PART II_After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819

AFTER WATERLOO

Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819

MAJOR W.E. FRYE

EDITED WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES

By SALOMON REINACH

Member of the Institute of France

LONDON

1908

V.A.M.

S.R.

PREFACE

The knowledge of Major Frye's manuscript and the privilege of publishing it

for the first time I owe to the kindness of two French ladies, the Misses

G----. Their father, a well known artist and critic, used to spend the

summer months at Saint Germain-en-Laye together with his wife, who was an

English woman by birth. They had been for a long time intimately acquainted

with Major Frye, who lived and ended his life in that quiet town. The

Major's hostess, Mme. de W----, after his death in 1858, brought the

manuscript to Mrs. G---- and gave it to her in memory of her friend. It was

duly preserved in the G---- family, but remained unnoticed. The Misses

G---- rediscovered it in 1907, when it had been lying in a cupboard for

upwards of half a century. On their showing it to me I thought it was

interesting for many reasons, and worthy of introduction to the public. I

hope the reader will share my opinion, which is also that of several

English scholars and men of letters, to whom I communicated extracts from

the manuscript.

The reminiscences are in the form of letters addressed to a correspondent

who, however, is never named and of whose health, family and private

circumstances not the slightest mention is to be found. So I am inclined to

believe that he never existed, and that Major Frye chose to imitate

President de Brosses and others who thus recorded their travelling

experiences in epistolary form.

The manuscript--which will eventually be deposited in a public library--is

entirely in Major Frye's large and legible hand; at some later time it was

evidently revised by himself, but many names which I have endeavoured to

complete were left in blank or only indicated by initials. There are three

folio volumes, bound in paper boards. In this edition it has been thought

advisable to leave out a certain number of pages devoted to theatricals, of

which Major Frye was a great votary, and also some lengthy descriptions of

landscapes, museums and churches, the interest of which to modern readers

does not correspond to the space occupied by them. For the information

contained in the footnotes I am indebted to many correspondents, English,

French, Swiss, Belgian and Italian, to whom I here express my hearty

thanks. I am under special obligation to Sir Charles Dilke, Mr Oscar

Browning, Professor Novati, Professor Corrado Ricci, Commandant

Espérandieu, Professor Cumont, Professor Stilling and Mr Höchberg.

Major Frye's tombstone is in the cemetery of Saint Germain, and reads thus:

"To the memory of Major William Edward Frye, who departed this life the 9th

day of October, 1858." On the same stone has been added in French:

"Perceval Edmond Litchfield, décédé le 15 Avril, 1888." About P.E.

Litchfield I know nothing; he must have been the Major's intimate friend

during the last period of his life.

* * * * *

W.E. Frye was born Oct. 29, 1784, and received his education at Eton

(1797-9) in the time of the French Revolution. "The system was," he says,

"to drill into the heads of the boys strong aristocratic principles and

hatred of democracy and of the French in particular." The effect produced

on the youth was the reverse of that intended. From 1799 to 1822 he

belonged to the British army: here is an abstract of his services:

Ensign, 2nd Foot, 5th August, 1799.

Lieutenant, 2nd Foot, 7th March, 1800.

Half-pay, 4th Foot, 14th April, 1808.

Lieutenant, 24th Foot, 8th December, 1804.

Captain, 56th Foot, 18th April, 1805.

3rd Ceylon Regt., 15th Feb., 1810.

Half-pay, 3rd Foot, 7th March, 1816.

4th Foot, 24th Feb., 1820.

Brevet-Major, 12th August, 1819.

Sold out, 15th August, 1822.

In 1799, Frye took a part in the British Expedition to Holland. In 1801 he

was in Egypt with Lord Abercrombie's army and received the medal for war

service. His career in India lasted six years and gave him occasion to

visit the three presidencies and Ceylon. In 1814 he returned on furlough to

Europe and was in Brussels during the Waterloo campaign. The subsequent

years--1815 to 1819--he employed visiting Western Europe, as appears from

his reminiscences. I have read letters of his which prove that he lived in

Paris from 1830 to 1832. Later, about 1848, he took an apartment in Saint

Germain, and died there in 1858.

Major Frye was a very distinguished linguist; besides knowing Greek and

Latin, he understood almost all European languages, and was capable of

writing correctly in French, Italian and German. The Misses G---- have

shown me a rare book published by him at Paris in 1844 under the following

title:

"Trois chants de l'Edda. Vaftrudnismal, Thrymsquidal, Skirnisfor, traduits

en vers français, accompagnés de notes explicatives des mythes et

allégories, et suivis d'autres poèmes par W.E. Frye, ancien major

d'infanterie au service d'Angleterre, membre de l'Académie des Arcadiens de

Rome. Se vend à Paris, pour l'auteur, chez Heideloff & Cie, Libraires, 18

Rue des Filles St. Thomas. 1844" (In 8vo, xii, 115 pp.)

At the end of that volume are translations by Major Frye of several

Northern poems--in German, Italian and English verse--from the Danish and

the Swedish; then come two sonnets in French verse, the one in honour of

Lafayette, the other about the Duke of Orléans, whose premature death he

compares with that of the Northern hero of the Edda, Balder. A part of

Frye's translation of the Edda, before appearing in book form, had been

published in _l'Echo de la Littérature et des Beaux Arts_, a periodical

edited by the Major's friend, M. de Belenet.

Frye loved poetry, though his ideas on the subject were rather those of the

eighteenth century than our own. It is interesting to find an English

officer reading Voltaire, Gessner, Ariosto, and quoting them from memory

(which explains that some of his quotations had to be corrected). The

sentimental vein of Rousseau's generation still flows and vibrates in him,

as when he says that he has never been able to read the letters of Wolmar

to St Preux in Rousseau's _Nouvelle Héloïse_ without shedding tears. German

minor poetry, now quite forgotten, attracted him almost as much as the

great pages of Schiller, Bürger, and Goethe. The Misses G. possess a

manuscript translation in three volumes, in the Major's own hand, of

Wieland's _Agathodemon_ done into English. This he evidently intended to

publish, as he had written the title-page which is worded as follows:

"Agathodemon, a philosophical romance translated from the German of Wieland

by W.E. Frye, member of the Academy degli Arcadi in Rome, and of the Royal

Society of Northern Antiquarians of Copenhagen, ex-major of infantry in His

British Majesty's service."

Frye describes with accuracy, and shows much appreciation of fine scenery

and architecture. His judgements in painting and sculpture are sincere,

though often betraying the autodidact and amateur. He loved music,

especially Rossini's operas which were then beginning their long career of

triumph. Theatricals of all sorts, especially ballets, had a great

attraction for him and elicited his enthusiastic comments. In comparing

tragedies and comedies which he had seen performed in different countries,

he gave repeated proofs of his knowledge and critical insight. We can take

him as a good example of that intelligent class of English travellers whose

intercourse with the Continental _litterati_ has so well contributed to

establish the good reputation of British culture and refined appreciation

of the arts.

The chief interest of Frye's reminiscences lies, however, in quite another

direction. He was a friend of liberty, a friend of France, an admirer of

Napoleon, and a hater of the Tory régime which brought about Napoleon's

downfall. "France's attempts at European domination, in the Napoleonic era,

are graciously described as but so many efforts towards spreading the light

of civilization over Europe." These words, written about a quite recent

work and à propos of the "Entente cordiale," apply perfectly to Frye's

reminiscences. Travelling immediately before and after the Emperor's

collapse, he found that everywhere, excepting in Tuscany, the French

domination was regretted, because the ideals of liberty and equality had

shone and vanished with the tricolour flag. He admires the French people,

though not the _Ultras_ and bigots, and has fine words of praise for the

French army: "Yes, the French soldier is a fine fellow. I have served

against them in Holland and in Egypt, and I will never flinch from

rendering justice to their exemplary conduct and lofty valour." He takes

trouble to refute the exaggerated reports which were then circulated all

over Europe about the cruelties and vandalism practised by the French: "If

the French since the Revolution have not always fought for liberty, they

have done so invariably for science; and wherever they carried their

victorious arms abuses were abolished, ameliorations of all kinds followed

and the arts of life were improved. Our government, since the accession of

George III, has never raised its arm except in favour of old abuses, to

uphold despotism and unfair privileges or to establish commercial

monopoly."

Sometimes, indeed, speaking of his own country and its government, Major

Frye uses very hard words, which might seem unpatriotic if we did not know,

from many other memoirs and letters, to what a terrible strain orthodox

Toryism, coupled with bigotry and hypocrisy, had put the patience of

liberal Englishmen at that period. He called the British government "the

most dangerous, artful, and determined enemy of all liberty,"--"England,"

he says, "has been always ready to lend a hand to crush liberty, to

perpetuate abuses and to rivet the fetters of monarchical, feudal and

ecclesiastical tyranny." And later on he inveighs against the English

merchants, who "contributed with their gold to uphold the corrupt system of

Pitt and to carry on unjust, unreasonable and liberticide wars."

Whatever may be the final judgement of history on the Tory principles in

politics in the days of the Congress of Vienna, Major Frye's love of

liberty and intellectual progress entitle him to the sympathy of those who

share his generous feelings and do not consider that personal freedom and

individual rights are articles for home use only. Since Frye wrote, the

whole of Europe, excepting perhaps Russia, has reaped the benefits of the

French Revolution, and reduced, if not suppressed, what the Major called

"kingcraft and priestcraft." He did not attempt to divine the future, but

the history of Europe in the nineteenth century has been largely in

accordance with his desires and hopes. It is not a small merit for a

writer, in the midst of one of the most rabid reactions that the world has

known, to have clung with such tenacity to ideals, the complete victory of

which may now be contemplated in the near future.

S.R.

CONTENTS

PART I.

CHAPTER I

MAY-JUNE, 1815

Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges

--Ghent--The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of

Wellington very confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of

British troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and

Namur--Complaints against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General

Adam--Tournay--A French deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry

review--The Duke de Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about

Napoleon and the French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in

Bruxelles--Visit to the battlefield--Terrible condition of the

wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois.

CHAPTER II

From Bruxelles to Liége--A priest's declamation against the French

Revolution--Maastricht--Aix-la-Chapelle--Imperial relics--Napoleon

regretted--Klingmann's "Faust"--A Tyrolese beauty--Cologne--Difficulties

about a passport--The Cathedral--King-craft and priest-craft--The

Rhine--Bonn and Godesberg--Goethe's "Götz von Berlichingen"--The Seven

Mountains--German women--Andernach--Ehrenbreitstein--German hatred against

France--Coblentz--Intrigues of the Bourbon princes in Coblentz--Mayence--

Bieberich--Conduct of the Allies towards Napoleon--Frankfort on the

Mayn--An anecdote about Lord Stewart and Lafayette--German poetry--The

question of Alsace and Lorraine--Return to Bruxelles--Napoleon's surrender.

CHAPTER III

From Bruxelles to Paris--Restoration of Louis XVIII--The officers of the

allied armies--The Palais Royal--The Louvre--Protest of the author against

the proposed despoiling of the French Museums--Unjust strictures against

Napoleon's military policy--The _cant_ about revolutionary robberies--The

Grand Opera--Monuments in Paris--The Champs Elysées--Saint-Cloud--The

Hôtel des Invalides--The Luxembourg--General Labédoyère--Priests and

emigrants--Prussian Plunder--Handsome behaviour of the English

officers--Reminiscences of Eton--Versailles.

CHAPTER IV

From Paris to Bruxelles--Visiting the plains of Waterloo--The Duke de Berri

at Lille--Beauvais--Return to Paris--Remarks on the French theatre

--Talma--Mlle Duchesnois--Mlle Georges--French alexandrine verse--The Abbé

Delille--The Opéra Comique.

CHAPTER V

From Paris to Milan through Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Geneva and the

Simplon--Auxerre--Dijon--Napoleon at Chalon-sur-Saone--The army of the

Loire--Mâcon--French _grisettes_--Lyons--Monuments and theatricals--

Geneva--Character and opinions of the Genevois--Voltaire's chateau at

Ferney--The chevalier Zadera--From Geneva to Milan--Crossing the

Simplon--Arona--The theatres in Milan--Rossini--Monuments in Milan--Art

encouraged by the French--Mr Eustace's bigotry--Return to Switzerland

--Clarens and Vevey--Lausanne--Society in Lausanne--Return to Paris--The

Louvre stripped--Death of Marshal Ney.

PART II

CHAPTER VI

MARCH-JUNE, 1816

Ball at Cambray, attended by the Duke of Wellington--An Adventure between

Saint Quentin and Compiègne--Paris revisited--Colonel Wardle and Mrs

Wallis--Society in Paris--The Sourds-Muets--The Cemetery of Père La

Chaise--Apathy of the French people--The priests--Marriage of the Duke de

Berri.

CHAPTER VII

Journey from Paris to Lausanne--Besançon--French refugees in Lausanne

--Francois Lamarque--General Espinassy--Bordas--Gautier--Michau--M. de

Laharpe--Mlle Michaud--Levade, a Protestant minister--Chambéry--Aix

--Details about M. de Boigne's career in India--English Toryism and

intolerance--Valley of Maurienne--Passage across Mont Cenis and arrival at

Suza--Turin.

CHAPTER VIII

Journey from Turin to Bologna--Asti--Schiller and Alfieri--Italian

_cuisine_--The _vetturini_--Marengo--Piacenza--The Trebbia--Parma--The

Empress Maria Louisa--Modena--Bologna--The University--The Marescalchi

Gallery--Character of the Bolognese.

CHAPTER IX

Journey across the Appennines to Florence--Tuscan idioms and

customs--Monuments and galleries at Florence--The Cascino--Churches--

Theatres--Popularity of the Grand Duke--Napoleon's downfall not

regretted--Academies in Florence.

CHAPTER X

Journey from Florence to Rome--Sienna--Radicofani--Bolsena--Montefiascone

wine--Viterbo--Baccano--The Roman Campagna--The papal _douans_--Monuments

and Museums in Rome--Intolerance of the Catholic Christians--The Tiber and

the bridges--Character of the Romans--The _Palazzi_ and _Ville_--Canova's

atelier--Theatricals--An execution in Rome.

CHAPTER XI

From Rome to Naples--Albano--Velletri--The Marshes--Terracina--Mola di

Gaeta--Capua--The streets of Naples--Monuments and Museums--Visit to

Pompeii and ascent to Vesuvius--Dangerous ventures--Puzzuoli and

Baiae--Theatres at Naples--Pulcinello--Return to Rome--Tivoli.

CHAPTER XII

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1816

From Rome to Florence--Sismondi the historian--Reminiscences of

India--Lucca--Princess Elisa Baciqochi--Pisa--The Campo Santo--Leghorn--

Hebrews in Leghorn--Lord Dillon--The story of a lost glove--From Florence

to Lausanne by Milan, Turin and across Mont Cenis--Lombardy in winter--The

Hospice of Mont Cenis.

PART III

CHAPTER XIII

MARCH-SEPTEMBER, 1817

Journey from Lausanne to Clermont-Ferrand--A wretched conveyance--The

first dish of frogs--Society in Clermont-Ferrand--General de Vergennes--

Cleansing the town--Return to Lausanne--A zealous priest--Journey to Bern

and back to Lausanne--Avenches--Lake Morat--Lake Neufchatel--The Diet in

Bern--Character of the Bernois--A beautiful Milanese lady.

CHAPTER XIV

SEPTEMBER, 1817-APRIL, 1818

Journey from Lausanne to Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples--Residence at

Naples--The theatre of San Carlo--Rossini's operas--Gaming in Naples--The

_Lazzaroni_--Public writers--Carbonarism--Return to Rome--Christmas eve at

Santa Maria Maggiore--Mme Dionigi--Theatricals--Society in Rome--The papal

government--Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino--Louis Napoleon, ex-King of

Holland--Pope Pius VII--Thorwaldsen--Granet--The Holy Week in Rome--The

Duchess of Devonshire--From Rome to Florence by the Perugia road.

CHAPTER XV

APRIL-JULY, 1818

Journey from Florence to Pisa and from thence by the Appennines to

Genoa--Massa--Carrara--Genoa--Monuments and works of art--The

Genoese--Return to Florence--Journey from Florence through Bologna and

Ferrara to Venice--Monument to Ariosto in Ferrara--A description of

Venice--Padua--Vicenza--Verona--Cremona--Return to Milan--The Scala

theatre--Verona again--From Verona to Innspruck.

CHAPTER XVI

JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1818

Innspruck--Tyrol and the Tyrolese--From Innspruck to Munich--Monuments and

churches--Theatricals--Journey from Munich to Vienna on a floss--Trouble

with a passport--Complicated system of Austrian money--Description of

Vienna--The Prater--The theatres--Schiller's _Joan of Arc_--A

_Kinderballet_--The young Napoleon at Schoenbrunn--Journey from Vienna to

Prague.

CHAPTER XVII

SEPTEMBER, 1818-MARCH, 1819

The splendid city of Prague--The German expression, "To give the basket"--

Journey from Prague to Dresden--Journey from Dresden to Berlin--A

description of Berlin--The Prussian Army--Theatricals--Peasants talk about

Napoleon--Prussians and French should be allies--Absurd policy of the

English Tories--Journey from Berlin to Dresden--A description of

Dresden--The battle of Dresden in 1813--Clubs at Dresden--Theatricals--

German beds--Saxon scholars--The picture gallery--Tobacco an ally of

Legitimacy--Saxon women--Meissen--Unjust policy of Europe towards the King

of Saxony.

CHAPTER XVIII

MARCH-APRIL, 1819

Journey from Dresden to Leipzig--The University of Leipzig--Liberal

spirit--The English disliked in Saxony--The English Government hostile to

liberty--Journey to Frankfort--From Frankfort to Metz and Paris--A.F.

Lemaître--_Bon voyage_ to the Allies--Return to England.

* * * * *

CHAPTER I

MAY-JUNE, 1815

Passage from Ceylon to England--Napoleon's return--Ostend--Bruges--Ghent--

The King of France at Mass--Alost--Bruxelles--The Duke of Wellington very

confident--Feelings of the Belgians--Good conduct of British

troops--Monuments in Bruxelles--Theatricals--Genappe and Namur--Complaints

against the Prussian troops--Mons--Major-General Adam--Tournay--A French

deserter--General Clinton's division--Cavalry review--The Duke de

Berri--Back to Bruxelles--Unjust opinions about Napoleon and the

French--Battle at Ligny--The day of Waterloo in Bruxelles--Visit to the

battlefield--Terrible condition of the wounded--Kindness of the Bruxellois.

BRUXELLES, May 1, 1815.

I proceed to the fulfilment of my promise, to give you from time to time

the details of my tour, and my reflections on the circumstances that occur

at this momentous crisis.

To me, who have spent the greatest part of my life out of Europe, the whole

scene is so new that I am quite bewildered with it; and you will, I am

afraid, as I write on the impulse of the moment, find my ideas at times

rather incoherently put together. What changes have taken place in Europe

within the last two years! and how great were those which occurred during

the interval of my passage from Ceylon last year, which island I quitted

about the time that we received in that part of the world intelligence of

the battle of Leipsic! Having had a long passage from distant Taprobane, it

was only on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, that I learned, to my

utter astonishment, the news of the capitulation of Paris to the allied

powers, and of the overthrow of the power and dynasty of Napoleon. I

recollect that at the Cape there was great rejoicing and jubilee on this

occasion; but I confess, as to myself, I did not see any reason for giving

vent to this extravagant joy; and I must have had even at that time somehow

or other a presentiment of what would soon happen, as in communicating this

intelligence to a friend in India I made use of these words: "get a court

dress made, my good friend, and a big wig, ruffled shirt, and hair-powder,

and stick an old-fashioned sword by your side, for, depend on it, old

fashions will come into play again; the most arbitrary and aristocratic

notions will be revived and terrible machinations will be framed against

the liberties of Europe."

Of course at the Cape we only heard one side of the question; and I began

to be almost convinced that it was as necessary for humanity, as for the

repose of Europe, that the giant should be put down; and I was consoled

when it was effected, ostensibly, at least, by the voice of the people.

I had scarcely been three months in England, when the return of Napoleon

from Elba, and the extraordinary dislocation of the Bourbons from the

throne of France, summoned Europe again to arms; the crusade is preached at

Vienna, and behold! his Grace of Wellington appointed the Godfrey of the

holy league. I had reason, about six weeks before the news of this event

reached London, from some conversation I had with an intelligent friend,

who had just returned from a tour on the Continent, to suppose that the

slightest combination against the Bourbons would prove successful, from

their injudicious conduct and from the temper of the people; but I never

could have supposed that the return of the man of Elba would be hailed with

such unparalleled and unanimous acclamation. As I had long ago wished for

an opportunity of visiting the continent of Europe, which had never before

occurred to me, I eagerly embraced the offer made to me by my friend

Major-General Wilson, formerly Lieut.-Governor of Ceylon,[1] to accompany

him on a military tour through the country about to be the theatre of war.

Though I had never before visited the Continent (except with the British

army in the invasion of Holland in 1799, when I began my military career),

yet I was not wholly unprepared for travelling, having united to a

classical, as well as military education, a tolerable knowledge of history,

and a partial acquirement of the principal modern European languages, which

I had begun to learn when very young and which I kept up during my leisure

hours in India, which, like those of Don Quixote, were many. I preferred

this study infinitely to that of the Asiatic languages, for which I never

felt any taste, as I dislike bombast, hyperbole and exaggeration; and

though an ardent admirer of the Muses, I never could find pleasure in what

Voltaire terms "le bon style oriental, ou l'on fait danser les montagnes et

les collines," and I prefer the amatory effusions of Ovid to those of the

great King Solomon himself.

The war will no doubt commence in Belgium, and of course the Emperor

Napoleon will be the assailant, for it cannot be supposed that after the

act of ban passed against him by the Amphictyons of Vienna he will remain

tranquil, and not strike the first blow, which may render him master of

Belgium and its resources.

We embarked at Ramsgate on the first of May for Ostend on board of a small

vessel bound thither. Our fellow passengers were two officers of dragoons,

several commissaries with their servants, horses, etc. After a passage of

twenty-four hours, we entered the harbour of Ostend at one o'clock the

following day. Ostend, once so flourishing and opulent, has long since

fallen into decay; its usual dullness is however just now interrupted by

the bustle of troops landing to join the allied army. Cavalry, infantry,

artillery, horses, guns, stores, etc., are landed every minute. The quays

are the only parts of this city which can boast of handsome buildings; the

fortifications seem to be much out of repair; in fact, the aggrandizement

of Antwerp occasioned necessarily the deterioration of Ostend.

The General and myself went to put up at the _Tête d'Or_, the only inn

where we could procure beds; and we embarked early next morning at the

embouchure of the canal on board of a _treckschuyt_ which conveyed us in

three hours to Bruges.

The landscape between Ostend and Bruges is extremely monotonous, it being a

uniformly flat country; yet it is pleasing to the eye at this season of the

year from the verdure of the plains, which are all appropriated to

pasturage, and from the appearance of the different villages and towns, of

which the eye can embrace a considerable number. There is a good road on

the banks of the canal, and the troops, on their line of march, enlivened

much the scene. Bruges, formerly the grand mart and emporium of the

commerce of the East, not only for the Low Countries, but for all the North

of Europe, seems, if we may judge from the state of the buildings and the

stillness that prevails, to be also in a state of decline. We however had

only time to visit the _Hotel de Ville_ and to remark the immense height of

the steeple on the _Grande Place_. We observed a number of pretty women in

the streets and in the shops employed in lace making. Bruges has been at

all times renowned for the beauty of the female sex, and this brought to my

recollection a passage in Schiller's tragedy of the _Maid of Orleans_,

wherein the Duke of Burgundy says that the greatest boast of Bruges is the

beauty of its women.

Another _treckschuyt_ was to start at twelve o'clock for Ghent; but we

preferred going by land and General Wilson hired a carriage for that

purpose. The distance is about thirty miles. The road from Bruges to Ghent

or Gand is perfectly straight, lined with trees and paved like a street.

The country is quite flat, and though there is nothing to bound the

horizon, the trees on each side of the road intercept the view.

We arrived at Ghent about six in the afternoon of the 4th and had some

difficulty in finding room, as the different hotels were filled with

officers of the allied army; but at length, after many ineffectual

applications at several, we obtained admission at the _Hotel de Flandre_,

where we took possession of a double-bedded room, the only one unoccupied.

Gand seems to be a very neat, clean and handsome city, with an air of

magnificence about it. The _Grande Place_ is very striking, and the

promenades are aligned with trees. We inspected the exterior of several

public buildings and visited the interior of several churches. In the

cathedral we had the honour of seeing at High Mass his most Christian

Majesty, Monsieur and the Comte de Blacas, Vicomte de Chateaubriand and

others, composing the Court of _notre Père de Gand_, as Louis XVIII is

humorously termed by the French, from his having fixed his head-quarters

here. A great many French officers who have followed his fortunes are also

here, but they seem principally to belong to the Gardes du Corps. A number

of military attended the service in the cathedral in order to witness the

devotions of the Bourbon family. Monsieur has all the appearance of a worn

out debauchee, and to see him with a missal in his hand and the strange

contrite face he assumes, is truly ridiculous. These princes, instigated no

doubt by the priests, make a great parade of their sanctity, for which

however those who are acquainted with their character will not give them

much credit. But religious cant is the order of the day _intra et extra

Iliacos muros_, abroad as well as in England. The King of France takes the

lead, having in view no doubt the advice of Buckingham to Richard III:

A pray'r book in your hand, my Lord, were well,

For on that ground I'll make an holy descant.

and M. de Chateaubriand will no doubt trumpet forth the devotion and

Christian humility of his master. Those, however, who are at all acquainted

with this prince's habits, and are not interested in palliating or

concealing them, insinuate that his devotions at the table are more sincere

than at the altar and that, like the Giant Margutte in the Morgante

Maggiore of Pulci, he places more faith and reliance on a cappone lesso

ossia arrosto than on the consecrated but less substantial wafer.[2]

After contemplating this edifying spectacle, we returned to our inn, and

the next morning after breakfast we set out on our journey to Bruxelles.

The road is exactly similar to that between Bruges and Gand, but the

country appears to be richer and more diversified, and many country houses

were observable on the road side. We passed thus several neat villages. At

one o'clock we stopped at Alost to refresh our horses and dine. At the

table d'hôte were a number of French officers belonging to the Gardes du

Corps. On entering into conversation with one of them, I found that he as

well as several others of them had served under Napoleon, and had even been

patronised and promoted by him; but I suppose that being the sons of the

ancient _noblesse_ they thought that gratitude to a _parvenu_ like him was

rather too plebeian a virtue. Some of them, however, with whom I conversed

after dinner seemed to regret the step they had taken. "If we are

successful," said they, "it can only be by means of the Allied Armies, and

who knows what conditions they may impose on France? If we should be

unsuccessful, we are exiled probably for life from our country." During

dinner, two pretty looking girls with musical instruments entered the hall,

and regaled our ears with singing some romances, among which were _Dunois

le Troubadour_ and _La Sentinelle_. They sang with much taste and feeling.

I surmise this is not the only profession they exercise, if I might judge

from the _doux yeux_ they occasionally directed to some of the officers.

These girls did not at least seem by their demeanour as if likely to incur

the anathema of Rinaldo in the _Orlando Furioso_:

meritamente muoro Una crudele,

but rather more disposed to

dar vita all'amator fidele.[3]

Alost is a neat, clean town or large village, and the same description will

serve for all the towns and villages in Brabant and Flanders, as they are

built on the same plan. We arrived at Bruxelles late in the evening and put

up at the _Hotel d'Angleterre_.

This morning, the General and myself went to pay our respects to the _Gran

Capitano_ of the _Holy League_, and we left our cards. He is, I hear, very

confident of the result of the campaign, and no doubt he has for him the

prayers of all the pious in England against those atheistical fellows the

French; and these prayers will surely elicit a "host of angels" to come

down to aid in the destruction of the Pandemonium of Paris where Satan's

lieutenant sits enthroned. The reflecting people here are astonished that

Napoleon does not begin the attack. The inhabitants of Belgium are in

general, from all that I can hear or see, not at all pleased with the

present order of things, and they much lament the being severed from

France. The two people, the Belgians and Hollanders, do not seem to

amalgamate; and the former, though they render ample justice to the

moderation, good sense, and beneficent intentions of the present monarch,

who is personally respected by every one, yet do not disguise their wish to

be reunited to France and do not hesitate to avow their attachment to the

Emperor Napoleon. This union does not please the Hollanders either, on

other grounds. They complain that their interests have been sacrificed

entirely to those of the house of Orange, and they say that from the

readiness they displayed in shaking off the yoke of France, and the great

weight they thereby threw into the scale, they were entitled to the

restitution of all their colonies in Asia, Africa, and America. The

colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon are what they most regret; for

these colonies in particular furnished ample employment and the means of

provision for the cadets of patrician families. If you tell them they have

acquired the Belgic provinces as an indemnification, they answer: "So much

the worse for us, for now the patronage of the colonial offices must be

divided between us and the Belgians."

The preparations for the grand conflict about to take place are carried on

with unabating activity; the conscription is rigorously enforced and every

youth capable of bearing arms is enrolled. Almost all the officers of the

Belgian army and a great proportion of the soldiery have served with the

French and have been participators of their laurels; one cannot therefore

suppose that they are actuated by any very devouring zeal against their

former commander; nor have I found amongst the shop-keepers or respectable

people with whom I have conversed, and who have been falsely represented as

having suffered much from the tyranny of Napoleon, any who dislike either

his person or government, and certainly none either high or low express the

cannibal wish that I heard some English country gentlemen and London

merchants utter for the destruction of Paris and of the French people, nor

would it be easy to find here men of the _humane_ and _generous_ sentiments

professed by some of our aldermen and contractors when they welcomed with

ferocious acclamations of joy and were ready to embrace the Baschkir or

Cossack who told them that he had slaughtered so many French with his own

hand; nor would the ladies here be so eager to kiss old Blucher as was the

case in London.

This city is filled with British and Hanoverian troops. Their conduct is

exemplary, nor is any complaint made against them. The Highland regiments

are however the favourites of the Bruxellois, and the inhabitants give them

the preference as lodgers. They are extremely well behaved (they say, when

speaking of the Highlanders) and they cheerfully assist the different

families on whom they are quartered in their household labour. This

reflects a good deal of credit on the gallant sons of Caledonia. Their

superior morality to those of the same class either in England or in

Ireland must strike every observer, and must, in spite of all that the

_Obscuranten_ or _Chevaliers de l'Eteignoir_ and others who wish to check

the progress of the human mind may urge to the contrary, be mainly

attributed to the general prevalence of education _a la portée de tout le

monde_. Wherever the people are enlightened there is less crime; ignorance

was never yet the safeguard of virtue. As for myself I honour and esteem

the Scottish nation and I must say that I have found more liberal ideas and

more sound philosophy among individuals of that nation than among those of

any other, and it is a tribute I owe to them loudly to proclaim my

sentiments; for though personal gratitude may seem to influence me a little

on this subject, yet I should never think of putting forth my opinion in

public, were it not founded on an impartial observation of the character of

this enterprising and persevering people. A woman who had some Highlanders

quartered in her house told me in speaking of them: "Monsieur, ce sont de

si bonnes gens; ils sont doux comme des agneaux." "Ils n'en seront pas

moins des lions an jour du combat," was my reply.

I have amused myself with visiting most of the remarkable objects here, but

you must not expect from me a detail of what you will find in every

description book. You wish to have my ideas on the subjects that most

strike me individually, and those you shall have; but it would be very

absurd and presumptuous in me to attempt to give a _catalogue raisonné_ of

buildings and pictures and statues, or to set up as a connoisseur when I

know nothing either of sculpture, of architecture or painting; nor am I

desirous of imitating the young Englishman, who, in writing to his father

from Italy, described so much in detail, and so scientifically, every

production, or staple, peculiar to the cities which he happened to visit,

that he wrote like a cheese-monger from Parma, like a silk mercer from

Leghorn, like an olive and oil merchant from Lucca, like a picture dealer

from Florence, and like an antiquarian from Rome.

BRUXELLES, May 10.

The _Hôtel d'Angleterre_ where we are lodged is within four minutes walk

from the finest part of the city, where the Parc and Royal Palace is

situated. The Parc is not large, but is tastefully laid out in the Dutch

style, and is the fashionable promenade for the _beau monde_ of Bruxelles.

The women, without being strikingly handsome, have much grace; their air,

manner and dress are perfectly _à la francaise_. A good café and restaurant

is in the centre of one of the sides, and the buildings on the quadrangle

environing the Parc, which form the palace and other tenements are superb.

The next place I went to see was the _Hôtel de Ville_ and its tower of

immense height. It is a fine Gothic building, but that which should be the

central entrance is not directly in the centre of the edifice, so that one

wing of it appears considerably larger than the other, which gives it an

awkward and irregular appearance. On the Place or Square as we should call

it, where the _Hôtel de Ville_ stands, is held the fruit and vegetable

market, and a finer one or more plentifully supplied I never beheld. This

_Place_ is interesting to the historian as being the spot where Counts

Egmont and Hoorn suffered decapitation in the reign of Philip II of Spain,

by order of the Duke of Alva, who witnessed the execution from a window of

one of the houses. The conduct of these noblemen at the place of execution

was so dignified that even the ferocious duke could not avoid wiping his

eyes, hardened as his heart was by religious and political fanaticism; and

though he held them in abhorrence as rebels and traitors a tear did fall

for them down his iron cheek. How fortunate for the liberties of Holland

that William the Taciturn did not also fall into the claws of that Moloch

Philip! I next visited the museum and picture gallery, where I witnessed

the annual exposition of the modern school of painting. The specimens I saw

pleased me much, particularly because the subjects were well chosen from

history and the mythology, which to me is far more agreeable than the

subjects of the paintings of the old Flemish school; but I am told often

that I know nothing about painting, so I shall make no further remarks but

content myself with sending you a catalogue, with the pictures marked

therein which made most impression on me. With respect to the churches of

Brussels those of Ste. Gudule and of the Capuchins are the finest and most

remarkable. In the former is the Temptation of Adam by the Serpent, richly

carved in wood in figures as large as life grouped round the pulpit.[4]

The _Place du Sablon_ is very striking from the space it occupies, and on

it is a fountain erected by Lord Bruce.[5] The fountains which are to be

met with in various parts of the city are highly ornamental, and among them

I must not omit to mention a singularly grotesque one which is held in

great veneration by the lower orders of the Bruxellois and is by them

regarded as a sort of Palladium to the city. It is the figure of a little

boy who is at _peace_, according to the late Lord Melville's[6]

pronunciation of the words, and who spouts out his water incessantly,

reckless of decorum and putting modesty to the blush. What would our

vice-hunters say to this? He is a Sabbath breaker in the bargain and

continues his occupation on Sundays as well as other days and _in fine_ he

rejoices in the name of _Mannekenpis_.

The ramparts, or rather site of the ramparts (for the fortifications of

Bruxelles no longer exist), form an agreeable promenade; but the favourite

resort of all the world at Bruxelles in the afternoon is the _Attee verte_.

Here all classes meet; here the rich display their equipages and horses;

and the lower orders assemble at the innumerable _guinguettes_ which are to

be met with here, in order to play at bowls, dominoes, smoke and drink

beer, of which there is an excellent sort called _Bitterman._ The avenues

on each side of the carriage road are occupied by pedestrians, and on one

side of the road is the canal, covered at all times with barges and boats

decked with flags and streamers. At the cabarets are benches and tables in

the open air under the trees; and here are to be seen the artisan, the

bargeman and the peasant taking their afternoon _délassement_, and groups

of men, women and children drinking beer and smoking. These groups reminded

me much of those one sees so often in the old Flemish pictures, with this

difference, that the old costume of the people is almost entirely left off.

Female minstrels with guitars stroll about singing French romances and

collecting contributions from this cheerful, laughter-loving people. The

dark walk, as it is called, near the park is a favourite walk of the upper

classes in the evening. There his Grace of Wellington is sometimes to be

seen with a fair lady under his arm. He generally dresses in plain clothes,

to the astonishment of all the foreign officers. He is said to be as

successful in the fields of Idalia as in those of Bellona, and the ladies

whom he honours with his attentions suffer not a little in their

reputations in the opinion of the _compères_ and _commères_ of Bruxelles.

I have only been twice to the theatre since I have been here. The _Salle de

Spectacle_ is indifferent, but they have an excellent company of comedians.

The representations are in French. I saw the _Festin de Pierre_ of

Corneille exceedingly well performed. The actors who did the parts of Don

Juan and Sganarelle were excellent, and the scene with M. Dimanche, wherein

he demands payment of his bill, was admirably given. I have also seen the

_Plaideurs_ of Racine, a very favourite piece of mine; every actor played

his part most correctly, and the scene between the Comtesse de Pimbeche and

Chicaneau and L'Intimé wherein the latter, disguised as a _Bailli_, offers

himself to be kicked by the former, was given in very superior style. The

scene of the trial of the dog, with the orations of Petit Jean as

_demandeur_ and L'Intimé as _défenseur_, were played with good effect. I

never recollect having witnessed a theatrical piece which afforded me

greater amusement.

NAMUR, May 12.

We left Brussels yesterday afternoon, and having obtained passports to

visit the military posts we went to Genappe, a small village half-way

between Bruxelles and Namur, where we brought to for the night at a small

but comfortable inn called _Le Roi d'Espagne_. Two battalions of the

regiment Nassau-Usingen are quartered in Genappe. We arrived at Namur this

morning at nine o'clock and put up at the _Hôtel d'Arenberg_. On the road

we stopped at a peasant's house to drink coffee; and we were entertained by

our hostess with complaints against the Prussians, who commit, as she said,

all sorts of exactions on the peasantry on whom they are quartered. Not

content with exacting three meals a day, when they were only entitled to

two, and for which they are bound to give their rations, they sell these,

and appropriate the money to their own use; then the demand for brandy and

_schnapps_ is increasing. But what can be expected from an army whose

leader encourages them in all their excesses? Blucher by all accounts is a

vandal and is actuated by a most vindictive spirit. The Prussians reproach

the Belgians with being in the French interest; how can they expect it to

be otherwise? They have prospered under French domination, and certainly

the conduct of the Prussians is not calculated to inspire them with any

love towards themselves nor veneration for the Sovereign who has such

all-devouring allies. I asked this woman why she did not complain to the

officers. She answered! "Hélas, Monsieur, c'est inutile; on donne toujours

la même réponse: '_Nichts verstehn_,'" for it appears when these complaints

are made the Prussian officers pretend not to understand French.

Namur is now the head-quarters of Marshal Blucher, who is in the enjoyment

of divers _noms de guerre_, such as "Marshall Vorwärts," "Der alte Teufel."

On the high road, about two miles and a half before we reached Namur, we

met with a party of Prussian lancers, who were returning from a foraging

excursion. They were singing some warlike song or hymn, which was

singularly impressive. It brought to my recollection the description of the

Rhenish bands in the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_:

Who as they move, in rugged verse

Songs of Teutonic feuds rehearse.

The Prussian cavalry seem to be composed of fine-looking young men, and I

admire the genuine military simplicity of their dress, to which might be

most aptly applied the words of Xenophon when describing the costume of the

younger Cyrus: [Greek: _En tae Persikae stolae ouden ti hubrsmenae_][7] in

substituting merely the word [Greek: _Prussikae_] for [Greek: _Persikae_].

One sees in it none of those absurd ornaments and meretricious foppery

which give to our cavalry officers the appearance of Astley's men.[8]

The situation of Namur is exceedingly picturesque, particularly when viewed

from the heights which tower above the town, whereon stood the citadel

which was demolished by order of Joseph II, as were the fortifications of

all the frontier fortresses. The present Belgian Government however mean to

reconstruct them, and Namur in particular, the citadel of which, from the

natural strength of its position, is too important a post to be neglected.

The town itself is situated on the confluent of the Sambre and Meuse and

lies in a valley completely commanded and protected by the citadel. The

churches are splendid, and there is an appearance of opulence in the shops.

The inhabitants, from its being a frontier town, are of course much alarmed

at the approaching contest, for they will probably suffer from both

parties. We heard at the inn and in the shops which we visited the same

complaints against the Prussians. The country in the environs of this place

is exceedingly diversified, and it presents the first mountain scenery we

have yet met with. The banks of the Meuse hereabouts present either an

abrupt precipice or coteaux covered with vines gently sloping to the

water's edge. Namur is distant thirty-four miles from Brussels, and there

is water conveyance on the Meuse from here to Liége and Maastricht.

MONS, May 14.

We started yesterday morning at four o'clock from Namur. The whole road

between Namur and Mons presents a fine, rich open country abounding in

wheat, but not many trees. We stopped to breakfast at Fleurus, at an inn

where there were some Prussian officers. One of them, a lieutenant in the

2nd West Prussian Regiment, had the kindness to conduct us to see the field

of battle where the French under Jourdan defeated the Austrians in 1794. It

is at a very short distance from the town; he explained the position of the

two armies in a manner perfectly clear and satisfactory to us. The Prussian

officers all seem very eager for the commencement of hostilities, and their

only fear is now that all these mighty preparations will end in nothing;

viz., either that the French people, alarmed at the magnitude of the

preparations against them, will compel the Emperor Napoleon to abdicate, or

that the Allies will grow cool and, under the influence of Austria, bring

about a negotiation which may end in a recognition of the Imperial title

and dynasty. They would compound for a defeat at first, provided the war

were likely to be prolonged. In the meantime, reinforcements continue to

arrive daily for their army. We hear but little news of the intentions or

movements of the other Allies; it being forbidden to enter into political

discussions, it is difficult to ascertain the true state of affairs.

We continued our journey through Charleroy and Binch to this place. At a

small village between Binch and Mons we were stopped by a sentinel at a

Prussian outpost and our passports demanded. Neither the sentinel, however,

nor the sergeant, nor any of the soldiers present, could read or understand

French, in which language the passport was drawn up; but the sergeant told

me that the officers were in a house about a quarter of a mile distant and

that he would conduct me thither, but that he himself could not presume to

let us pass, from not knowing the tenor of our passport. I went accordingly

with the sergeant to this house, There I found the officer commanding the

piquet and several others sitting at table, carousing with beer and tobacco

and nearly invisible from the clouds of smoke which pervaded the room. I

explained to the officer who we were and requested him to put on the

passport his _visa_ in the German language, so that the non-commissioned

officers at the various posts through which we might pass would be able to

understand it and let us pass without hindrance. This he did accordingly

and we proceeded on our journey.

We arrived here in the evening and put up at the _Hôtel Royal_. We found at

Charleroy, Binch and here, a number of people employed in repairing and

reconstructing the fortifications. Men, women and boys are all put in

requisition to accelerate this object, as it is the intention of the

Belgian Government to put all the frontier fortresses in the most complete

state of defence. On ascending one of the steeples this morning we had a

fine view of the surrounding country and of the height of Genappe, which

are close to Mons and memorable for the brilliant victory gained by

Dumouriez over the Austrians in 1792. The landscape presents an undulating

campaign country, gentle slopes and alternate plains covered with corn, as

far as the eye can reach, and interspersed with villages and farmhouses. In

Mons is a very large splendid shop or warehouse of millinery, perfumery,

jewellery, etc. It is called _La Toilette de Vénus_, and is served by a

very pretty girl, who, I have no doubt from her simpering look and eloquent

eyes, would have no objection to be a sedulous priestess at the altar of

the Goddess of Amathus. A battalion of Hollanders--a very fine body of

men--marched into this place yesterday evening; the rest of the garrison is

composed of Belgians, chiefly conscripts.

LEUZE, May 15.

Yesterday morning we left Mons and proceeded to Ath to breakfast. A

multitude of people were employed there also at the fortifications. The

garrison of Ath is composed of Hanoverians. Ath reminded me of the wars of

King William III and my Uncle Toby's sieges.[9] There was so little

remarkable to be seen at Ath that we proceeded to this place shortly after

breakfast and arrived at one o'clock, it being only ten miles distance

between Ath and Leuze. We took up our quarters with Major-General Adam, who

commands the Light Brigade of General Sir H. Clinton's division. This

brigade is quartered here and in the adjacent farmhouses. General Adam,

though he has attained his rank at a very early age, is far more fitted for

it than many of our older generals, some of whom (I speak from experience)

have few ideas beyond the fixing of a button or lappel, or polishing a

belt, and who place the whole _Ars recondita_ of military discipline in

pipe-clay, heel-ball and the goose step. Fortunately for this army, the

Duke of Wellington has too much good sense to be a martinet and the good

old times are gone by, thank God, when a soldier used to be sentenced to

two or three hundred lashes for having a dirty belt or being without a

_queue_. To the Duke of York also is humanity much indebted for his

endeavours to check the frequency of corporal punishment. The Duke of York,

with all his zeal for the service, never loses sight of the comfort of the

soldier and is indefatigable in his exertions to ameliorate his conditions.

We had a pleasant dinner party at General Adam's, and at night I went to

sleep at the house occupied by Captain C., one of the aides-de-camp of the

General,[10] an active, intelligent officer who had formerly served in the

marines, which service he had quitted in order to enter the regular army.

May 16.

Yesterday morning we paid a visit to Tournay, which is distant from Leuze

about ten miles, and we breakfasted at the _Signe d'Or_. We then proceeded

to pay our respects to the Commandant General V.[11] The garrison consists

of Belgians. General V. had been some time in England as a prisoner of war.

He was made prisoner, I think he said, at Batavia. He received us very

politely, and not only gave us permission to visit the works of the

citadel, but sent a sergeant to accompany us. The new citadel is building

on the site of the old one, and, like it, is to be a regular pentagon. The

fortifications of the city itself are not to be reconstructed; these of the

citadel, which will be very strong, rendering them superfluous. The

sergeant was a native of Würtemberg and had served in the army of his own

country and in that of France in most of the campaigns under Napoleon. He

was a fine old veteran, and very intelligent, for he explained to us the

nature of the works with great perspicuity. With true Suabian dignity he

refused a five franc piece which I offered him as a slight remuneration for

the trouble he had taken, and as he seemed, I thought, rather offended at

the offer, I felt myself bound to apologize. From the number of workmen

employed in repairing the citadel, it will not be long before it is placed

in a respectable state of defence. Tournay is a large handsome city and the

spacious quais on the banks of the Scheld which runs through it add much to

the neatness of its appearance. It is only ten miles distant from Lille,

but all communication from France is stopped. We learned that some of the

Hanoverians had been deserting. In return we met with a young French hussar

who had come over to the Allies. He seemed to be an impudent sort of

fellow, and said, with the utmost _sang-froid_, that the reason he deserted

was that he had not been made an officer as he was promised, and he hoped

that Louis XVIII would be more sensible of his merits than the Emperor

Napoleon. We returned to Leuze to dinner in the afternoon. This morning we

went to assist at a review of General Clinton's division, on a plain called

_Le Paturage_, about seven miles distant from Leuze. The Light Brigade and

the Hanoverian Brigades form this division. The manoeuvres were performed

with tolerable precision, but they were chiefly confined to advancing in

line, retiring by alternate companies covered by light infantry and change

of position on one of the flanks by _échelon_. The British troops were

perfect; the Hanoverians not so, they being for the most part new levies.

In one of the _échelon_ movements, when the line was to be formed on the

left company of the left battalion, a Hanoverian battalion, instead of

preserving its parallelism, was making a terrible diversion to its right,

when a thundering voice from the commander of the brigade to the commandant

of the battalion: "_Mein Gott, Herr Major, wo gehn Sie hin?_" roused him

from his reverie; when he must have perceived, had he wheeled up into line,

the fearful interval he had left between his own and the next battalion on

the left.

After the review had finished we repaired to the château of the Prince de

Ligne, then occupied by Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, to partake of a

breakfast given by him and his lady. On the breaking up of the breakfast

party, General Wilson and myself remained at the château to dine with

General Adam _al fresco_ in the garden under the trees. The palace and

garden of the Prince de Ligne are both very magnificent. The latter is of

great extent, but too regular, too much in the Dutch taste to please me.

Little or no furniture is in the palace; but there are some family pictures

and a theatre fitted up in one of the halls for the purpose of private

theatricals. In the garden is a monument erected by the late Prince de

Ligne to one of his sons, Charles by name, who was killed in the Russian

service at the siege of Ismail. The present prince is a minor and resides

at Bruxelles.

GRAMMONT, May 18.

We left Leuze yesterday afternoon and arrived here at seven in the evening

in order to be present at the cavalry review the next morning. We partook

of an elegant supper given to us by our friend, Major Grant of the 18th

Hussars, and we were much entertained and enlivened by the effusions of his

brilliant genius and inexhaustible wit. The whole cavalry of the British

army passed in review this morning before the Duke of Wellington, who was

there with all his staff and received the salutes of all the corps like

Godfrey, _con volto placido e composto_. It was a very brilliant spectacle.

The Duke de Berri was present. I think I never beheld so ignoble and

disagreeable a countenance as this prince possesses. I thought to myself

that he had much better have stayed away from this review; for he must be

insensible to all patriotism who could take pleasure in contemplating a

foreign force about to enter and ravage his own country. We learn that the

Duchess d'Angoulême is to have a review of the _fidèles_ very shortly. She

is certainly much more warlike than the males of that family; this

disposition is increased by her religious fanaticism. This renders her, of

course, a most dangerous person to meddle with politics; but great

allowances must be made for her feelings, which must naturally be

embittered by the recollection of so much suffering during the Revolution

and of the barbarous and inhuman treatment experienced by her father and

mother.

I observed a peculiarity in this part of the country, viz., that there are

villages lying close to each other in some of which French is spoken, in

others Flemish; and that, with some few exceptions, the inhabitants of

neighbouring villages are reciprocally unintelligible. General Wilson does

not intend to return to Bruxelles. I shall accompany him as far as Gand and

then return to Bruxelles to await the issue of the contest.

BRUXELLES, June 11.

I took leave of General Wilson at Gand on the 22nd of last month and

immediately returned here, where I have been ever since. I have shifted my

quarters to a less expensive hotel and am now lodged at the _Hôtel de la

Paix_. We get an excellent dinner at the table d'hôte for one and a half

francs, wine not included; this is paid for extra, and is generally at the

price of three francs per bottle. This hotel is very neatly fitted up and

is very near the _Hôtel de Ville_. At the table d'hôte I frequently meet

Prussian officers who on coming in to visit Bruxelles put up here. We have

just learned the proceedings of the _Champ de Mai_ at Paris, by which it

appears that Napoleon is solemnly recognized and confirmed as Emperor of

the French. This intelligence sent a young Prussian officer, who sat next

to me, in a transport of joy, for this makes the war certain. The Prussians

seem determined to revenge themselves for the humiliation they suffered

from the French during the time they occupied their country, and I

sincerely pity by anticipation the fate of the French peasants upon whom

these gentlemen may chance to be quartered. Terrible will be the first

shock of battle, and it may be daily expected, and dreadful will be the

consequences to the poor inhabitants of the seat of war. Cannot this war be

avoided? I am not politician enough to foresee the consequences of allowing

Napoleon to keep quiet and undisturbed possession of the throne of France;

but the consequences of a defeat on the part of the Allies will be the loss

of Belgium and the probable annihilation of the British army; certainly the

dissolution of the coalition, for the minor German powers, and very likely

Austria also, would be induced to make a separate peace. We can clearly see

that Napoleon has not now the power he formerly possessed and that the

Republican party, into whose hands he has thrown himself, seem disposed not

only to remain at peace, but to shackle him in every possible manner. It is

evident, too, that his last success was owing to the dislike of the people

to the Bourbons from their injudicious and treacherous conduct; and the

threats and impossible language held by the priests and emigrants towards

the holders of property paved the way for the success of his enterprise and

enabled him to achieve a triumph unparalleled in history.

On the contrary, by forcing him to go to war, should he gain the first

victory, Belgium will be re-united to France, all the resources of that

country brought into the scale against the Allies; Napoleon will be more

popular than ever, the Republican party will be put to silence, the

enthusiasm of the army will rise beyond all restraint, and, in a word,

Napoleon will be himself again. The other Allies can do little without the

assistance of England, and our finances are by no means in a state to bear

such intolerable drains.

As to the Prussians, on minute enquiry I do not find that they were so

ill-treated by the French as is generally believed, and that, except the

burden of having troops quartered on them (no small annoyance, I allow),

they had not much reason to complain. The quartering of the troops on them

and the payment of the war contributions was the necessary consequence of

the occupation of their country by an enemy; but I have just been reading a

German work, written by a native of Berlin, shortly after the entry of the

French troops in that city after the battle of Jena in 1806. This work is

entitled _Vertraute Briefe aus Berlin_, and in it the author distinctly

declares that the discipline observed by the French troops during the

occupation of Berlin was highly strict and praiseworthy, and that the few

excesses that took place were committed by the troops of the Rhenish

Confederation; and he adds that the inhabitants preferred having a French

soldier quartered on them to a Westphalian, Bavarian or Würtembergher.

Further, the troops that behaved with the greatest oppression and insolence

towards the burghers were those belonging to a corps composed of native

Prussians, raised for the service of Napoleon by the Prince of

Isenburg.[12] In his recruiting address the prince invites the Prussian

youth to enter into the service of the invincible Napoleon, and tells him

that to the soldier of Napoleon everything is permitted. The regiment was

soon fitted up and the soldiers began to put in practice in good earnest

the theory of the _affiche_. They committed excesses of all sorts; and one

officer in particular behaved so brutally and infamously to a poor tailor

on whom he was quartered, and to whom, before he entered the French

service, he was under the greatest obligations, that General Hulin, the

commandant of the place at Berlin during the French occupation, was obliged

to cashier him publicly on the parade and to cause his epaulettes to be

torn from his coat in order to mark the disgust and indignation that he and

all the French officers felt at the base ingratitude of this man.

This work, "Vertraute Briefe" (confidential letters), contains much curious

matter and very interesting anecdotes respecting the corruption, venality

and depravation that prevailed in the Prussian Court and army previous to

the war in 1806. Let this suffice to show that the Prussians have not so

much reason to complain against the French as they pretend to have;

besides, the conduct of the Prussian Government itself was so vacillating

and contradictory that they had themselves only to blame for what they

suffered. They should have supported Austria in 1805. But the fact is that

the vanity and the _amour propre_ of the Prussian military were so hurt at

the humiliation they experienced at and after the battle of Jena that it

was this that has embittered them so much against the French.

Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment that I seek to excuse or

palliate the conduct of Napoleon towards Prussia. I have always thought it

not only unjust but impolitic. Impolitic, because Prussia was, and ought

always to be, the obvious and natural ally of France, and Napoleon, instead

of endeavouring to crush that power, should have aggrandized her and made

her the paramount power in Germany. It was in fact his obvious policy to

cede Hanover in perpetuity to Prussia, and have rendered thereby the breach

between the Houses of Brandenburgh and Hanover irreparable and

irreconcilable. This would have thrown Prussia necessarily into the arms

of France, in whose system she must then have moved, and all British

influence on the Continent would have been effectually put an end to.

Another prime fault of Napoleon was that he did not crush and dismember

Austria in 1809 as he had it in his power to do; and by so doing he would

have merited and obtained the thanks and good will of all Germany for

having overturned so despotic and light-fearing a Government. But he has

paid dearly for these errors. Instead of destroying a despotic power

(Austria), he chose rather to crush an enlightened and liberal nation, for

such I esteem the Prussian nation, and I always separate the Prussian

people from their Government. The latter fell, and fell unpitied, after one

battle; but it has been almost miraculously restored by the unparalleled

exertions and energies of the burghers and people. May this be a lesson to

the Government! and may the King of Prussia not prove ungrateful!

Troops continue to arrive here daily, and now that the ceremony of the

_Champ de Mai_ is over, we may expect that Napoleon will repair to his army

and commence operations.

June 17.

Napoleon arrived at Maubeuge on the 18th and the grand conflict has begun.

The Prussians were attacked on the 14th and 15th at Ligny and driven from

their position.[13] They are said to have suffered immense loss and to be

retreating with the utmost confusion. Our turn comes next. The thunder of

the cannon was heard here distinctly the most part of yesterday and some

part of our army must have been engaged. Our troops have all marched out of

Bruxelles in the direction of the frontier. In the affair with the

Prussians we learn that the Duke of Brunswick was killed and that Blucher

narrowly escaped being made prisoner.

June 18.

The grand conflict has begun with us. It is now four o'clock p.m. The issue

is not known. The roar of the cannon continues unabated. All is bustle,

confusion and uncertainty in this city. Cars with wounded are coming in

continually. The general opinion is that our army will be compelled to

retreat to Antwerp, and it is even expected that the French will be in

Bruxelles to-night. All the towns-people are on the ramparts listening to

the sound of the cannon. This city has been in the greatest alarm and

agitation since the 16th, when a violent cannonade was heard during the

afternoon. From what I have been able to collect, the French attacked the

Prussians on the 14th, and a desperate conflict took place on that day, and

the whole of the 15th,[14] when the whole of the Prussian army at Ligny,

Fleurus and Charleroy was totally defeated and driven from its position; a

dislocation of our troops took place early in the morning of the 16th, and

our advanced guard, consisting of the Highland Brigade and two Battalions

of Nassau-Usingen, fell in with the advanced guard of the French Army

commanded by Marshal Ney near Quatre-Bras, and made such a gallant defence

against his corps d'armée as to keep it in check the whole day and enable

itself to fall back in good order to its present position with the rest of

the army, about ten miles in front of Bruxelles. Indeed, I am informed that

nothing could exceed the admirable conduct of the corps above mentioned.

Yesterday we heard no cannonade, but this afternoon it has been unceasing

and still continues. All the caricatures and satires against Napoleon have

disappeared from the windows and stalls. The shops are all shut, the

English families flying to Antwerp; and the proclamation of the Baron de

Capellen[15] to the inhabitants, wherein he exhorts them to be tranquil and

assures them that the Bureaux of Government have not yet quitted Bruxelles,

only serves to increase the confusion and consternation. The inhabitants in

general wish well to the arms of Napoleon, but they know that the retreat

of the English Army must necessarily take place through their town; that

our troops will perhaps endeavour to make a stand, and that the

consequences will be terrible to the inhabitants, from the houses being

liable to be burned or pillaged by friend or foe. All the baggage of our

Army and all the military Bureaux have received orders to repair and are

now on their march to Antwerp, and the road thither is so covered and

blocked up by waggons that the retreat of our Army will be much impeded

thereby. Probably my next letter may be dated from a French prison.

BRUXELLES, June 21.

Judge, my friend, of my astonishment and that of almost everybody in this

city, at the news which was circulated here early on the morning of the

19th, and has been daily confirmed, viz., that the French Army had been

completely defeated and was in full flight, leaving behind it 220 pieces of

cannon and all its baggage, waggons and _munitions de guerre_. I have not

been able to collect all the particulars, but you will no doubt hear enough

of it, for I am sure it will be _said_ or _sung_ by all the partisans of

the British ministry and all the Tories of the United Kingdom for months

and years to come; for further details, therefore, I shall refer you to the

Gazette. The following, however, you may consider as a tolerably fair

précis of what took place. The attack began on the 18th about ten

o'clock[16] and raged furiously along the whole line, but principally at

Hougoumont, a large _Métairie_ on the right of our position, which was

occupied by our troops, and from which all the efforts of the enemy could

not dislodge them. The slaughter was terrible in this quarter. From twelve

o'clock till evening several desperate charges of cavalry and infantry were

made on the rest of our line. Both sides fought with the utmost courage and

obstinacy, and were prodigal of life in the extreme. But it is generally

supposed that our army must have succumbed towards the evening had it not

been for the arrival of Bulow's division of Prussians, followed closely by

Blucher and the rest of the army, which had rallied with uncommon celerity.

These moved on the right flank of the French, and decided the fortune of

the day by a charge which was seconded by a general charge from the whole

of the English line on the centre and left of the French. Seeing themselves

thus turned, a panic, it is said, spread among the young Guard of the

French army, and a cry of "_Sauve qui peut! nous sommes trahis!_" spread

like wildfire. The flight became universal; the old Guard alone remained,

refused quarter and perished like Leonidas and his Spartans. The Prussian

cavalry being fresh pursued the enemy all night, _l'épée dans les reins_,

and it may be conceived from their previous disposition that they would not

be very merciful to the vanquished. Indeed, on the 15th, it is said that

the French were not very merciful to them. It was like the combat of

Achilles and Hector.

No thought but rage and never ceasing strife

Till death extinguish rage and thought and life.

France will now call out to Napoleon as Augustus did to Varus, "Give me

back my legions!" The loss on both sides was very great, but it must have

been prodigious on the side of the French. The whole Allied Army is in full

pursuit. Several friends and acquaintances of mine perished in this battle,

viz., Lieut.-General Sir T. Picton, Colonel Sir H. Ellis and Colonel

Morice.

June 22.

This morning I went to visit the field of battle, which is a little beyond

the village of Waterloo, on the plateau of Mont St Jean; but on arrival

there the sight was too horrible to behold. I felt sick in the stomach and

was obliged to return. The multitude of carcases, the heaps of wounded men

with mangled limbs unable to move, and perishing from not having their

wounds dressed or from hunger, as the Allies were, of course, obliged to

take their surgeons and waggons with them, formed a spectacle I shall never

forget. The wounded, both of the Allies and the French, remain in an

equally deplorable state.

At Hougoumont, where there is an orchard, every tree is pierced with

bullets. The barns are all burned down, and in the court-yard it is said

they have been obliged to burn upwards of a thousand carcases, an awful

holocaust to the War-Demon.

As nothing is more distressing than the sight of human misery when we are

unable to silence it, I returned as speedily as possible to Bruxelles with

Cowper's lines in my head:

War is a game, which, were their subjects wise,

Kings should not play at.

I hope this battle will, at any rate, lead to a speedy peace.

June 28.

We have no other news from the Allied Army, except that they are moving

forward with all possible celerity in the direction of Paris. You may form

a guess of the slaughter and of the misery that the wounded must have

suffered, and the many that must have perished from hunger and thirst, when

I tell you that all the carriages in Bruxelles, even elegant private

equipages, landaulets, barouches and berlines, have been put in requisition

to remove the wounded men from the field of battle to the hospitals, and

that they are yet far from being all brought in. The medical practitioners

of the city have been put in requisition, and are ordered to make

domiciliary visits at every house (for each habitation has three or four

soldiers in it) in order to dress the wounds of the patients. The

Bruxellois, the women in particular, have testified the utmost humanity

towards the poor sufferers. It was suggested by some humane person that

they who went to see the field of battle from motives of curiosity would do

well to take with them bread, wine and other refreshments to distribute

among the wounded, and most people did so. For my part I shall not go a

second time. Napoleon, it is said, narrowly escaped being taken. His

carriage fell into the hands of the Allies, and was escorted in triumph

into Bruxelles by a detachment of dragoons. So confident was Napoleon of

success that printed proclamations were found in the carriage dated from

"Our Imperial Palace at Laecken," announcing his victory and the liberation

of Belgium from the insatiable coalition, and wherein he calls on the

Belgians to re-unite with their old companions in arms in order to reap the

fruits of their victory. This was certainly rather premature, and reminds

me of an anecdote of a Spanish officer at the siege of Gibraltar, related

by Drinkwater in his narrative of that siege.[17] When the British garrison

made a sortie, they carried the advanced Spanish lines and destroyed all

their preparations; the Spanish officer on guard at the outermost post was

killed, but on the table of his guard room was found his guard report

filled up and signed, stating that "nothing extraordinary had happened

since guard-mounting."

Mr L. of Northumberland, having proposed to me to make a tour with him to

Aix-la-Chapelle and the banks of the Rhine, I shall start with him in a day

or two.

[1] Sir Wiltshire Wilson (1762-1842), Commander of the Royal Artillery in

Ceylon, 1810-1815.--Ed.

[2] Pulci, _Morgante_, canto XVIII, ottava 114-115. The Giant Morgante

meets the villain Margutte and asks him if he be a Christian or a

Saracen. Margutte answers that he cares not, but only believes in

boiled or in roasted capon:

Rispose allor Margutte: A dirtel tosto

Io non credo pio al nero ch'all' azzurro.

Ma nel cappone, o lesso, o vuogll arrosto....

[3] Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_, iv, 63, f.--ED.

[4] A work of H, Verbruggen of Antwerp (1677).--ED.

[5] Lord Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury, caused this fountain to be erected in

1751, as a token of gratitude to the town of Bruxelles where he had

lived in exile.--E.D.

[6] Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1741-1811), elevated to the peerage in

1802.--ED.

[7] Xenophon, _Education of Cyrus_, II, 4, 4.--ED.

[8] Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge.--ED.

[9] Uncle Toby, in Laurence Sterne's _Tristram Shandy_.--ED.

[10] Lieutenant R.P. Campbell, aide-de-camp to Major-General Adam.--ED.

[11] In May, 1815, the officer commanding-in-chief at Tournai was

General-Major A.C. Van Diermen.--ED.

[12] Karl Friedrich Ludwig Moritz, Fürst zu Ysenburg-Bierstein (1766-1820),

took service with Austria (1784), with Prussia (1804), and later with

Napoleon (1806), who commissioned him as brigadier-general. The

shameless conduct of this officer is exposed by B. Poten, _Allgemeine

Deutsche Biographie_, vol. XLIV, p. 611.--ED.

[13] The battle at Ligny was fought on June 16.--ED.

[14] The facts and dates here given are of course inaccurate; but this

proves that Major Frye wrote his text in the very midst of the crisis,

and that his manuscript has not been tampered with.--ED.

[15] Baron van Capellen, a Dutch statesman, was governor-general of the

Belgian provinces, residing at Bruxelles. He was afterwards

governor-general of Dutch India. Born in 1778, he died in 1848. His

memoirs have been published in French by Baron Sirtema de Grovestins

(1852), and contain an interesting passage on that momentous day,

18th June, 1815.--ED.

[16] Not before half past eleven.--ED.

[17] John Drinkwater, also called Bethune (1762-1844), published a

well-known _History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783_.--ED.