HISTORICAL SKETCH OF LATE EVENTS.
It remains to conclude this article by a rapid sketch of the most remarkable events that have oc curred in France since the peace of Presburg in 1805, till which period the history is brought down in the Encyclopedia.
The peace of Presburg, concluded after the vic tory of Austerlitz, bore an appearance of moderation on the part of Bonaparte, which was soon contra dicted by the proceedings of the ensuing year,— the conferring the title of King, with augmented territories, on the Elector of Bavaria and Duke of Wirtemberg; the change of government in Holland from the republican to the royal form, and giving the crown to Louis Bonaparte ; but more from the forced abdication of the imperial dignity by Austria, and the establishment of the French power in Ger many by the Confederation of the Rhine. Bona parte having taken occasion, in an address to the senate, to profess a disposition for peace with Eng land, and a communication to that effect having been made by Talleyrand to Mr Fox, the result was a negotiation at Paris; conducted at first by Lord Yarmouth, and in its more advanced stage by Lord Lauderdale. At one time the French govern ment evinced a considerable disposition to concede, offering to sanction our keeping both Malta and the Cape of Good Hope ; but such offers were probably suggested by the hope of adding Sicily to their Italian acquisitions ; and that they were not made in the spirit of peace was apparent from the conduct pur sued at the time by Bonaparte towards Prussia. The treaty between that power and Russia, con cluded shortly before the battle of Austerlitz, fur nished him with grounds of complaint, and the ne gotiation that ensued was conducted on his part with the artful view of engaging Prussia in a war apparently by its own act. The Prussians, in flated by recollections of a past age, and embold ened by an affected dread on the part of Bona parte, took the field, occupied an advanced position In Saxony, and allowed their calculating adversary to gain the flank and even the rear of their army ; after which the loss of a battle could not fail to cut them off from Berlin, and lead to the surrender, one by one, of almost every corps in their army. Such was the result of the disastrous day of Jena ; the ca pital was occupied, and fortresses, like Magdeburg and Custrin, which, if prepared, would have made a long resistance, were surrendered in a few weeks. The French now advanced into Poland, where, in the depth of winter, the first conflicts took place between Bonaparte and the Russians,—and where, at Pultusk, Golymin, and still more at Eylau, these rude antagonists taught him that audacity and celerity are not always crowned with suc cess. At last, on the arrival of reinforcements, and on the season becoming more favourable for mili tary movements, Bonaparte acquired a superiority, defeated the Russians at Friedland, and following them with a great force, found means, partly by in trigue, partly by intimidation, to dispose the Empe ror Alexander to a peace, concluded at Tilsit on 7th July. This treaty, while it restored to Prussia
somewhat more than half of her territories, left her in the dependence of Bonaparte, who seeing him self master not only of France, the Netherlands, and Italy, but of the half of Germany, determined to carry into execution a long meditated project on Spain. With this view he repaired to Bayonne, in veigled the royal family into that town, extorted from them a surrender of their rights, and con ferred on his brother Joseph a crown which he des tined at no distant period for himself. This was a remarkable epoch in the career of Bonaparte;—the first in which he openly cast aside the veil, and al lowed the world at large to obtain an undisguised view of his character and projects.
The Spaniards acted with unexpected courage ; and taking up arms, succeeded in compelling the surrender of a considerable corps of French under Dupont, and the evacuation of Madrid by the intruded monarch. All Europe, and no country more than France, exclaimed against this flagitious aggression. Of redeeming 'his character, by a return to equity, he seems never to have dreamt ; but he discovered infinite activity and skill in amusing his subjects, deceiving foreign courts, and enforcing the execution of his projects by military combinations. He occupied the Parisians by fetes, professed anew a disposition to peace, arranged with the Emperor of Russia an interview at Erfurth, drew closer the bonds of alliance with that monarch, and was thus enabled to remove a large portion of his armed force from Germany into Spain. When collected there, and in readiness to act, he left Paris, travelled rapidly to his army, scattered his ill-discipli ned opponents, entered Madrid, and even tried to o vertake our army under Sir John Moore; but found it expedient to return to Paris, and prepare the forces of France and her German allies to meet a threatened attack from Austria. This new war, begun in April 1809, took, from the date of the battle of Ecknoubl a favourable turn to the French, who marched for ward to Vienna, and, though foiled with great lass in the dreadful battle of Aspern, reasserted their su periority at Wagram, and compelled Austria to a peace, accompanied by considerable cessions ; but still deemed indicative of moderation on the part of Bonaparte, until subsequent events discovered, that the promised hand of a• young princess had effect ed the preservation of some valuable provinces. The same summer witnessed the failure of our expe dition to the Scheldt, and an unsuccessful attempt to drive the French from Madrid ; so that the power of Bonaparte seemed to become more and more consolidated, and the annexation of Holland to France took place without opposition.