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THE WELLINGTON SHIELD.

No. X. THE ENTRY INTO Toulouse. NOTWITHSTANDING the repeated defeats which Soult had experienced in his attempts to relieve the fortresses of St. Sebastian's and Pamplona, he was unwilling, without a further struggle, to abandon the hope of saving them from capture. Accordingly, on the 31st of August, he made a desperate attack on the left wing of the allies, covering the siege of St. Sebastian's; his efforts being directed entirely against a corps of Spaniards, who were posted on the heights of St. Marcial. The French, despising their antagonists, advanced with extreme confidence up the steep acclivity; but the brave defenders, waiting till their assailants had nearly gained the summit, charged them with the bayonet, and at once breaking their column, pursued them with slaughter. On the very day that this attack was made, the town of St. Sebastian's was carried by assault, and the garrison driven into the castle, which held out for only a few days longer. The left wing of the allies being thus disengaged, preparations were made for the invasion of France. It was not possible to act on the offensive upon a great scale, until the fall of Pamplona; but, on the 31st of October, the garrison of that fortress, to the number of 4000, having exhausted the whole of their provisions, surrendered prisoners of war, and thus disengaged the right of the allies from the task of covering the blockade.

The winter set in unusually wet and inclement; the low grounds, in the vicinity of the rivers which separated the hostile armies, were become one continued marsh; and the troops on both sides remained quiet in their cantonments. This repose lasted, with scarcely any interruption, till the middle of February, 1814, when, the weather becoming more favourable, Lord Wellington resolved to take the field, and leaving a part of his army to invest Bayonne, with the remainder to carry the war into the heart of France. By the 26th, a bridge of boats was laid down across the Adour (on the banks of which Bayonne stands), about two miles and a half below that town, and scarcely a mile from the The operation was one of great difficulty, for the river is 270 yards broad, and the tide and ripple are so formidable as to preclude the use of any thing smaller than decked vessels of twenty or thirty tons' burden. The French had never thought of guarding this passage, deeming the width and depth of the river, and the rapidity of its current, to be obstacles of too formidable a nature to be overcome; and the town was thus blockaded on both sides of the Adour, without any serious resistance.

sea.

While the left of the allied army was thus occupied, Lord Wellington was leading the remainder towards the interior of the French territory, dislodging the enemy from the positions which they occupied, as he advanced. Leaving Bayonne to its own resources, Soult immediately concentrated his forces behind the Gave de Pau, at Orthes, and taking up a very strong position, appeared determined to await the issue of a battle. On the 27th, the British attacked him, and met with an obstinate resistance from his troops, who showed, on this occasion, a spirit more determined than ordinary; but the enemy at length gave way, and fled with precipitation; but the victory was marked by an incident, "for the possible consequences of which," says the author of Annals of the Peninsular Campaigns, "no success, however brilliant, could have made compensation. During the engagement, Lord Wellington was struck by a grape-shot, which drove the pommel of his sword against his side, with such

violence, as to occasion a severe contusion. He was, in consequence, unable to cross the intersected country in his front, in time to direct the movement of the different divisions in pursuit. But for this misfortune, the results of Orthes would probably have been even more decisive."

After this defeat, Soult was forced, by Lord Wellington's manoeuvres, to retreat to St. Sever, upon the Adour, in the direction of Bourdeaux; but the allies being compelled to halt by the unfavourableness of the weather, the Marshal took the opportunity of ascending the Adour, with the view of drawing near the Pyrenees, and transferring the seat of war to that quarter. The road to Bourdeaux was thus left open to the allies; and Lord Wellington, assured that a powerful party existed in that city, in favour of the legitimate sovereign of France, despatched Marshal Beresford, with a strong force, to drive out the French military, and afford the inhabitants an opportunity of declaring their sentiments. This object was accomplished without any resistance, and Marshal Beresford entered the city on the 12th of March. Soult was closely pressed by his opponent, and at length, on the 24th, he retired into Toulouse, breaking down all the bridges as he passed.

Three days afterwards, the allies arrived in front of that city, on the left bank of the Garonne; and, having succeeded, on the 4th of April, in throwing a bridge across the river, prepared at once to act on the offensive. In the mean while Soult had been diligently providing against the attack, neglecting no means of defence of which he could avail himself. Toulouse possessed many local advantages; its walls, though old, being of great thickness, and covered, on three fourths of their extent, by the great canal of Languedoc, or the waters of the Garonne. But the French Marshal, considering their defences insufficient, had taken up a formidable position on a range of heights, covering the approach to the eastern side of the city, which he had strongly fortified by intrenchments and redoubts. This it was absolutely necessary to attack; and, Lord Wellington having made his dispositions for that purpose, they were carried into successful execution on the 10th of April. The French were driven successively from all their redoubts; and at night every one of their posts was withdrawn within their intrenched line, behind the canal. Toulouse was now enclosed on three sides, and a very short time would have sufficed to enable the allies to complete its investment. Soult was summoned to surrender, but he replied that he would rather bury himself in the ruins of the city; yet he was too well aware of the difficulty of his situation to entertain any hope of success. "He had, however," says Colonel Jones, "at his disposal 35,000 troops, and desperation might have given a force to his expiring efforts, which would have occasioned a severe loss to the brave men who held him encaged; and as the conclusion of peace, though not officially known, was too credibly reported to be doubted, the victor, desirous of avoiding an unnecessary effusion of blood, permitted the French army, without molestation, to file out of the town, in the night of the 11th, by the road of Carcassone, passing within cannon-shot under the heights of Pugada, crowned by his troops, and bristling with his artillery."

The allies entered Toulouse on the following morning, not as conquerors, but as friends and deliverers; they were received with enthusiastic acclamations, and the white flag was hoisted by the inhabitants, in token of their allegiance to the ancient dynasty of the Bourbon kings. On the evening of the same day, messengers arrived from Paris, to inform Lord

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Wellington that the Allied Sovereigns had declared they would enter into no fresh negotiations with Buonaparte, because of his bad faith; that the senate had passed resolutions, declaring that he had forfeited all right to the crown, and absolving the soldiers and the nation from their oaths of allegiance; finally, that he had submitted to their decree, and was allowed to retire to Elba, with the independent sovereignty of that island.

"It was in the theatre," says Mr. Southey, "that this news was published, for the theatre was not closed that night: the dead were lying all around the walls; the hospitals, and many of the houses were filled with wounded, all of whom were not yet brought in. The inhabitants themselves had been, by the mercy of Providence, spared from the horrors of an assault, of a blockade, which would speedily have caused famine; and from the evils of fire and sword which they apprehended; and it was the theatre at Toulouse that was opened, not the churches!-But the play was altered, and Richard Coeur de Lion was represented for the sake of its applicable passages and songs. Nothing could exceed the cheering at these passages, except the bursts of applause with which Lord Wellington was received and greeted, whenever he moved; only those who know the French character, said one who was present, could imagine the excessive joy of the people,-they shouted and wept, and shouted again."

The officers who brought the news from Paris, passed through Bourdeaux, and a communication was made from thence to Sir John Hope, who commanded the force blockading Bayonne; but, the information not being official, Sir John did not think proper to notify it officially to General Thouvenot, the governor of the garrison. He desired however that the officers on the out-posts should communicate the intelligence to the French officers at their advanced picquets, in the hope that it might prevent any hostilities in the mean time. The intimation seems to have produced a very different effect, for early on the morning of the 14th a sortie was made in great force, from the intrenched

camp in front of the citadel of Bayonne, upon the position occupied by the allies. The assailants were driven back with great slaughter, but not without a loss to the blockading force of more than eight hundred, in killed, wounded, and prisoners; Sir John Hope himself being among the captured. It is melancholy to think that so many brave men should have been sacrificed to the incredulity of the French governor; and he has even been charged with having acted under a less excusable motive, and having planned the affair rather with the wish to gratify a bitter feeling of enmity towards the allies, than in the hope of attaining any military object. At all events his conduct contrasts strongly with the humane forbearance of the Duke of Wellington, in allowing the French army to withdraw from Toulouse, when he might have destroyed it.

These events were quickly followed by a definitive arrangement for the suspension of hostilities; soon after which, the Portuguese and Spaniards recrossed the Pyrenees, and the British embarked for England. Thus terminated the war which had now been waged for seven years in the Peninsula and the South of France.

READING makes a full man, conversation a ready man, writing an exact man.- -BACON.

WORDS are like leaves, and where they most abound, Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

PRIDE is seldom delicate, it will please itself with very mean advantages: and envy feels not its own happiness, but when it may be compared with the misery of others.JOHNSON.

ARISTOTLE, when asked by what criterion we should judge of the merit of a book, replied, When the author has said every thing he ought, nothing but what he ought, and says that as he ought.

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VOL. V.

155

210

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURGH.

ST. PETERSBURGH, the modern capital of the Russian Empire, is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, at the head of that part of it which is called the Gulf of Finland. It is the most northerly metropolis of Europe, being placed in the high latitude of nearly sixty degrees. It is a noble city, and one, the sight of which well repays the task of visiting it; and its beauty is the more remarkable, on account of the quickness of its growth, which occupied a shorter space of time than has been needed for the erection of many single buildings. Without doubt, it is now entitled to rank among the finest cities of Europe, and in some respects it must be allowed to surpass them; yet, scarcely more than a hundred and thirty years have elapsed since the ground on which it stands was covered by only the miserable huts of a few poor fishermen.

FOUNDATION AND HISTORY.

THIS modern capital of Russia was founded by Peter the Great, whose name, indeed, it bears. The grand object of that celebrated monarch was to make his subjects a commercial people; for he was fully sensible of their low rank in the scale of civilized Europe, and well knew that nothing would more strongly conduce to their improvement than that intercourse with other countries which is consequent upon traffic. But, to the attainment of his object, a free and uninterrupted communication with the ocean was essential; and this the Russians had not. The sea which bounded their territory in the cold regions of the north, was shut up during half the year, besides being far distant and difficult of access at all times: and the Baltic was in the hands of Peter's most powerful enemies, the Swedes, whose troops were masters of the provinces on its shores, while their ships swept its waters in triumph. The Czar resolved, however, to gain a footing upon this sea, and it was not long before he accomplished his purpose.

At the beginning of the 18th century, he commenced a war against Sweden, and in the course of two years his efforts to drive her troops from the provinces of Ingria and Carelia, on either side of the Gulf of Finland, were attended with considerable success. One of his exploits was the capture of a fortress on the north bank of the Neva, near to the spot where St. Petersburgh now stands; and when this was accomplished, the czar called a council of war with a view to determine whether he should strengthen the fortifications of this new conquest, or look out for another position more extensive, and less distant from the sea. The latter course was adopted, and the choice fell upon one of the islands, formed by the branches of the Neva, at the spot where that river empties itself into the Gulf of Finland. The fortress which thus arose was named St Petersburgh; and from this beginning sprang the present capital of the Russian empire.

The difficulties encountered by Peter in his attempt to erect a city on the spot which he had selected, were extremely great, and would certainly have deterred a less obstinate man from persevering in it. The situation was highly unfavourable: the banks of the Neva, and the islands at its mouth, were covered with brushwood and swamps, while the country around was little else than an immense marsh. But the czar's resolution was taken, and he adhered to it with his characteristic pertinacity. Orders were issued for the gathering of workmen from all parts of his empire; Russians, Tartars, Cossacks, Calmucks, and peasants of various races, in number many thousands, all repaired to the chosen spot to execute the designs of their despotic master. How Peter contrived, with such a motley crowd of unskilful labourers, to succeed in the accomplishment of his scheme, is a matter of considerable wonder. The poor men suffered severe privations; throughout their heavy task they were wholly unprovided with the necessary tools, not having even those which we regard as requisite in the simplest operations of labour,-the common spade and pickaxe. "Notwithstanding which," says a contemporary writer, "the work went on with such expedition that it was surprising to see the fortress raised within less than five months, though the earth, which is very scarce thereabouts, was, for the greater part, carried by the labourers in the skirts of their clothes, and in bags made of rags and old mats; the use of wheelbarrows being then unknown." Within this fortress a few wooden habitations were erected;

and on the adjacent bank of the river a small hut of the same material was built for the residence of the czar himself. But an event soon occurred which brought much joy to Peter, and gave him fresh spirit to proceed in his undertaking. "Five months" says a writer in the Family Library "had scarcely elapsed, when a report was brought to the czar that a large ship, under Dutch colours, was standing into the river. It may be supposed that this was a joyful piece of intelligence for the founder. It was nothing short of realizing the wish nearest his heart-to open the Baltic for the nations of Europe to trade with his dominions: it constituted them his neighbours; and he at once anticipated the day when his ships would also float on his own waters; would beat the Swedish navy, and drive them from a sea in which they had long rode triumphant with undivided sway. No sooner was the communication made, than the czar, with his usual rapidity, set off to meet this welcome stranger. The skipper was invited to the house of Prince Menzikoff; he sat down at table; and, to his great astonishment, found that he was placed next the czar, and had actually been served by him. But not less astonished and delighted was Peter, on learning that the ship belonged to, and had been freighted by, an old Zaardam friend, with whom he had resided, Cornelius Calf. Permission was immediately given to the skipper to land his cargo, consisting of salt, wine, and other articles of provisions, free of all duties. Nothing could be more acceptable to the inhabitants of the new city than this cargo, the whole of which was purchased by Peter, Menzikoff, and the several officers; so that Auke Wybes, the skipper, made a most profitable adventure. On his departure he received a present of 500 ducats, and each man of the crew 100 rix-dollars, as a premium for the first ship that had entered the port of St. Petersburgh. In the same year another Dutch ship arrived, with a cargo of hams, cheese, butter, gin, &c., and received the same premium: and the third was given to an English ship which entered the port in the first year of the building of the city."

A church was erected after the citadel; and priests were ordered to attend from Moscow. Merchants, mechanics, and tradesmen of various descriptions, were likewise directed to repair to the new city; and no means were neglected of hastening its improvement. At the end of twelve months it had reached a respectable size, and is said to have contained huts and houses to the number of thirty thousand. The price of this success was dreadful; it is said to have included the sacrifice of a hundred thousand lives. By degrees, however, matters went on more prosperously, and the progress of the city became rapid in proportion. In the year 1709 the first edifice of brick was built; and five years afterwards the czar ordered that all houses thenceforth erected should be constructed of the same material. At the same time the nobility and principal merchants were commanded each to have a residence in St. Petersburgh; and every vessel navigating to the city was required to bring a certain quantity of stone for the use of the public works.

At one period of his life Peter had fixed on a regular plan for the arrangement of his new capital; but he never carried it into execution. He continued, however, till the day of his death, carefully to watch over the progress of the city; omitting no measures that might conduce to its improvement. His successors followed in the same path; and, among them, Catherine the Second is especially distinguished for the zeal which she displayed in following out the designs of the great founder.

SITUATION AND EXTENT. ST. Petersburgh is built partly on the banks of the Neva, and partly on some islands at its mouth; its circumference is very extensive, somewhat exceeding eighteen English miles. The most important division is that seated on the left bank; it includes the district which is called the Admiralty quarter, and which contains the naval establishments, together with the palaces of the emperor and the principal public buildings. On the right bank stands the more ancient part of the city, presenting pretty much the same appearance as in the days of its great founder; it is intersected with canals, and has narrow streets, with houses chiefly of wood. Altogether it possesses considerable resemblance to a Dutch town; and Peter indeed professedly

built it in imitation of Amsterdam*. The islands which St. Petersburgh occupies are five in number, two large, and three smaller ones: the former are-the island of St. Petersburgh, on which Peter originally built his fortress, and Vassileiostrow or the island of Vassilei; the latter, it is unnecessary for us to particularize.

The whole of this capital is intersected with numerous canals, which, with their bridges and granite quays, contribute much to its beauty. But these channels do not serve the purpose of ornament only; besides their use as drains, they afford a receptacle, to a certain extent, for the accumulation of waters which a long-continued westerly wind produces at the head of the Gulf of Finland. We have before observed that the original site of this metropolis was little better than one vast morass; in the lapse of years its features have of course been much changed, but the level of the city is still so low as to render it constantly liable to inundation. Indeed, on more than one occasion, it has been threatened with a total submersion; in the year 1796, the water rose seventeen feet above the level of the river. Many of our readers probably recollect the inundation of 1824, which accompanied the tremendous storm; the loss of life and property then incurred was considerable.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.

THERE is scarcely a single subject on which the judgment of travellers approaches so nearly to unanimity, as the magnificence which characterizes the general appearance of St. Petersburgh. "It is not possible," says the late Bishop James, "to give an account capable of portraying faithfully the surprise and astonishment generally experienced by the stranger who, after the wild country he has just quitted, enters the city of Petersburgh: its effects would be stupendous even without the aid of this contrast: whatever beauties may have been shadowed out by imaginary anticipation, every idea falls short of the excellence of the original; and every former relation one has heard seems to describe it in terms of admiration far too cold. It is a city of new-built palaces, where the residences of individuals vie with the effusions of imperial magnificence; and where the buildings destined for public works hold a rank of ostentation still more striking, and are of a magnitude well agreeing with the mighty concerns of this vast empire."

A more recent traveller, Mr. John Barrow, jun., speaks to the same effect, though in simpler language. My first impression," he says, "on landing, was that Petersburgh was a city of palaces, and unquestionably the most splendid and magnificent in the whole world. Its massy and regular buildings, apparently of stone, overwhelm one with wonder, by their extent and magnitude. Nothing that I had yet seen-and I have seen the principal cities of Europe-seemed to be deserving of a comparison; nor, to say the truth, was this, my first impression, obliterated by subsequent and closer examination."

It seems, indeed, to be generally admitted, that in the number, the immensity, the solidity, and the elegance of its public buildings, St. Petersburgh surpasses every other city of Europe; they have been skilfully grouped together in masses, and their concentrated effect is overwhelming. But, on the other hand, this excellence is only partial, and confined to particular districts; and, taken as a whole, the Russian capital is pronounced decidedly inferior to London or Paris. Its public edifices are not, individually speaking, equal to those of our own metropolis; and it cannot be said to possess a single building fit to be compared with St. Paul's, Westminster-abbey, Greenwich-hospital, or perhaps Somerset-house. The Cathedral church of Cazan is far inferior to St. Paul's; "indeed," says Mr. Morton, "no comparison can be instituted between them. Where shall we find," continues the same writer, "in St. Petersburgh, an edifice equal to our venerable Westminster abbey? The convent of St. Alexander Neuskoi cannot be put in competition with it. The Post-office, in St. Martin's-legrand, is a striking and elegant piece of architecture: so, in a less degree, is the Bank of England; while the Postoffice of the Russian metropolis has nothing in its exterior to recommend it; nor has the Assignation Bank; which, on the contrary, is a mean building. The Winter Palace is an immense structure, but cannot, in my opinion, be compared, as to its beauty, with Somerset-house. The only edifice to which we have nothing similar is the palace of the Etat Major; this is certainly a most splendid and magnificent pile of building; but I venture to ask whether its greatness be not the principal cause of the admiration it excites." See the Saturday Magazine, Vol. IV., p. 34.

THE NEVA.

THE Neva forms a very prominent feature in St. Petersburgh, and the Russians have carefully availed themselves of the advantages which it offers for the improvement of their capital. This river runs from the Lake Ladoga into the Gulf of Finland; its length scarcely exceeds thirty-five miles, and its breadth, as it flows through the city, varies from 300 to 400 yards. Its appearance is very different large metropolis; its waters are perfectly pure, and of a from that usually presented by a stream flowing through a beautiful transparent blue colour. There is no permanent bridge established over it; for its depth, and the rapidity of its current, prevent the erection of piers sufficiently strong to withstand the vast masses of ice which come floating down in winter from the Lake Ladoga, while the lowness of its banks forms an obstacle to the application of the suspension principle. There are, however, three ponton bridges, by which the communication is maintained between the northern and the southern districts of this capital; of these the principal is the Isaac Bridge, which stretches across from the island of Vassilei to the centre of the Admiralty Quarter, opening directly into the space containing the statue of Peter the Great. It is composed of twenty large-decked boats, well fastened to each other, and firmly anchored; over these is a thick flooring of planks. Its length is 1050 feet, and its breadth 60; and it has two drawbridges for ships to pass through. When the ice makes its appearance, one end of this chain of boats is loosened; the whole line then swings over to the opposite side of the river, and there remains till the close of the winter-season.

But if the Neva can boast of no beautiful bridges, it certainly possesses a far more rare attraction in the noble quay which lines its left bank for the distance of two whole miles. This is built on piles, and its height is ten feet above the ordinary level of the water, which is here from eight to ten feet deep; it has a good foot-pavement, and a parapet two feet and a half high towards the river. At stated distances are double flights of steps communicating with the water, and furnished with seats for the accommodation of passengers. The whole of this stupendous work is composed of hewn granite.

It is a matter of regret that this superb quay should be interrupted about the middle of its length by the buildingslips of the Admiralty, which cut it completely in two, and obstruct all view of the one portion from the other. The part immediately above the Admiralty is fronted by the Winter-Palace of the Emperor, and the Hermitage, and bears the name of the Russian Quay; the part below that structure is called the English Quay, because the houses in it, which are among the largest and the best in the city, were originally built and inhabited by English merchants. They are still, for the most part, occupied by our countrymen, and in one of them our late ambassador used to reside. We bave given a representation of it in page 216, and our readers will at once perceive how great an ornament it must be to the city. The view which it commands is very pleasing; for the extensive commerce carried on at St. Petersburgh, gives the Neva a bustling appearance. Even when its waters are frozen, it affords an animated picture; indeed, it is, perhaps, in the winter-season that the river presents its gayest picture, for nothing can be more lively and diversified than the scenes which it then presents. The ice is covered with groups of persons, engaged in different sports and occupations; and the celebrated "hills" which are erected on its surface, afford a highly-popular diversion to the inhabitants. An imitation of these machines has at various times been exhibited in England, under the title of "Russian Mountains;" we shall shortly describe the originals as used on the Neva +. A scaffolding is raised in the river about thirty feet in height, having a platform on the top, which is approached by a flight of steps. From this summit a sloping frame of boards leads down to the level of the ice; and on this are laid large blocks of ice, the interstices of which are filled

with snow. Water is then poured over the whole surface from the top to the bottom; and this, freezing, gives it the appearance of a solid compact pavement. There are generally two of these "hills" or "mountains" placed parallel to each other, at a distance of ten or twelve feet, and having their starting-places at opposite ends. At the bottom of these inclined planes the snow is cleared away for about 200 yards, and the sides of this course, as well as those of the scaffolding and platform, are protected by

+ See also Saturday Magazine, Vel. III., p. 237.

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