the assault, under cover of a tremendous fire of all arms, which brought down every exposed man on the castle; the sappers rushed up to the gates, which they broke through, and the heroic garrison, cut off from all external support by the columns which had got round it on the eastern side, laid down its arms. CHAP. LVII. 1809. 12. Vienna. Hiller now, seeing the key of the position carried, gave the signal for retreat; but to troops so intermingled and closely engaged with the enemy, it was no easy matter to Hiller falls obey this order. The division which had crossed farther back towards up the river already threatened their left flank, for in the hurry of this sudden attack there had not been time to break down the bridges of the Krems Munster, and other streams which discharge themselves into the Traun above Ebersberg, which, if destroyed, would for some hours at least have secured that flank from attack. With great difficulty the Austrians withdrew to the position behind the town, where another combat not less obstinate and bloody took place. Every road, every pathway leading up the ascent was the scene of a desperate struggle. The pastures, the corn fields, the pine woods on the crest of the ridge, were all the theatre of mortal combat; while the flames of Ebersberg in the hollow behind, the trampling of horsemen over the dead and dying, the cries of the wounded, and the cheers of the soldiers who successively arrived on the opposite bank, formed a scene surpassing all but the field of Eylau in circumstances of horror. The combat, however, was too critical and violent to admit of any relaxation; and as the French cavalry of the Guard came up to the opposite side, they were hastily hurried forward, and trampling under-foot the dead bodies and wounded of either army, forced their way through the burning houses, with loud shouts, swords glittering, banners waving, and all the animation of war, to the front of the battle. Still the Austrians, with invincible resolution, made good the post on the ridge behind; but as evening approached, the masses on their left flank which had crossed at Wels, and other places in the upper part of 1 Pel. ii. 209, the stream, became so threatening that Hiller drew off his 202, 207. troops, and fell back in the night to Enns, where he burned Norv. iii. 209, the bridge over the river of the same name, and continued 183. his retreat towards Amstetten.1 In this terrific combat 215. Stut. Jom. ii. 182, LVII. 1809. CHAP. few trophies were taken by the victors; the French could only boast of four guns and two standards wrested from the enemy, while on each side six thousand brave men had fallen a sacrifice to their heroic sense of patriotic duty.* 13. army towards Vienna. This severe loss altogether disabled Hiller from making any further resistance to the advance of the invading army Advance of to Vienna; and he accordingly fell back, as fast as the the French encumbrance of so many wounded would permit, to the neighbourhood of the capital. Napoleon arrived on the opposite side of the Traun to Ebersberg, during the latter period of the combat, and passed through the town soon after it had ceased. However much inured to scenes of carnage, he was strongly impressed by the unwonted horrors which there presented themselves, where brave men by thousands lay weltering in their blood, amidst burning rafters and smoking ruins, and the first who had fallen were thrown into the river, or crushed under the feet of the horses, or by the wheels of the artillery which had since passed over them. He testified accordingly considerable indignation, both at Massena for provoking so desperate a contest, where a flank movement might have rendered it unnecessary; and at Lannes, whose corps was to cross at Wels, farther up the river, for not having made his dispositions so as to be up in time to take a part in the strife, by attacking the flank or rear of Hiller's corps. After passing Ebersberg, however, being uncertain of the movements of the Archduke, and fearful of advancing into 202. Pel. iii. the interior without being aware of the position of his 220, 235. Jom. ii. 182, principal adversary, he halted for two days at Enns, reestablished the bridge, and collected a number of boats,1 which he already foresaw would be required for the difficult From 4th to 7th May. 1 Stut. 201, 183. *The author has been the more particular in the description of this combat, not only from its peculiar and terrible character, but because the castle and bridge of Ebersberg form well-known objects to every traveller who has visited Vienna; and it is desirable that the multitude of English who frequent that capital in quest of pleasure or amusement, should be aware of the heroic deeds of which the Gothic castle, under whose walls they pass, has been the theatre. + During this terrible action, the bridge and street immediately leading from it were so encumbered with the wounded, that Massena was driven to the cruel necessity of commanding the fresh troops which came up to throw their maimed comrades into the river; and such of them as were struck down were treated in the same manner by those who next came up to the attack. There was no alternative, for else the causeway would soon have become impassable, and the division in front have been entirely cut off.-See CADET DE GRASSECOURT'S Voyage en Autriche à la suite de l'Armée Française, 1809, p. 173. cperation of crossing the Danube in front of Vienna; while his advanced guard, under Lannes and Massena, pursued their route by the great road to the capital. city. CHAP. LVII. 1809. 14. Anticipating a battle on the woody ridge which lies between St Polten and Vienna, the Emperor concentrated his troops before attempting the passage of that defile; And arrives but the precaution was unnecessary. Hiller had received before that orders to cross the Danube, and fall back, with all his forces, to the neighbourhood of the metropolis, and occupy the islands until the arrival of the Archduke. Meanwhile, continuing his advance along the Danube, he per- May 8. ceived, from the Abbey of Melk, situated on a high rock, a considerable encampment of soldiers on the left bank of the river. Devoured with anxiety to know to which army they belonged, he despatched a sergeant of the Old Guard and six chosen men; who soon made their way across in a boat, and brought over three Austrian soldiers, who reported that they belonged to the Archduke's army, and that he was advancing by forced marches, in hopes of arriving at the capital before the enemy. This important intelligence made Napoleon redouble his activity; orders were given to Massena to watch, with the utmost vigilance, all the points where a passage of the Danube could be effected, while Lannes and Bessières were directed to ad- May 9. 1 Pel. ii. 220, vance with increased celerity to the capital. All arms accordingly pressed on with the utmost expedition; and, 203, 212. on the 10th of May, being exactly a month from the 186. time when the Austrian standards crossed the Inn, the French eagles appeared before the walls of Vienna.1 254. Stut. Jom. ii. 182, observations Lion. Riding from Melk towards St Polten, with Berthier and Lannes, the Emperor's eyes were riveted on the 15. Gothic towers of Diernstein, the scene of the captivity of Napoleon's Richard Coeur-de-Lion, which rose in gloomy magnifi- on Richard cence at some distance on the other side of the Danube. Coeur-deHis attention was instantly absorbed by that interesting object. He could speak for long on no other subject. “He also," said Napoleon, "had been a warrior in Syria and Palestine. He was more fortunate than we at St Jean de Acre, but not more valiant than you, my brave Lannes. He beat the great Saladin. And yet hardly had he returned to Europe, than he fell into the hands of persons who certainly were of a very different calibre. He CHAP. LVII. 1809. 1 Pelet, ii 246, 247. 16. Ineffectual attempt to defend Vienna. was sold by a Duke of Austria to an Emperor of Germany, who has been rescued from oblivion by that act alone. The last of his court, Blondel, alone remained faithful to him; but his nation made great sacrifices for his deliverance." Still keeping his eyes riveted on the towers, he continued," These were barbarous times, which they have the folly to represent to us as so heroic; when the father sacrificed his children, the wife her husband, the subject his sovereign, the soldier his general, and all without shame or disguise, from the mere thirst of gold or power! How much are times changed now! what progress has civilisation made in our time! You have seen emperors, kings, in my power, as well as the capitals of their states, and I exacted from them neither ransom nor sacrifice of honours. And that successor of Leopold and Henry, who is already more than half in our power, will not be worse treated on this occasion than the preceding!" How deceitful is self-love! The ransom which Napoleon had exacted, on the very last occasion, from Austria (£5,000,000) and from Prussia (£16,000,000), far exceeded all that feudal cupidity had ever extorted; and in the dark annals of Gothic crime and treachery, nothing ever outdid the cruelty of the French Revolution, or the perfidy of his own seizure of the thrones of the Spanish Peninsula.1 Though deprived, by the passage of Hiller to the northern bank of the Danube, of the corps on which it had chiefly relied for protection, Vienna was by no means destitute of resources. The external barriers, indeed, were not in a condition to make any defence; and the Archduke Maximilian, to whom the command was intrusted, withdrew at once from the rich and extensive suburbs into the ancient walled capital. The walls were constructed, however, of solid granite, well armed with artillery, and capable of being supplied to any extent from the resources of the arsenal; while four thousand regular troops, and eight thousand landwehr and volunteers, were in arms within the city. Great efforts were made to electrify the inhabitants; and patriotic ardour was at its highest pitch. The people talked of their glorious resistance, one hundred and twenty years before, to the Turks, and loudly proclaimed their resolution to emulate the noble defence of Saragossa in CHAP. 1809. more recent times. But all history demonstrates, that there is one stage of civilisation when the inhabitants of a metropolis are capable of such a sacrifice in defence of their country, but only one; and that when passed, it is never recovered. The event has proved that the Russians, in 1812, were in the state of progress when such a heroic act was possible; but that the inhabitants of Vienna and Paris had passed it. Most certainly the citizens of London would never have buried themselves under the ruins of the Bank, the Treasury, or Leadenhall Street, before capitulating to Napoleon. In fact, without supposing that the members of a highly civilised and opulent community have altogether lost their patriotic spirit, it is evident that the sacrifices which are unavoidable, if obstinate resistance is attempted by a city in the later stages of 1 Pel. ii. 262, society, where wealth is concentrated, credit universal, 187. Stut. and hundreds of thousands would at once be reduced to 208, 215. beggary by its stoppage, are so great, that no moral 66. courage, however intrepid, is equal to the responsibility of incurring them.1 270. Jom. iii. Sav. iv. 64, 17. measures to reduce Vienna. Napoleon wisely trusted to two methods to effect the reduction of the city,-the cutting off its communication with the northern bank of the river, and the horrors of a Napoleon's bombardment. With this view, he directed Massena to make himself master of the island of Prater, while a similar attack was made on that of Jagerhaus by Lannes, so as to reach from both sides the great bridge of Spitz and Thabor. These attacks were entirely successful, for the Archduke had not forces sufficient to defend them; and such had been the confident security of the Aulic Council, that they had not taken the simple precaution of connecting the works of the place with the bridges of the Danube. At the same time a battery of twenty mortars May 12. was established nearly on the same ground from which the 278. Thib. Turks had, a hundred and twenty years before, bombarded vii. 255. Jom. the city; and with such vigour were they served, that in 209, 218. the next ten hours they discharged three thousand pro- 69. jectiles into the capital; and already, in the course of the night, it was in flames in several quarters.2 At that period, there lay sick in the Imperial palace, directly opposite to the French batteries, and incapable of bearing removal to a place of safety, a young princess, 2 Pel. ii. 262, iii. 187. Stut. Sav. iv. 65, |