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few
months later. In engravings of the hero of Italy we see him near the
tomb of Virgil, his brows shaded by a laurel crown.

No. 4.

_Achille._--Murat. He had been appointed one of Bonaparte's
aides-de-camp February 29th, made General of Brigade after the Battle
of Lodi (May 10th); is sent to Paris after Junot with nine trophies,
and arrives there first. He flirts there outrageously with Josephine,
but does not escort her back to her husband.

No. 5.

'_Will o' the wisp_,' _i.e._ _l'ardent_.--This word, according to
Menage, was given by the Sieur de St. Germain to those lively young
sparks who, about the year 1634, used to meet at the house of Mr.
Marsh (M. de Marest), who was one of them.

No. 6.

_The needs of the army._--Difficulties were accumulating, and Napoleon
was, as he admits at St. Helena, seriously alarmed. Wurmser's force
proves to be large, Piedmont is angry with the Republic and ready to
rise, and Venice and Rome would willingly follow its example; the
English have taken Porto-Ferrajo, and their skilful minister, Windham,
is sowing the seeds of discord at Naples. Although on July 20th he has
written a friend in Corsica that "all smiles on the Republic," he
writes Saliceti, another brother Corsican, very differently on August
1st. "Fortune appears to oppose us at present.... I have raised the
siege of Mantua; I am at Brescia with nearly all my army. I shall take
the first opportunity of fighting a battle with the enemy which will
decide the fate of Italy--if I'm beaten, I shall retire on the Adda;
if I win, I shall not stop in the marshes of Mantua.... Let the
citadels of Milan, Tortona, Alessandria, and Pavia be provisioned....
We are all very tired; I have ridden five horses to death." Reading
between the lines of this letter to Josephine, it is evident that he
thinks she will be safer with him than at Milan--Wurmser having the
option of advancing _via_ Brescia on Milan, and cutting off the French
communications. The Marshal's fatal mistake was in using only half his
army for the purpose. This raising of the siege of Mantua (July 31st)
was heart-rending work for Bonaparte, but, as Jomini shows, he had no
artillery horses, and it was better to lose the siege train,
consisting of guns taken from the enemy, than to jeopardise the whole
army. Wurmser had begun his campaign successfully by defeating
Massena, and pushing back Sauret at Salo. "The Austrians," wrote
Massena, "are drunk with brandy, and fight furiously," while his men
are famished and can only hang on by their teeth. Bonaparte calls his
first war council, and thinks for a moment of retreat, but Augereau
insists on fighting, which is successfully accomplished while Wurmser
is basking himself among the captured artillery outside Mantua.
Bonaparte had been perfectly honest in telling the Directory his
difficulties, and sends his brother Louis to the Directory for that
purpose on the eve of battle. He is complimented in a letter from the
Directory dated August 12th--a letter probably the more genuine as
they had just received a further despatch announcing a victory. On
August 3rd Bonaparte won a battle at Lonato, and the next day Augereau
gained great laurels at Castiglione; in later years the Emperor often
incited Augereau by referring to those "fine days of Castiglione."
Between July 29th and August 12th the French army took 15,000
prisoners, 70 guns, and wounded or killed 25,000, with little more
than half the forces of the Austrians. Bonaparte gives his losses at
7000, exclusive of the 15,000 sick he has in hospital; from July 31st
to August 6th he never changed his boots, or lay down in a bed.
Nevertheless, Jomini thinks that he showed less vigour in the
execution of his plans than in the earlier part of the campaign; but,
as an opinion _per contra_, we may note that the French grenadiers
made their "little Corporal" _Sergeant_ at Castiglione. Doubtless the
proximity of his wife at the commencement (July 31st) made him more
careful, and therefore less intrepid. On August 18th he wrote
Kellermann with an urgent request for troops. On August 17th Colonel
Graham, after hinting at the frightful excesses committed by the
Austrians in their retreat, adds in a postscript--"From generals to
subalterns the universal language of the army is that we must make
peace, as we do not know how to make war."[46]

On August 13th Bonaparte sent to the Directory his opinion of most of
his generals, in order to show that he required some better ones. Some
of his criticisms are interesting:--

 Berthier--"Talents, activity, courage, character; he has them
 all."

 Augereau--"Much character, courage, firmness, activity; is

 accustomed to war, beloved by the soldiers, lucky in his
 operations."

 Massena--"Active, indefatigable, has boldness, grasp, and
 promptitude in making his decisions."

 Serrurier--"Fights like a soldier, takes no responsibility;
 determined, has not much opinion of his troops, is often ailing."

 Despinois--"Flabby, inactive, slack, has not the genius for war,
 is not liked by the soldiers, does not fight with his head; has
 nevertheless good, sound political principles: would do well to
 command in the interior."

 Sauret--"A good, very good soldier, not sufficiently enlightened
 to be a general; unlucky."

Of eight more he has little good to say, but the Directory in
acknowledging his letter of August 23rd remarks that he has forgotten
several officers, and especially the Irish general Kilmaine.

About the same time Colonel Graham (Lord Lynedoch) was writing to the
British Government from Trent that the Austrians, despite their
defeats, were "undoubtedly brave fine troops, and an able chief would
put all to rights in a little time."[47] On August 18th he adds--"When
the wonderful activity, energy, and attention that prevail in the
French service, from the commander-in-chief downward, are compared to
the indecision, indifference, and indolence universal here, the
success of their rash but skilful manoeuvres is not surprising."

No. 7.

_Brescia._--Napoleon was here on July 27th, meeting Josephine about
the date arranged (July 25th), and she returned with him. On July 29th
they were nearly captured by an Austrian ambuscade near Ceronione, and
Josephine wept with fright. "Wurmser," said Napoleon, embracing her,
"shall pay dearly for those tears." She accompanies him to Castel
Nova, and sees a skirmish at Verona; but the sight of wounded men
makes her leave the army, and, finding it impossible to reach Brescia,
she flees _via_ Ferrara and Bologna to Lucca. She leaves the French
army in dire straits and awaits news anxiously, while the Senate of
Lucca presents her with the oil kept exclusively for royalty. Thence
she goes _via_ Florence to Milan. By August 7th the Austrian army was
broken and in full retreat, and Bonaparte conducts his correspondence
from Brescia from August 11th to 18th. On the 25th he is at Milan,
where he meets his wife after her long pilgrimage, and spends four
days. By Augu

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