leged as commander in chief, Bonchamp, Lefcure, Fleuriot, and La Roche-Jacquelin: but thefe having fince fallen in battle, it appears that Stofflet became again the leader of his party.

When the forces of the royalifts were organized, they were divided into three armies: one affembled in the weft to make head against Nantz and Olonne : the fecond was formed in the fouth to keep in check Lucon and Fontenay-le-Comte ; while the third, which was the most numerous of the whole, and had the greatest number of enemies to combat, was ftationed to the east to watch the motions of the people of Saumur and its environs. The author fays that the first was the weakest of the three, that it acted diftinely and feparately from the other two, and was always commanded by Charette. The Loire was the bulwark of la Vendée to the north. Their first movements were almoft irrefiftible: they took Fontenay, Thouars, and Saumur. The capture of this last city was the confequence of a bloody battle and a decifive victory. At Thouars 4000 regulars were made prifoners by the royalifts. When they laid fiege to Saumur they were 50,000 ftrong: but they could muller no more than 18,000 when they marched to befiege Nantz, great numbers of the peafantry having returned home to get in their harvest. In the fight at Vrine bridge, 5000 royalifts put 25,000 republicans to flight with dreadful flaughter. Some few days afterward they did more for with 6000 men they had the boldness to attack 40,000, and defeated them, taking a part of their artillery and baggage this was at the famous battle of Coron. Soon afterward, fortune began to change fides; the republicans made themselves mafters of Mortagne, (the place which, if we mistake not, gave the title of Earl to our King John before he came to the crown,) Chollet, Tiffauge, and Beaupreau, recovered their cannon and prisoners, deftroyed the magazines collected by the royalifts, and penetrated at laft to the borders of the woods and marfhes of la Vendée. Thus 90,000 men were left without homes, and almoft without food or ammunition, on the banks of the Loire; while, to complete their misfortunes, D'Ellée, Bonchamp, and Lefcure were fo badly wounded, that they could no longer take any part in the operations of the armies. Thus fituated, fome one propofed that the troops fhould cross the Loire, and march to meet the fuccours expected from England: the propofition was adopted, and thus the main army was feparated by that river from the rest of the Vendeans. This measure was the ruin of the royalifts, and would not have been executed, if the three generals above mentioned had not been difabled from acting or advifing; and if La Roche-Jacquelin had not been abfent at the time, ferving with a detachment. It was the departure of this

army

army that enabled the commiffioners to affure the Convention that the war of la Vendée was at an end. It was at an end for that time in la Vendée, but it was raging with greater violence in Normandy and Brittany. The royalists who croffed the Loire divided themfelves into two bodies; one of which marched into Normandy and laid fiege to Grandeville; while the other entered Brittany, and, keeping the thick forefts of Fougères and Viére in their rear, blockaded St. Maloes, and endeavoured to penetrate towards Concale. In this pofition, they waited for intelligence from England, but not a fail appeared on the coaft. In the mean time, fome gun-boats from St. Maloes forced them to retire: before this event took place, a fingle English frigate would have compelled those boats to keep in port, and, trifling as fuch a fuccour may appear, it might have given a turn to the affairs of Europe. The royalifts, repulfed at Grandeville, formed a junction with thofe who had blockaded St. Maloes: but they carried with them difappointment and difcomfiture; and, all being in want of provifions, defpair became general, and all was loft. Bonchamp and Lefcure could not reftore confidence to their friends, for they had died of their wounds; and D'Ellée had been carried for the benefit of his health to Noirmoutier, which had fallen into the hands of Charette. Upwards of 30,000 men had joined the royal army after it had creffed the Loire: but they had not the docility of the first who declared for that party, and infifted on quitting a part of the country in which they had experienced nothing but difafters. In vain did the commanders oppofe fuch a meafure; the troops began their march without orders and leaders; the officers were obliged to give way to a torrent which they could not refift; and, unfortunately for their caufe, this retrograde movement had fcarcely taken place when the English appeared on the coaft: fo that had the royalifts remained a little longer, nothing could have prevented them from receiving Lord Moira in their camp, with the fuccours and fupplies which he was carrying to them.

The Vendeans, having re-crofled the Loire, over-ran the provinces of Maine and Anjou: the conventionalists were alarmed, and the tocfin was kept ringing in every parish as far - as Orleans. The republicans kept themfelves ftrongly entrenched to the fouth and the eaft behind the Loire and other rivers, while the Convention was fending to their aid, in carriages, 30,000 men from Flanders, to reinforce the army of Cherbourg, which was advancing from the North: while the army of Breft, confifting of 80,000 men, was approaching to furround them on the west. In this fituation of affairs, an emiffary difpatched by Lord Moira had the good fortune to

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reach the royalifts in the neighbourhood of Angers, with advice that his Lordship was on the coaft. La Roche-Jacquelin propofed on this occafion a bold and defperate measure, which was to push forwards with all poffible difpatch to Cherbourg, and feize that town, which would cover them from all attacks "by land, and open to them an eafy communication with England. The measure was generally approved; and the proposer immediately fet forwards, with the main body of his army, to carry it into execution, leaving a third of his numbers to cover his march, and collect the different corps that were spread over the country. The republicans followed, and, near the city of Mons, coming up with the rear of the royalifts, a furious attack took place. The impetuofity of the royalifts was irresistible; they carried every thing before them but, not fatisfied with repulfing the enemy, they purfued the flying troops a great way from the field of battle, and at last had the misfortune of falling in with a fresh army of republicans, whofe onfet, in their then exhaufted ftate, they were not able to bear; the royalifts fled in their turn, and Wefterman's cavalry made a dreadful flaughter of their difperfed troops. This General, pursuing his advantages, came up with the centre, the waggons, baggage, ammunition, provifions, the aged and the wounded; and thefe laft were butchered without mercy. The news of this calamity foon reached the van of the army, which was feized with a panic in vain did the brave La Roche-Jacquelin and the intrepid Stofflet ftrive to infpire the men with courage to face their danger; they fled in every direction; and thofe very royalifts, who had fo often made the most gallant use of their arms, now bafely threw them away, that they might not impede their flight. Forty leagues of country thus became expofed to the rage of a conquering army; and every thing was put to fire or fword.

Another corps of royalifts, which could not pafs the Loire. above Nantz, threw themfelves into the department of Morbihan, a country very capable of being well defended on account of its great natural ftrength: but they were cut to pieces at Savenay; and the royalifts were no more seen to the north of the Loire.

Charette, in the mean time, acting feparately from the other armies, had made himfelf mafter of the island of Noirmoutier : he was at the head of 25,000 men: but, when the news of the difcomfitures at Mons and Savenay reached his troops, he was deferted by all except 4000 men. These however were all devoted to him, and determined to defend themselves to the laft; and with this handful of men he withstood the conquerors for two months: but, at length, having loft Noirmoutier, he was obliged

obliged to take fhelter in the woods; and as he no longer ap peared in the field, he was confidered as ruined past recovery. Then the monfter Carrier, and his affociates, giving themfelves up to every fpecies of cruelty, committed acts at which nature shudders, and for which their own deaths on a scaffold have fince but poorly atoned: by their orders, nearly 40,000 perfons perished at Nantz by fuffocation or fickness in prifon, or by the fword and drowning in the Loire. These horrors enabled Charette to raife a new army of 12,000 men, with whom he fell on the republicans, and every where routed them. His ranks daily began to fwell, till at last he and Stofflet found themselves at the head of 40,000 men, and la Vendée rose again from its afhes: but the country having been every where given up to fire and plunder, he had daily to apprehend the approach of famine.

We will not attempt to follow our author through his details of the difcipline and internal ceconomy of the Vendeans: but we muft obferve that, fince the beginning of the war, in no part whatever have the battles been fo dreadful as in la Vendée; the bloodieft on the frontier were but mere skirmishes compared with thefe: fcarcely did a fingle action take place in which one of the contending parties was not deftroyed, and the baggage and artillery taken by the conquerors. The battle of Mortagne coft both fides 30,000 men; in that of Saumur 10,000 republicans were killed, and 15,000 made prifoners; and in that of Mons the royalifts left 15,000 dead on the field of battle, while the lofs of the republicans was not much lefs. Reports made to the Convention have ftated that the war in la Vendée had coft the republic 200,000 men, who fell by the fwords of the royalifts. The latter were humane at firft: but, actuated either by ferocity or a spirit of retaliation, they afterward thought nothing of facrificing their enemies. They took 15,000 prifoners at Saumur, whom they fet at liberty, after having made them take an oath rever again to bear arms against Louis XVII.: thefe men they had afterward to fight again; for, in defiance of their oath, they re-appeared in the field, and were eafily known, as the royalifts had cut off their hair before they enlarged them. When the royalifts were driven from Mortagne. Chollet, &c. and obliged to fly along the banks of the Loire, they had 12,000 republicans prifoners, who greatly incommoded their march. Many who had to bewail the lofs of a murdered father, mother, or wife, were for taking revenge on these prifoners and putting them all to death: but the generous Bonchamp, then on the brink of the grave in confequence of a mortal wound, with tears in his eyes pleaded for the prifoners, and faved them; thus clofing, by an act of humanity, a career

of

of military glory. Lefcure died of his wounds, and La RocheJacquelin was killed by a mufquet fhot, while he was reconnoitring the republican army: his mistress, like a true amazon, affirmed the command of his men, who readily fubmitted to obey a woman who, on many occafions, had difplayed a refolution that aftonifhed even the oldeft foldiers.

The author next proceeds to give fome account of the Chouans; who took their name from three fons of a blackfmith of the name of Chouan, near Fougeres. They were at first no better than highway robbers: their numbers were inereafed by the fyftem of terror, which induced all perfons, declared to be fufpected by Robespierre's government, to fly for fafety to the woods and join the Chouans: they were at last said to amount to nearly 30,000 men, difperfed in different bodies through the woods of Brittany from the north to the fouth, from Fougeres to Vannes; and they gave occupation to upwards of 80,000 republicans, who were endeavouring to enclose them in that great extent, and ftarve them into a furrender. They fubmitted to organization and difcipline, and, dropping the trade of robbers, declared for the king, and put themfelves under the command of officers of reputation.

The writer, having gone through the hiftorical part of his work, returns to the romantic, and makes the Count happy at laft in the recovery of his mistress, and in the escape of both from imminent death, to which they had been doomed, and, from which they were refcued only by the revolution that sent Robefpierre to the fcaffold, and released the numberless prisoners whom he had confined.

We have applied the terms romance and romantic to this publication, because the complexion of its narrative is fuch as will warrant a fufpicion of the writer's strict adherence to facts, We may, however, be mistaken; for many wonderful and (properly speaking,) extra-ordinary circumftances might occur in the course of fuch adventures as he describes. At any rate, a perufal of the work will give pleasure to all who delight in pathetic defcriptions, and in language calculated to excite, as occafion requires, indignation, pity, and admiration.

ART. V. In Morto di Uco BASSVILLE feguita in Roma il di 14 Gennaro, 1793. 8vo. 48 Pages.

UR readers will recollect that the French envoy at Rome, Hugo de Baffeville, having rendered himself difagreeable to the papal court, by protecting an officious fpirit of profelytifm to the opinions then profeffed at Paris, found on a fudden the protection of the police infufficient to preferve his APP. REV. VOL. XVI.

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