground a long time, through the advantage of its pofition, and the fuperiority of its numbers. In order to make an impreffion upon this, a party of horfe was detached round the marshes that protected it, and directed to found a large number of trumpets, as foon as they had reached its rear. This ftratagem fucceeded, and the left wing precipitately retired, imagining it was turned by a confiderable force Still, however, Arcola remained untaken, notwithftanding the kill and bravery employed in attacking it.

The fame manoeuvre that prevailed againft it in the first engagement was again practifed with the like fuccefs. A ftrong column came round upon the rear of thofe who

defended

defended it, while general Maffena, with the left wing, after defeating the right of the Auftrians, united with the centre, and both, with general Augereau on the right, ad vanced on the caufeways leading to it, when it was carried. The Auftrian army was clofely followed till night put an end to the pursuit.

This was the moft obftinate bat tle that had yet been fought between the French and the Austrians. Va lour and kill were confpicuously difplayed on each fide, but the ge. nius and good fortune of Buonaparte overcame all obftacles, and gave him a victory, of which, on the first onfet, he had every reason to doubt, The loffes of the Auftrians, in this terrible battle, were truly ruinous, It was computed that eight thousand of them were killed and wounded, and near five thousand taken, befides an immenfe quantity of war, like ftores. The lofs of the French was alfo very confiderable, efpecially in officers, who felt themselves obliged, on this critical occafion, to expofe their lives in the brunt of the battle, the gain of which may be chiefly afcribed to the perfonal intrepidity difplayed by the commander-in-chief and his other generals. In a letter to the directory, Buonaparte acknowledged, that, what with flain, or difabled, he had hardly a general left him fit for duty.

Early in the morning of the eigh teenth, Buonaparte fet his army in motion to profecute the fuccels of the foregoing day. It was forefeen that Alvinzi would retire either towards the Piava, on the frontiers of the Auftrian dominions, or endeavour to ftrengthen himfelf by a junetion with the forces, under general Davidovich, who had been more for

tunate than himself, and ftill kept the field in confiderable force.

Celerity, in his movements, was now become more indifpenfible than ever to the French general. The continual fupplies of recruits arriving from the Tyrol, and the parts contiguous to it, enabled the Auftrians, however frequently defeated, to return, as it were, immediately, to the charge; and fuch was their strength, that, had it been concentrated in the late actions, there was little doubt but the French must have yielded to its fuperiority.

Buonaparte had now been completely victorious over four hostile armies, composed of troops equal at least to any in Europe. The inference naturally was, that his own troops, and those who commanded them, were fuperior in military ta lents to thofe whom they had defeated; but the Auftrians were not of this opinion; and fuch was the confidence they repofed in their own prowess, that they attributed the fucceffes of the French to fortunate cafualties, and neither to bravery nor better tactics. The fubjects of the emperor, particularly thofe of the counties ufually styled hereditary, were fo fully of this perfuafion, that they entertained no doubt of being able finally to chace the French out of all their Italian conquefts, Hence they readily repaired to the Imperial ftandard, eager to recover the reputation they had, in fome degree, loft, by the continual advantages of the French over them.

The inhabitants of the Tyrol were remarkably zealous in teftifying their readiness on this occasion. They felt themselves greatly offended by the proclamation that Buona* parte

parte had iffued to them, after he had defeated marshal Wurmfor, and was preparing to invade the Tyrol. It was filled with the fevereft threats, to fuch of them as belonged to the diftricts of which he should take poffeffion, if they did not, forthwith, leave the Imperial fervice and return to their homes. This they confidered as a violation of their native right, to act in defence of their fove

reign.

From motives of this nature they flocked to the different bodies that were affembling to reinforce the defeated army of Alvinzi, and that divifion under Davidovich, which, after forcing the French forces, under general Vaubois, to abandon their pofition, was, advancing towards Mantua.

In order to oppofe his progrefs, a large force was immediately difpatched against him, which effectually fucceeded in putting him to the rout, with fo confiderable a lofs, that his defigns upon Mantua were totally, fruftrated.

The intelligence of thefe various advantages, but especially of the great victory at Arcola, was received, as ufual, by the directory, with the highest fatisfaction. The prefentation of the ftandards, taken on that memorable day, and in the other engagements with Alvinzi's army, took place on the thirtieth of De. cember. It was accompanied with a fpeech from the officer who prefented them, remarkable for the devotion it expreffed in the army of Italy, to the republican conftitution of France, and, its determination to fupport it against every attempt, either from foreign or domeftic enemies.

A declaration of this kind was the more acceptable to the republican

party, that its enemies in France were, at this time, extremely active in their endeavours to render it odious to the nation, and to excite a difapprobation of the measures of government, particularly of the prolongation of the war. They reprefented it as wholly unnecessary for the honour or the intereft of France, and continued merely to indulge the ambition of perfons in power. By fuch an arrangement of their conduct they hoped to bring the nature of the power they exercifed into difguft, and to prove it inconfiftent, both with peace abroad, and tranquillity at home.

Thefe adverfaries to the ruling fyftem, were the friends to the ancient monarchy, and the adherents to the first conftitution, by which the power of the crown was li mited. Thefe latter were incomparably more in number than the former, and included a large proportion of the nobleffe, and many of the clergy. But both these parties together, however numerous, were inferior in Itrength to the republican, which comprehended all the common claffes, and dreaded a renovation of that oppreffive authority which the upper ranks had exercifed over the lower. But what principally weakened the two first parties was their difunion: they hated each other as much as they did the republicans. The nonjuring clergy, in particular, would not divest itself of the leaft attachment to their primitive tenets, and anathematized all that differed from them. As thefe two parties agreed, however, in their deteftation of republicanifim, they exerted all their abilities and influence in undervaluing it, and all its fupporters. Buonaparte's great actions protected him

from

But the intrigues and publications to this intent were ineffectual. It was to remove all jealoufies of this nature that Buonaparte directed his aid-de-camp, Lemarois, on prefenting the colours, taken at Arcola, to the directory, to affure them of the inviolable attachment of his army to the intereft of the republic.

The mafs of the nation, pleafed with the glory accruing to it from fo many victories, was firongly prepoffeffed in favour of a fyftem under which its arms had fo wonderfully profpered. The ftaunch afferters of a commonwealth were continually reminding the public of the difproportion between the people at large and those who formerly poffeffed an exclufive authority over them. The nobleffe did not exceed one hundred thousand individuals, nor the clergy, with the monaftic orders, twice that number. Were they entitled, in juftice and reafon, to affume a fovereign authority over twenty-four millions of people, containing a far greater number of perfons, poffefling worth and capacity, equal at least, if not fuperior, to what they could boaft? Was it not among the plebeians, as they infultingly ftyled all but themselves, that the nation counted the men of talents in all profeffions? Was it equitable that thefe fhould bow the neck to the others, and fubmit

to that feudal vaffalage which had fo long oppreffed and difgraced the people of France? Having emancipated themselves from this flavery, was it to be expected that they fhould return to it, with their eye's open to the contemptible character of those who arrogated the right of again becoming their tyrants, and, after paying the price of fo much blood, to fecure themselves against their pretenfions, and the iniquitous combination of those foreign defpots, who abetted them, in hope of fharing the fpoils of the French nation, after having again. reduced it to fervitude?

Reasonings of this kind were more acceptable to the generality than the arguments employed by the anti-republicans, who, though they widely differed in opinion among themfelves, were confidered as form ing but one party, to which their enemies gave, in common, the name of royalifts; meaning thereby to involve all the opponents of the commonwealth in the indifcriminate imputation of being foes to liberty, and afferters of arbitrary power.

The conflicts of opinion upon these various fubjects were, at this period, encreafing daily, and threatened to produce internal convulfions in various parts of France, through the invincible activity and courage of the party in oppofition to government. But the vigilance of the directory repreffed every movement that had the leaft tendency to infurrection, and the decided refolution of all the armies, to fupport the prefent measures, kept the discontented in awe.

No class of men had fignalized their attachment to republican principles with fuch fervour and conftancy as the French foldiery. It

was