property. All functionaries appointed by
Ferdinand, since the 21st May, shall cease
to exercise their functions; in a word, every
thing shall return to the state in which I left
my kingdom.
Given the

October, 1815.
JOACHIM NAPOLEON.

From Bastia, he removed to Ajaccio, where he was joined by many of his friends. An offer was here made by the court of Austria, to grant him an honourable and safe retreat in any part of the Austrian dominions, on condition of his renouncing for ever the Neapolitan throne. To this he pretended to consent, that he might better conceal his real intentions. He had been informed of the unpopularity of Ferdinand, he knew that he was beloved by every class of his former subjects, and he had received many invitations to return and resume his kingdom. In vain his confidential friends endeavoured to dissuade him from the enterprise: in vain they represented the improbability of his first success, and the total impossibility of resisting the overwhelming force of Austria and Eng. land. He replied, that he could not submit to the humiliating conditions imposed upon him that there was neither moderation nor justice in compelling him to live in perpetual captivity beneath the arbitrary laws of a despotic government: that this was not the respect due to an unfortunate monarch, who had been formerly acknowledged by all Europe, and who, at a most critical period, had undertaken the campaign of 1814, in favour of those very powers that now, contrary to their own interests, had conspired for his destruction. He said that England and Austria would have had nothing to fear from him; that he would not have driven the Austrians beyond the Po, had he not known that it was their determination to attack him;-that it could not now be attributed to him, that he would unite himself with Napoleon, who was an exile on the rocks of St. Helena;⚫ that England and Austria might expect from him many advantages, for which they would in vain look from the person by whom he was supplanted;-that the majority of his subjects ardently expected his return, and that he was resolved to place himself at their

head;-that he had often exposed nimself to death in its most frightful forms, and that he was not afraid once more to defy it, in the attempt to regain his rights, and deliver himself from undeserved oppression;-and that his only fears were for his beloved family."

66

He disposed of all his jewels and effects, and purchasing six gondolas, set sail from Bastia, September 28th, 1815, with two hundred soldiers and thirty officers. On the night of the 30th a violent tempest arose, and dispersed the little fleet; and on the 5th of October, rejoining another of his vessels, he was compelled to land at Pizzo, on the coast of Calabria, with fifty men. Few troops were quartered on this part of the coast, but no preparation had been made for his reception. He immediately proceeded to the great square; assembled the people; reminded them of the benefits which they had received from him, and the fidelity which they had expressed; and told them, that, recalled by the affection of his countrymen, he was come to resume possession of his throne. A few voices joined his officers in shouting Long live king Joachim;" but the popula tion of the neighbouring villages hastily collecting, armed themselves and attacked him, and, after a desperate resistance, routed his little army, and took him prisoner. A courtmartial was immediately assembled; he was brought before it, and tried on one of his own laws, which decreed, that any person landing in the country with an intent of disturbing the public tranquillity should be shot. Ferdinand at first refused to sign the warrant for his death, but being at length prevailed on by his ministers, orders were given for the immediate execution of the prisoner. When Murat was informed that his fate was decided, he expressed some surprise and indignation, but, immediately recollecting himself, requested a pair of scissars to cut off his hair, in order to send it to his wife, but this was cruelly refused. He then intreated that he might be shot by the small detachment of his guard which was at Pizzo; this was also refused. His request that the execution might take place in the great hall of the commandant of Pizzo was acceded to.Twelve Sicilian soldiers were then placed

his cause.

WHILE the population of the capital were hailing, with every demonstration of pretended joy, the return of Louis lé desirée, their former idol was hastening to seek security in another hemisphere. He was accompanied by general Becker, a member of the chamber of deputies, who was commissioned by the provisional government to see the emperor soon and safely embarked, in a small squadron which they had assigned for his conveyance to America. On the road to Rochefort, Buonaparte received several deputations from the army, urging him to place himself at their head, and swearing to die in "You see," said he to Becker, "that the provisional government mistakes the wishes of the people with regard to me." The divisions of the army were too completely divided and disorganized, and too strictly watched by the allies, to permit his immediate acceptance of their offers; but a counter-revolution might occur; the troops might be able, after the lapse of a few weeks, to concentrate their scattered numbers. He was unwilling to abandon the country so long as these expectations could possibly be realized, and lingered at Rochefort till he lost the opportunity of effecting his escape. From the 3d to the 16th of July he resided in the house of the prefect, apparently employed in preparations for his departure. Wag gons daily arrived laden with valuable articles, To protract his delay, he affected the utmost anxiety for his own personal comfort and accommodation; attended the unpacking of

the articles, and appeared to be profoundly versed in all the mysteries of china-ware and table decoration. Sometimes he resolved to return to Paris, and make a forcible appeal to the fidelity of his troops; then he addressed the government, requesting a command in the army; and at other moments issued orders to embark, which he countermanded, on the pretext that all his baggage had not arrived. Thus, day after day passed on, till the British cruisers, informed of the important prize which Rochefort contained, closely blockaded the port, and rendered his escape impossible. In this emergency, he determined to fortify the little island of Aix, and defend himself to the last extremity.He embarked on board a frigate, and proceeded to the island. Having landed the marines, and about twenty of the crew, he reviewed his little army, inspected the works, and commenced some repairs of the fortifications; but before the close of the following day he was convinced of the absurdity of his enterprise, which might easily have been defeated by the fire of a few seventy-fours, or a week's blockade, and abandoned his design.

-

He then opened a communication with the master of a Danish vessel, and prepared to escape on board in two half-decked boats, which he had purchased at Rochelle, but was dissuaded from his purpose, as too dangerous. He next resolved to make the attempt in a small French vessel, attended by eight of his officers, in the disguise of sailors. But Bertrand and his wife, perceiving the Z z

danger of the stratagem, burst into tears, and, throwing themselves at the feet of Buonaparte, besought him to relinquish his intention.He complied with their entreaties; and, as his last resource, dispatched a flag of truce to the commander of the British squadron, requesting permission to pass, and giving his word of honour that he would proceed to America. To this proposal an unqualified denial was returned, and captain Maitland, the British commander, added, that he would attack the French squadron the moment it should leave the harbour. The situation of Napoleon was now desperate. Louis was reinstated on his throne; the white flag was hoisted at Rochefort, and instructions to arrest him might be hourly expected. He therefore resolved to make a virtue of necessity, and appeal to the generosity of the British nation. Two of his officers were again dispatched to captain Maitland, proposing the surrender of Buonaparte, on condition that his person and property should be sacred, and that, on his arrival in England, he should be permitted to retire to some spot selected by himself. To this proposal the captain replied, that he had no authority to grant him terms of any kind, and that all he could do would be to convey him and his suite to England, to be received and treated as the Prince Regent might deem expedient. Disappointed as he was, at an answer which implied the necessity of unconditional surrender, no other alternative remained. On the evening of the 14th of July, a flag of truce came out from Aix roads, on board of which was De Las Casses, and general Gorgaud, aide-de-camp to Napoleon, with two of his pages, and part of his baggage. Captain Maitland, of the Bellerophon, immediately dispatched the Slaney to England with this important intelligence, and with general Gorgaud on board, bearing the following letter from Napoleon to the Prince Regent: "ALTESSE ROYALE,

"En butte aux factions que divisent mon pays, et à l'inimitie des plus grandes puissances de l'Europe, j'ai terminé ma carrière politique, et je viens, comme Themistocle, m'asseoir sur les foyers du peuple Britannique. Je me mets sous la protection de ses lois, qui je reclame de V. Ä. R. comme le

plus puissant, le plus constant, et le plus genereux de mes ennemis. "NAPOLEON."

TRANSLATION.

"ROYAL HIGHNESS,

"Exposed to the factions which divide my country, and to the enmity of the great powers of Europe, I have terminated my political career, and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself on the hospitality (literally, to seat myself on the hearths) of the British people. I place myself under the protection of their laws, which I claim from your royal highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies.

"Rochefort, July 13."

His allusion to the illustrious Athenian was at once a confession of his errors, an assertion of his claims to the admiration of the world, and an appeal to the generosity of the English nation. Themistocles had made his country the mistress of Greece. In the very zenith of his power she became ungrateful to her benefactor, and doomed him to perpetual banishment. Having sought in vain a safe retreat among the Grecian republics, and in the harbours of Thrace, he threw himself upon the generosity of a monarch whose fleets he had defeated, and whose father he had destroyed.

Ambition, and the love of enterprise, have been the leading traits in the character of Buonaparte. It is said of Themistocles, that, in the midst of adversity, he possessed resources which could enable him to regain his splendour, and even to "command fortune." In the rapidity with which Buonaparte recovered from the losses of the Russian campaign; in the struggle which he maintained with all the powers of Europe, even in the very heart of France, when, had he acceded to the terms of the allies, he might have been recognised as emperor, and would have ruled over an extent of territory of which even Louis XIV. could not boast; and in the rapidity with which he overthrew the Bourbons, and resumed the sceptre that had been wrested from his sway, we behold, as in Themistocles, the full display of "resources which could command fortune." The ambition of Themistocles was directed to the ag