taught us by the concurrent testimony of the illustrious dead-" Work," "Do your duty," ," "Live well," "Be good men." Seeing in the clear light of eternity, they tell us of the divinity of labour, and charge us to serve our generation, and by honest, earnest toil in the cause of man seek to stamp a goodly impress on our age. If all men were thus workers, all would be great; and each in his province may be. There is ever error to be combated and truth to be spread, ever wrong to be redeemed, ever suffering to be relieved. We need an age of workers to speed the "good time."

MARSHAL SOULT, DUKE OF
DALMATIA.

THE era of the French Revolution was one of the most terrible, but, at the same time, one of the most magnificent episodes of history; exciting the wildest hopes by its early promises of freedom; inaugurating a succession of brilliant, but bloody, military operations; and ultimately binding in the fetters of an armed despotism, a great nation that had caught an indistinct and transient glimpse of freedom. Peoples, first betrayed by their leaders, and then flattered into the endurance and support of the worst excesses of a lawless ambition; thrones and constitutions prostrate together; cities in ruins, peaceful villages swept away; and fields of battle strewn with millions of slain; are the prominent features of the picture painted by the pencil of history as her mourning spirit lingers over these scenes. The revolutionary movement was a signal failure. The first aspirations after liberty were succeeded by a feverish passion for conquest; and for a score of years, Europe presented the melancholy spectacle of a fierce and relentless war, conducted on the one side with no motive more intelligible than the gratification of personal vanity, and sustained on the other, not in the hope of achieving any positive good for mankind, but solely to check the career of a conqueror who would have planted the iron heel of military despotism on the world.

We can only attribute these results to the want of that moral preparation on the part of the French people without which no nation can really enjoy the immunities or consolidate the insti

tutions of freedom; nor until better agencies than the sword have impregnated society with the principles of wisdom, virtue, and magnanimity, can we hope to see liberty take deep and permanent root in any community. Man has, indeed, an inalienable title to it; and violence may for a time secure its concession; but Authority will infallibly recover its lost ground, and forge even heavier chains for its victims than those from which they have broken. The truest friends of freedom are those who labour most to propagate its spirit, by infusing into society a high tone of moral sentiment. A people cannot be robbed of liberty who are prepared for it; nor a people be made free, who are not.

France, at the close of the last century, was unfitted for the successful development of free institutions, by reason both of profound ignorance and of deep moral corruption. Infidels and profligates were the chief apostles and preachers of French liberty. They denied God and immortality: and the people applauded with shouts. Instead of pictures of severe virtue and heroic self-devotion, the early annals of the Revolution are filled with scenes of frantic excess. War was one of the first channels through which the popular excitement found vent. Napoleon, fitted by nature for a soldier and a usurper, found a people prepared for his ambitious schemes; and from the first hour of his advent on the scene, we recognise in France nothing but a vast military organisation, and nothing in her history but the glittering, though uncertain, fortunes of a colossal army. Viewed even at this distance of time, the eye becomes dazzled by the brilliancy of the era with which the name of THE EMPEROR is associated.

Ardent admirers of the principles of peace, we cannot yet look without a species of admiration at the energies which war on a great scale seldom fails to evoke. Soldiers not only become historical characters from their important share in moulding the destinies of the world, but often claim onr homage for their powers of intellect, their strength of purpose, their indomitable resolution and perseverance,-essential elements, all of them, of real greatness of character. Nor in paying this homage, need we cease to deplore that the forces we admire had not a holier

direction, nor forget the higher reverence due to the greatness of moral principle, the magnanimity of virtue.

Napoleon's staff contained a galaxy of military genius. All revolutions are fertile of great men. If it is true that the man often stamps his impress on the age, the converse is true also, that an age of stirring incidents and great necessities seldom fails to upturn from the depths of society a man to answer to its call. The revolutionary era unquestionably created many great soldiers. Napoleon selected his higher officers with wonderful discrimination. Untrammelled by the prestige of rank, he was enabled to choose them for moral qualities alone; and the consequence was, that the generals by whom he was surrounded, were, as a body, unequalled in the armies of the world.

Immediately on the assumption of sovereign power, the Emperor created eighteen marshals of France, four of them members of the Imperial Senate, who had fought their last battles, and were reposing on their laurels; the remainder were men still in active military service.

With scarcely an exception these last were men of humble origin. Jourdan, Bessière, Augereau, Bernadotte, Lannes, Murat, Ney, and Soult were the sons of mechanics or small tradesmen, and had all entered the army as privates.

Nicholaus Jean-de-Dieu Soult was born at St. Amans, in the department of Tarin, near Toulous, on the 29th of March, 1769, within a few months of the Duke of Wellington and Bonaparte. He was only sixteen when he enlisted in a regiment of royal infantry. He was promoted for good conduct, to the rank of corporal after two years' service, and three years afterwards to that of serjeant. Making his profession a study, he soon acquired the reputation of being a good instructor in military exercises, and in 1791 was made sub-lieutenant of grenadiers. In the course of the following year he accessively became adjutant-major, and captain.

In 1793, Soult distinguished himself at the battle of Oberfieldsheim, and was charged with conducting the movement of two battalions in the Vosges. He was afterwards present, under Jourdan, at the unsuccessful battle of Kaiserslautern; and we next hear of his being placed at the head of a corps

charged with an assault against the camp of Marsthal, where he gained a brilliant success, capturing two flags and a large number of prisoners. On the 29th of January, 1794, he was raised to the rank of major, and on the 15th of May following was made a colonel. From this time the military history of Soult may be said properly to commence.

On the 26th of September, 1794, was fought the celebrated battle of Fleurus, on the banks of the Moselle, said to have decided, for the time, the fate of the low countries, and to have saved France from Austrian invasion. Soult was present at this engagement as chief of the staff of General Lefebvre, who commanded the advanced guard of the army. The coolness and sagacity of the young officer, whose advice was frequently solicited by his superior, is acknowledged to have contributed much to the brilliant fortunes of the day. The right wing of the army, under the command of Marceau, retired in confusion before the impetuous onset of the Austrian dragoons, and it was with great difficulty the general effected his own retreat to Lefebvre's division. In an agony of despair he demanded a succour of four battalions, that he might drive back the enemy from the post they had just carried. "Give them to me," exclaimed the excited man, " or I will blow my brains out." Lefebvre consulted his aid-de-camp, who said that to detach the smallest portion of the troops at such a moment, would endanger the safety of the division. Marceau, indignant that an officer so much his inferior should presume to decide upon such a point, demanded, "Pray, sir, who are you?" "No matter," replied Soult, "whoever I am, I am calm, and you are not. Do not blow out your brains, general; but lead on your men to the charge, and you shall have help the moment it can be spared." He had scarcely spoken when the Prince of Coburg and his grenadiers came on them like a torrent, and Soult was in a moment in the thickest of the fight. Marceau fought gallantly by his side. Again and again was the assault renewed, and as often repulsed by the gallantry of the French. All the army were routed but this single division; and even this was about, under the direction of its general, to retire, when Soult interposed, and

besought him to maintain his ground, as the movements of the enemy convinced him they were about to abandon the attack. The judgment of the young soldier was speedily confirmed; and, after an obstinate engagement of eighteen hours, the Prince of Coburg fell back. As soon as the battle was over, Marceau said to Lefebvre, "This chief of your staff is no ordinary man; he has great merit, and will speedily attain great renown." Until the close of the brilliant, though brief, career of this general, Soult found in him a warm aud energetic friend.

In November, 1794, he was promoted to the rank of general of brigade, but continued to serve under Lefebvre, having the command of the light troops, and proving of inestimable service to the successes and the fame of that officer. In the responsible post he now filled, Soult proved himself a rigid disciplinarian; but at the same time, exhibited many traits of character which endeared him to the affections of the soldiery. He personally superintended their comforts, and always took care to be present at the time when provisions were served out, that he might satisfy himself of their being sound.

In 1796, Lefebvre's division served under Moreau, in Germany; and Soult had ample opportunities of displaying his characteristic coolness and bravery. He took a conspicuous part in carrying the almost impregnable position of Alterkirchen, leading his soldiers through a tempest of grape shot, carrying the batteries by an impetuous charge, and scaling heights which until then had been deemed impracticable. It was immediately after assisting at this brilliant victory that Soult was despatched in command of an advanced detachment of three battalions and five hundred cavalry to open the way for the left of the army. With a force of only six thousand men he was suddenly attacked by the Austrians to the number of 25,000. The contest was sustained for several hours with great obstinacy, until Soult's ammunition began to fail, and the energies of his men were almost exhausted. At this moment a column of cavalry unexpectedly appeared on the field; and this timely reinforcement was the means of saving this devoted band from destruction.

During this period Napoleon was en

gaged in the campaign of Italy; but the fame of the young general reached him; and he inquired one day of Massena if he deserved his high reputation. "For courage and judgment, he has scarcely an equal," was the reply of the veteran; and from this time Soult was honoured with the confidence and personal friendship of Napoleon; and his promotion was exceedingly rapid. In 1799 he was made a general of division, and took an important part in the battle of Stockach, on the 26th March. The same year he was sent to suppress the insurrection in Switzerlaud, and succeeded by a happy mixture of clemency and severity. After this expedition, he returned to join the main army under Massena, and passed into Italy, where he was created lieutenantgeneral. He was appointed to the chief command of the centre, consisting of 12,000 men, and in a series of actions against the Austrians, extending over several consecutive days, supplied the want of numbers, according to the language of Napoleon, by "bravery, intrepidity, and the necessity of conquering." At length, finding himself in an exposed and unprotected situation, his men almost entirely destitute of provisions, with not more than two rounds of ammunition, and surrounded by a force five times as numerous as his own, he determined to cut his way through the enemy, and, if possible, to effect a junction with Massena. answer to a summons to surrender, he replied, that "with bayonets Frenchmen never despaired." His men were inspired by the dauntless courage of their commander, and taking advantage with great skill of the indecision of the Austrians, he secured his movements until a party detached by Massena came to his relief. In this same campaign he sallied out of the city of Genoa, when it was beleaguered by the enemy, at the head of 6,000 men, and returned with a supply of provisions and 1,000 prisoners. Three days after, the sortie was renewed, but with a less favourable result. "The action," says Napoleon, was obstinate and bloody. Soult, after having performed prodigies of valour, fell severely wounded, and remained in the power of the enemy." His younger brother also served in this engagement, and was made prisoner at the same time. They were restored to liberty after the capitulation of Genoa.

In

on

It was General Soult whom Napoleon selected to command the army assembled at Boulogne for the muchtalked-of invasion of England. The expected advent of the French threw all ranks of society in this country into a state of feverish excitement, and the agitation was equally great the other side of the channel. London was to be captured and pillaged, the Royal family deposed, and the fashions of French Republicanism transplanted to British soil. There can be no doubt that the projected invasion enlisted a strong national feeling in its favour the part of our Gallican neighbours, and the flower of the chivalry of France waited impatiently the signal of embarkation. That Soult was designated to conduct the enterprise is a proof of the estimation in which Napoleon held him as the ablest of his generals. Certainly he displayed in the preparatory stages of the undertaking, much of the prudence, determination, and foresight such an occasion called for. He established a system of severer discipline than had ever before been known amongst French troops. He was constantly on horseback inspecting their evolutions, and accustomed them to severe labours, as if to train them for a special service. Some of the officers ventured to complain, and Napoleon himself feared the men might sink under such exertions. But Soult persevered, and his reply to those who remonstrated with him was characteristic: "Such as cannot withstand the fatigue which I support myself," he said, "will remain in the depôts; but such as do stand it, will be fit to undertake the conquest of the world." Happily the conquest for which it was designed to fit them was never attempted. For three months the dazzling scheme amused the minds of the French people; and then, whether the sagacious eye of Bonaparte discovered its impracticability, or whether the army was required by other exigencies elsewhere, the whole enterprise was suddenly abandoned, and Soult and his soldiers ordered off to Germany, to engage in that celebrated campaign on whose last battlefield the "sun of Austerlitz" shone in splendour.

Napoleon's assumption of the Imperial Crown was immediately followed by that mighty coalition of the northern

powers of Europe, which his extraordinary genius and activity succeeded in holding at bay for ten years, but before which he ultimately fell. The Allied Powers sent into the field a collective army of three hundred and fifty thousand troops during the autumn_of 1805. They were distributed under various generals in Italy, the Tyrol, Poland, Pomerania, and Bavaria, an Austrian reserve of thirty thousand men occupying Vienna. It was on the 1st November that the Emperor issued his instructions to the army of England at Boulogne to concentrate in Bavaria; and after a rapid and successful series of operations,-taking the fortress of Ulm, garrisoned by thirty thousand men and sixty pieces of cannon (“the result," as he describes it, “of a great battle, secured without encountering danger, and at the sacrifice of some sixteen hundred men"), and entering Vienna in triumph within the first fortnight of the campaign,-Napoleon determined to make the country around Austerlitz the battle-field, on which, if fortune smiled on his arms, he would overthrow the combined forces of his enemies. By a succession of skilful manoeuvres he had placed all the subordinate divisions of his army at his own disposal. The finest corps was put under the immediate command of Soult, on whom the weight of the battle was to rest; the heights of Pratzen, forming the enemy's centre, being marked out as his field of combat.

The

On the eve of the conflict the Emperor was the object of a singularly impressive demonstration. He was riding along the lines after dark, when the news of his approach spread like lightning through the whole army. soldiers suddenly seized the bundles of straw that had been supplied them for their beds, and setting fire to them lifted them on poles over their heads. The shout of "Vive l'Empereur" burst forth, and was taken up enthusiastically by thousands of armed men; and as Napoleon proceeded, his whole path was lighted by these blazing torches, and the air filled with these shouts raised by the immense host of his battalions. It chanced to be the first anniversary of his coronation, and the effect must have proved far more impressive to his mind than even the imposing ceremonial in the Capitol.

The next morning the Emperor was on horseback at four o'clock. The army was buried in profound repose. Thousands were destined before night to lie stiff and cold in the sleep of death. But such thoughts disturbed not the soldier as he sat watching the break of day, and listening earnestly for sounds that might tell him the movements of the foe. Presently his quick ear caught a low continuous murmur from beyond the heights of Pratzen, like the distant tread of marching columns, and he knew that the Allies were gathering their forces against his right wing. At this moment the sun slowly rose, gilding the opposite heights, and revealing their dense mass of moving infantry.

Soult was the first officer that day who waited on his master to receive his final commands. The Emperor paid his general a high and not unmerited compliment: "As for you, marshal," he said, "I have only to observe, act as you always do." The Allies' plan of operations was soon perceived. They were intent on outflanking the French, and weakened their centre by drawing off the troops to the left. The advantage afforded by this mistake was at once seen by the marshals who stood around Napoleon, and they eagerly demanded his permission to avail themselves of it. Before he replied, the Emperor turned to Soult, whose troops were stationed at the bottom of the valley, and asked him how long it would take them to reach the summit of Pratzen. "Less than twenty minutes," was the prompt answer. "Then, gentlemen," said Napoleon, "let us wait a little; when your enemy is executing a false movement, never interrupt him." It was eight o'clock in the morning, and, soon after, he gave his impatient officers the expected sigual. Soldiers!" he exclaimed, "the enemy has imprudently exposed himself to your strokes. Finish the campaign by a clap of thunder!" "Vive l'Empereur!" was the answering shout.

The several generals who had command of divisions parted like lightning from his side, and galloped to their respective corps; and Soult, at the head of his strong battalions, was seen a few moments after to emerge from the mists of the valley, and, bathed in the golden sunlight, ascend with an intrepid step the slopes of Pratzen. Gradually the glittering columns streamed

upwards. Then the height was suddenly enveloped in smoke, from whose bosom thunder and lightning belched out like a volcano playing in its fury. Two hosts were in mortal combat. For a couple of terrible hours nothing was heard but the roar of artillery,-nothing seen but the dense smoke which shut in the combatants like a curtain. At last the cloud lifted, the sound of firing grew still, and a victorious shout welcomed the sight of the French standard waving on the top of Pratzen. The enemy's centre was pierced, and the Allied army completely severed. For the purpose of restoring the communication the Russian guards made a desperate assault on Soult's division, and the French infantry were for a moment staggered by the impetuous charge; but Bessière, advancing with the Imperial Guard to the rescue, the Russians at length, after displaying the utmost valour, gave way before the veterans, leaving their artillery and standards to the conquerors.

It was a bloody field; and the fierce and relentless nature of war was never more strikingly displayed than in an incident that marked the close of the strife. It shows us how the soldier, in the excitement of battle, if he displays some of the loftier attributes of humanity in his consummate skill, energy, and resolution, becomes dead to its soft and holy sensibilities; and, in swelling into the hero, ceases in some particulars to be a man. The enemy were worsted seven thousand in this part of the field fell under the victorious French; and the remainder were attempting to escape by crossing a frozen lake. In a moment the white surface was covered with dark masses of infantry and a few squadrons of cavalry. The ice could barely sustain the enormous weight, when Soult suddenly ordered his cannon to play on it. The fragile platform cracked,-yielded, the whole gave way, and, with a yell that rose above the tumult of battle, two thousand men sunk into a watery grave.

The rout was general. Thirty thousand men lay dead upon the field of battle. Napoleon's loss was twelve thousand. Soult was the hero of the day; and the Emperor said to him, in the presence of his assembled officers, "Marshal Soult, you are the ablest tactician in Europe." "Sire," replied the other, with a felicity of expression