Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXV, June, 1852Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXV, June, 1852
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
dawned through the unbroken clouds, and the battle raged with renovated
fury. Nearly twenty thousand mutilated bodies of the dead and wounded
were left upon the field, with gory locks frozen to their icy pillows,
and covered with mounds of snow. At last the French were victorious at
every point. The Austrians, having lost twenty-five thousand men in
killed, wounded, and prisoners, one hundred pieces of artillery, and an
immense number of wagons, fled in dismay. This terrific conflict has
been immortalized by the noble epic of Campbell, which is now familiar
wherever the English language is known.
[Illustration: CAMPAIGN of HOHENLINDEN]
"On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow,
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.
"But Linden saw another sight,
When the drums beat at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery." &c.
[Illustration: DEATH AT HOHENLINDEN]
The retreating Austrians rushed down the valley of the Danube. Moreau
followed thundering at their heels, plunging balls and shells into
their retreating ranks. The victorious French were within thirty miles
of Vienna, and the capital was in a state of indescribable dismay. The
Emperor again sent imploring an armistice. The application was promptly
acceded to, for Napoleon was contending only for peace. Yet with
unexampled magnanimity, notwithstanding these astonishing victories,
Napoleon made no essential alterations in his terms. Austria was at his
feet. His conquering armies were almost in sight of the steeples of
Vienna. There was no power which the Emperor could present to obstruct
their resistless march. He might have exacted any terms of humiliation.
But still he adhered to the first terms which he had proposed. Moreau
was urged by some of his officers to press on to Vienna. "We had better
halt," he replied, "and be content with peace. It is for that alone
that we are fighting." The Emperor of Austria was thus compelled to
treat without the concurrence of England. The insurmountable obstacle
in the way of peace was thus removed. At Luneville, Joseph Bonaparte
appeared as the embassador of Napoleon, and Count Cobenzl as the
plenipotentiary of Austria. The terms of the treaty were soon settled,
and France was again at peace with all the world, England alone
excepted. By this treaty the Rhine was acknowledged as the boundary
of France. The Adige limited the possessions of Austria in Italy; and
Napoleon made it an essential article that every Italian imprisoned
in the dungeons of Austria for political offenses, should immediately
be liberated. There was to be no interference by either with the new
republics which had sprung up in Italy. They were to be permitted to
choose whatever form of government they preferred. In reference to this
treaty, Sir Walter Scott makes the candid admission that "the treaty of
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