facing a superior enemy, and bringing off all his baggage and artillery. An armistice for an unlimited time was concluded be tween the two armies at the end of September. It left each party in possession of the country which it occupied; but the Russians were soon strong enough to resume offensive operations, and a second armistice, signed on the 20th of November, virtually surrendered Finland to Russia. The Swedes were to evacuate all their posts there, and retire beyond the river Keims, the limit of the province.

During this campaign, many unimportant actions took place between the flotillas of the contending powers, and our trade in the Baltic received considerable injury from the Danish gun-boats. The honor of the British flag, was, however, gallantly supported by that distinguished officer, sir Samuel Hood, who, having joined the Swedish admiral Nauckhoff with the Centaur and Implacable, two seventy-fours, sailed in quest of the Russian fleet, on the 25th of August. Next morning the enemy were discovered off Hangolldd. All sail was set in pursuit. The British ships out-sailed their allies; and, about five o'clock on the following morning, the Implacable brought the Sewolod, of 74 guns, being the most leeward of the enemy's line of battle, to close action. The Russian admiral immediately bore up with his whole force. In the course of twenty minutes, the Sewolod was completely silenced, and her colours struck both ensign and pendant; but sir Samuel was obliged to make signal for the Implacable to join him. The Russian admiral sent a frigate to take the disabled ship in tow, and again hauled his wind. As soon as the Implacable was ready to make sail, sir Samuel gave chace again,

and soon obliged the frigate to cast off her tow. This made the Russian again bear down with his main force, and it was hoped that a general action would be brought on, but the enemy availed themselves of a favorable slant of wind, and entered the port of Rogerswick.

The Sewolod, which had fallen to leeward, grounded on a shoal just at the entrance of the port; she soon, however, rode at anchor, exertions were made to repair her damage, 100 men from the other ships were sent on board to replace her loss in the action, and at sun-set boats came out to tow her in. Upon this sir Samuel stood in with the Centaur to cut her off. She was just entering the port when he laid her on board. Her bowsprit took the Centaur's fore-rigging, and she swept along with her bow, grazing the muzzles of the British guns. When the bowsprit came to the mizen, it was lashed there. Sir Samuel now attempted to tow her out,-but an ancher had been let go from her. A severe contest for about half an hour ensued; when the Russians, after losing in this second conflict 180 men, struck. The Centaur and her prize now grounded, and two of the enemy's ships were seen under sail standing towards them; but captain Martin, in the Implacable, anchored his ship so as to heave the Centaur off, and they then retreated. The prize was first on shore, and sir Samuel, finding it impossible to bring her off, burnt her. Hopes were entertained in England when this intelligence arrived, that the Russian fleet might be destroyed; but the harbor was strongly fortified. They landed their men, and erected more batteries, and it was found impossible to make any impression upon the enemy.

TH

2

HE castle of Scylla in Calabria, which was held by an English garrison under lieutenant-colonel Robinson, was taken by the French general Regnier, early in the year. The town of Scylla lies partly on the shore, but the greater part on the rocks above, where nine rows of houses are seen, one immediately above the other and above the highest of these, in an oblique direction, there are six or seven other rows. The castle is upon a cliff over the sea; but, notwithstanding the advantages of its situation, it is not strong. There were between 400 and 500 armed Calabrians in the town, and about 200 British soldiers in the castle. The besieging force consisted of about 6000 men, who were now incessantly enployed in forming roads to bring their heavy ordnance from Seminara: the besieged laboring on their part to render the approach difficult, and to harass the French outposts. The month of January was past in these preparations, when four Sicilian gun-boats, each carrying a 24 pounder, were taken by the enemy; and thus all the endeavors which had been used to prevent him from bringing battering cannon into that part of Calabria VOL. I.

were rendered unavailing. The Delight sloop of war, in endeavoring to recover them, run on shore, several of her crew were killed, were killed, and the remainder made prisoners. In this unfortunate affair, captain Hanfield, her commander, fell, a man of so much professional and individual worth, that his death was a greater misfortune than the loss of Scylla and its castle. The sloop was burnt on the next day by our boats, it being impossible to get her off. The French were now enabled to bring five 24-pounders, five 18-pounders, and four mortars, besides field-pieces, against the works. They came down from the heights on the 6th of February, and made their approaches in form. The armed peasantry opposed them with great spirit for three days; they were then obliged to yield to superior numbers, but the castle-guns covered their retreat, and they were sent to Messina, not a man falling into the enemy's hands. On the 14th, the batteries opened; in three days the guns of the castle were buried in the ruins of the parapet, and the garrison could only defend themselves with musketry, Two breaching batteries had now been erected at 300 and 400 yards. 5 н

distance, and by the evening of the 16th they had battered the left bastion with so much success that in the course of the following day the breach would have been practicable. From the time the batteries opened, the weather had been so stormy that the gun-boats from which much assistance had been expected could not possibly be employed.

The situation of the castle-being made known by telegraph to general Sherbrooke, who commanded in Sicily, boats were sent over from the Faros during a temporary abatement of the gale to bring off the garrison. Aware of the means of retreat, the enemy on the 15th, had pushed round the front of the rock, and attempted to destroy the sea staircase, but they were discovered and beat off with great slaughter. By this staircase the British effected their way to the boats through a tremendous fire; they embarked without leaving a man behind them, and before they were musketshot distant, the French were in the fort, which they found only a heap of ruins. They purchased their success by the loss of 700 men; on the part of the garrison 11 were killed, and 31 wounded.

A few days after this event, a treaty of alliance with Sicily was signed by our envoy at Palermo, which stipulated the payment to his Sicilian majesty of an annual subsidy of £300,000 in monthly payments, commencing from the 10th of September, 1805. His Sicilian majesty engaged not to make peace with France separately from England, and his Britannic majesty on his part also engaged to conclude no treaty which did not embrace the interests of his ally.

An unexpected attack was made on the isle of Capri, by a body of troops under general Lamarque, and prince Pignutelli, second in command. The fort of Ancapri had been left to the defence of a Maltese regiment. These men, of whom four-fifths were married, would have been excellent soldiers on their own island, but it was now thought proper to unite them into one large regiment under English officers, contrary to their own entreaties, and to the judgment of sir Alexander Ball. Ac

customed to be commanded on their native rock, by their own nobility, they were sent to serve where they had no interest at heart, and in the hour of trial they laid down their arms without resistance. The French obtained possession of the heights, and shortly afterwards compelled the English garrison to surrender as prisoners of war. They were to be transported to England, on condition that they should not serve until exchanged.

Buonaparte in the mean time was steadily pursuing the views of his restless and insatiable ambition. His first act was through the medium of the conservative senate to call out 80,000 conscripts born within the year 1789, who according to the laws should have belonged to the conscription of the succeeding year. By a decree of the same date the towns of Kehl, Wesel, Cassel, and Flushing, were united to the French empire. The kingdom of Etruria which he himself had created for one of his puppet kings was no longer to exist. It was now incorporated as an inseperable indivisible portion of the French dominions, and one usurpation was made a precedent for another. A junta, with general Menou at its head, was appointed to govern the new departments of the Arno, the Mediterranean, and the Ombrona, into which the states of Tuscany had been now divided. The same decree incorporated the dukedoms of Parma and Placentia under the title of the department of the Taro. The pope had long foreseen that these events were only a prelude to his own humiliation, and demeaned himself with unexpected dignity. He protested against the designs of the French government, and soon after the circulation of his remonstrance, French troops were marched to Rome, under pretence of freeing that city from the Neapolitans. They seized those cardinals who were attached to the pope, and forcibly carried them as prisoners, from the palace of the Quirinal; they took possession of the post-offices for the purpose of examining all correspondence; incorporated the papal troops into their own army, and set guards over all the printingoffices, that the pope might not avail him

self of the influence of the press. The appearance of respect to the pope himself, who was now a prisoner in his own palace, was not long observed. A French detachment burst through the gates at six in the morning, and arrested those of the Swiss guards, who would not consent to receive their future orders from the French general. Against each of these acts the pope continued to protest, but was only answered through the medium of M. Champagny by insult and invective. The protests of the pontiff were succeeded by a memorial remarkable for its firmness, its intelligence, and its piety, in the publication of which he was evidently actuated by a determination not to concur in the usurpation of Spain, upon which Napoleon had determined. The consequences of his conduct were such as he had foreseen. Buonaparte issued from Ancona, a decree to incorporate the papal territories with the kingdom of Italy. Having thus secured the dependance of the latter country on France, he proceeded in the creation and establishment of his new nobility. The great dignitaries of the empire were to have the title of prince and of serene highness. Their eldest sons were to be dukes of the empire in their own right, as soon as their fathers should assign them an entail yielding an income of 200,000 francs, which title and entail were to pass to their descendants either lineal or adopted from male to male. The great dignitaries could assign to the eldest of two sons an entail with the title of count attached to it. Ministers, senators, counsellors of state holding their offices for life, presidents of the legis lative body, and archbishops, were made counts, that title being also hereditary and descending from the archbishops to such nephews as they might choose. An income of 30,000 francs was required as a qualification for this title, and to the eldest of two sons these nephews might assign an entail with the title of baron. The presidence of the departmental electoral assemblies having presided during three sittings, the first presidents and attorneys-general of the courts of cassation, appeal, and accounts, having exercised their functions 10 years

to the emperor's satisfaction; and the mayors of 37 cities who have the right of being present at the coronation, and in like manner have held their offices for that term, were to be invested with the title of baron. The members of the legion of honor were to have the title of knights, made hereditary, with a qualification of 3000 francs. In case reasonable grounds should be assigned for alienating their landed property, it was only on condition that the estates should be replaced by others of the same size.

While Buonaparte thus artfully flattered the vanity of the French nation, he hinted at another part of his new project, which, however gratifying it might be to his own love of power, was pregnant with the most pernicious consequences. "Europe," said the arch-chancellor, " is covered with our trophies, and will receive with respect names to which our sovereign has graciously been pleased to add new lustre. Great models will impose great duties on future generations, and the exertion of power which this obligation will render necessary, will be for France a never failing stream of fame and prosperity. These considerations have induced the emperor no longer to defer the benefits of an institution, which unfolds all the dignity and greatness of his object." The titles. which he conferred were taken from the countries he had overrun, and the obligation imposed on France, was that of main-. taining the same authority which he at that time possessed over places so remote as Ragusa and Abrantes. The result of these changes, and of his attempt to render the advance and predominance of French ambition, certain and perpetual, is best ex-. hibited by the following

LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL DIGNITIES. AND TITLES CONFERRED BY NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE FROM THE YEAR 1808 TO 1812.

King of Naples,-Marshal Murat, princeJoachim Napoleon.

Queen of Naples,-Caroline Buonaparte. King of Spain, Prince Joseph Napoleon.