eminence in the great duty of promoting public welfare and private felicity. Napoleon could not conceal his mortification, when he found, that his letters had not produced a single reply. The lofty demeanour of the allied sovereigns, keenly wounded his feelings, and humbled his pride. He became unusually reserved and thoughtful; gloom sat upon his brow, and discontent rankled at his heart. Disappointed in the hope of deluding foreign princes into an opinion of his being influenced by sentiments of moderation, Napoleon made preparation for war. As his power was not sufficiently established, to insure him the national support in a protracted war, he needed the dazzling blaze of decisive victory, to renew the charm once attached to his name and fortunes. He resolved to make a sudden irruption into Belgium, and by a rapid movement, to direct his whole force against the English and Prussians, hoping that by so vigorous a measure, he might defeat his enemies in detail; and that one splendid victory would completely restore his influence in France, and enable him to carry the conscription into full effect; and thus present á formidable front to the combined powers of Europe. On the 14th of June, 1815, Napoleon issued an address to his army consisting of 150,000 men. He reminded the troops of the victories of Marengo, of Austerlitz, of Jena, of Friedland and Wagram; and after setting before their eyes a display of their former achievements, and of the glory, which they were now to expect, he observed, that the moment had arrived for every brave Frenchman to conquer, or to die. On the following morning, 15th of June, the French emperor put his army in motion, and suddenly burst into Belgium. The out-posts of the Prussians were driven in with loss. The next day, the French commenced a furious assault upon the Prussians, commanded by Blucher, and upon the English commanded by Wellington. The conflict was severe and obstinate. The Prussians retreated, leaving 15,000 of their number either dead or wounded on the field of battle. But the English, with undaunted firmness, withstood the fiercest charges of the enemy. The conflict, which took place at a hamlet, called Quatre Bras, was desperate. The duke of Brunswick was killed, and the loss was great on both sides. Wellington, however, kept the field; and marshal Ney fell back upon Fransnes." In consequence of the defeat of the Prussians, the English commander, instead of following up his advantages at Quatre Bras, resolved to fall back to such a position as would afford communication with the Prussian army. The English, accordingly, took a position about a mile in front of the village of Waterloo, communicating, on the left, with the Prussians at Wavre; and Napoleon established his quarters at Planchenoit, a small village a little in the rear. Thus arranged, the two armies and their commanders anxiously waited the arrival of morning, and the events, which it was to usher in. The night was excessively stormy. The furious gusts of wind, the heavy falls of rain, the vivid flashes of lightning, and the loudest thunder ever heard in that climate, concurred in forming a tempest, violent in the extreme. To the fury of this tempest, both armies, who were about equal in number, were exposed, without shelter, and destitute of the means of enjoying repose or refreshment. At length, the morning of the memorable 18th of June, arrived, when Napoleon was to begin his last deadly struggle. The battle commenced at ten, and during nine hours a succession of the most furious attacks were made on the British, which were repelled with the most undaunted heroism. Although an almost incredible number, both of the cavalry and infantry of the French had fallen in the sanguinary conflict, this horrible carnage did not prevent Napoleon from risking a final and desperate effort. The imperial guards, which had been kept in reserve, about 15,000 in number, led on by Ney, made a charge on the British guards, tremendous beyond all description; continued for some time, with a dauntless perseverance, that seemed to bid defiance to all opposition, although their columns were almost annihilated, as fast as they advanced, by the British artillery. At length the assailants began to retire. The advance of the Prussians, who had been detained by bad roads; and the consideration of having no reserve, added confusion to their retreat. The British now resumed the offensive. The French were thrown into irretrievable disorder, and fled in the utmost confusion, leaving behind them 150 pieces of cannon. The British cavalry being completely exhausted, the pursuit was committed to the Prussians, under Blucher, who made most dreadful havoc of the fugitives. The consternation of the vanquished commander was exAll his ambitious views, all his prospects of con treme. tinued power, seemed to vanish into air. After a precipitate and melancholy flight, he reached Paris on the second evening after the battle, in deep dejection. Having resigned his crown to his son, he repaired to Rochefort. He continued above a week in that town, in a state of gloomy discontent, anxiously waiting the course of events. Having in vain endeavored to escape by sea, he resolved to throw himself on the generosity of the British. In a letter to the prince regent, he remarks, "I have terminated my political career; and I come, like Themistocles, to seat myself at the hearths of the British people. I place myself under the protection of their laws, which I claim of your Royal Highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies." On the 15th of July, 1815, he unconditionally surrendered himself into the hands of Captain Maitland, of his Majesty's ship Bellerophon, and was conducted to Torbay in England. The allied sovereigns fixed his residence on the rocky, dreary island of St. Helena, where the everlasting barrier of an immense ocean prevented him, during the few remaining years of his existence, from disturbing the repose of the world. His death occurred on the 7th of May, 1821. Immediately after the total defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, the combined British and Prussian armies advanced to Paris. On the third of July, the articles of capitulation were arranged and signed; and Louis XVIII. returned to the seat of his government. His inglorious reign closed in September, 1824. He was succeeded by his brother, the Count d'Artois, whose title is Charles X.] [Hayti.-the island of Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, is memorable for having been the seat of the first European settlement in America, and the scene of the first independent empire, founded by African slaves. It was discovered by Columbus, on the 6th of December, 1492, on his return from Cuba. It had borne the name of Hayti, among the natives, an appellation, which has been recently revived in the western part. Columbus called it Espanola, or Little Spain, and it has since acquired the name of St. Domingo, from the chief town, so called by Bartholomew Columbus. The impression, made on Columbus by the beauty of the country, and the simplicity of the natives, was such, that be determined to form a settlement here; and accordingly, left 38 Spaniards at the Bay of St. Nicholas, when he sailed for Spain in January, 1493. These were the first colonists of America. On his return, in November, 1493, he founded a second town on the Northern coast, which he called Isabella, the first settlement having been nearly destroyed by the natives. The licentiousness and avarice of the new settlers again provoked the Indians to attempt revenge; but these miserable beings were overpowered by European skill; and great numbers perished by famine and the sword. In 1496, Columbus returned to Spain, leaving his brother Bartholomew lieutenant governor, who soon afterwards removed the colony to a more eligible situation, on the south side of the island, where he founded the city of St. Domingo. The number of inhabitants appears, after this, to have increased rapidly. Nicholas de Ovando brought, in one armament, 2500 settlers. These and the former colonists were distributed by Columbus in different districts, and a certain number of natives were appointed, to cultivate each allotment. This unhappy race dwindled away fast under disease and a species of labor, to which they were unaccustomed. We find their numbers were so much reduced, about the year 1513, that Ovando, to supply the necessary fund of laborers, decoyed 40,000 of the inhabitants of the Bahamas into St. Domingo; and notwithstanding this accession, it is said, that towards the middle of that century, scarcely 150 Indians remained alive. The colonists, in the mean time, degenerated from the spirit and enterprise of their ancestors. Their mines were deserted, and their agriculture neglected; and, al though Ovando had introduced some slips of the sugar cane from the Canary islands, yet, such was the indolence of the inhabitants, that they could not be persuaded to cultivate it. In this state of things, the island remained for upwards of a century. About the middle of the 17th century, a French colony was established in the west end of the island. From the year 1776 to 1789, the French colony was at the height of its prosperity. Its productions were immense and valuable, and its commerce in the most flourishing state. The French revolution opened a fountain of evil for the whites of St. Domingo. In 1791, an alarming insurrection of the negroes broke out in the French colony. In two months upwards of 2000 whites perished, and large dis From the tricts of fertile plantations were devastated. northern province, the rebellion spread to the west; where, however, it was soon quelled. In 1792, the National Assembly proclaimed the political equality of the free negroes and the whites, and, in the succeeding year, appointed three commissioners of extreme republican principles, who, on their arrival, decided the fate of the colony, by proclaiming the emancipation of the slaves. On the 21st of June, 1793, Macaya, a negro chief, entered Cape Francois at the head of 3000 slaves, and began an indiscriminate slaughter. In this state of things, the British government, hoping to take advantage of the confusion, sent a body of troops from Jamaica, who landed at Tiburon captured Leogane, and afterwards Port au Prince. The yellow fever, however, breaking out, reduced their numbers rapidly; and the blacks, headed by Rigaud, a mulatto, and the celebrated Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had been appointed by the French government, commander in chief, retook the principal places. The English were reinforced by successive detachments of large bodies, but were confined within the capital by the blacks, and thinned in numbers by the fever. At length, after an enormous loss of men, they finally evacuated the island in 1798. Previously to this, Spain had ceded to France the eastern part of the island; but the cession produced no advantage to the latter, in consequence of the deranged state of affairs. At the beginning of the year 1800, the blacks found themselves powerful in numbers, and improved in skill and discipline, to a degree, that rendered them competent to contend for the possession of the whole island. On the 1st of July, in the succeeding year, the independence of Hayti was proclaimed. The French government had, by this time, recovered from its delusion, and saw the error it had committed. Under the vigorous administration of Bonaparte, then first consul, a force of 20,000, under general (Le Clerc, was despatched in December, 1801. They landed at the bay of Samana. But before they entered Cape Francois, the city was laid in ashes. In February, 1802, general Le Clerc began the campaign, and fought with varied success, until the 1st of May, when a truce was concluded between the contending armies. During the continuance of this truce, as is said by English writers, Toussaint was surprised and conveyed a prisoner on board a vessel, by which he was carried to France, and there died |