Recollections of Marshal Macdonald, duke of Tarentu;

Front matter

tHe gift of president white

maintained by the unfversity in accord- ANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE GIFT p>^ ^__ Cornell University Library DC 198.M13A3 1892

V.I

Chapter I

Family History — Journey to the Hebrides — Parentage- Brothers and Sisters — AVith Maillebois — Life at Sancerre — Gentleman -Cadet — At St. Germain — Marriage -------- 121 — 13s

Chapter II

First Campaign — Battle of Jemmappes — Appointed Colonel — Arrival at Lille — Dumouriez's Treachery — Events at Lille — Interrogation — End of the Incident - 136 — 154

Chapter III

General Lamarliere — Macdonald appointed Adjutant- General — Execution of Laraarhere — Skirmishes at Linselles and Commines — Entry into Lille — A warlike Commissioner — Denunciation — A Loyal Friend — A Broken Reed — Extension of Coitimand — General Pichegru — Belgium and Holland — Battle of Hooglede — On the Waal - iSS — 169

Chapter IV

Passage of the Waal— Its Results— Reconnaissance at Arnheim— Arrival at Naarden— Capitulation of Naarden— On the Banks of the Yssel— Delfzyl— The Peace of Basle— Command in Overyssel— Ordered to Walcheren — Fever — Removal to Utrecht — Convalescence ------- 17° — 182

Chapter V

Army of the Sambre and Meuse — Donauwerth — Operations on the Rhine — Neuwied — Mistake of General Castelvert — His Excuse and Recall — At Diisseldorf — Fresh Hostilities on the Rhine — Arrival of General Augereau — Politeness and Literary Attainments of General Lefebvre — Macdonald summoned to Paris -------- 183—1^

Chapter VI

Ordered to Italy — The Army of Rome — General Cham- ~ pionnet — Insurrection in Rome — Championnet's Flight — Evacuation of Rome — General Mack — Nepi and Otricoli — Differences with Championnet — Explanation -------- 189 — 204

Chapter VII

At Fort Sant'-Angelo — Junction with Kellermann — Return to Rome — A Speedy Decision — Before Capua — A Truce — Arrest of Mack — Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Naples — Arrival at Naples — Rising in Naples — Insurrections in the Country — Miracle of St. Januarius — Preparations ------ 205 — 222

CONTENTS

Chapter VIII

Bad News — Advance to Rome — Alarm for Naples — Departure from Rome — Sarzana and Pontremoli — Rising in Tuscany — Surrender of Fort Sant'-Elmo — A Brave Action — Capitulation of Ferrara — Generals Montrichard and Scherer — Offer of Resignation 223 — 238

Chapter IX

Battle of Modena — The Marshal in Danger — Severely wounded — Montrichard's Mistake — Austrian Breach of Faith — March towards the Trebbia and Tidone — Battle of the Trebbia ----- 239 — 256

Chapter X

Absence of Moreau — Victor's Delay — Flight of Victor — Plans for Retreat — Difficulties of the March — Modena and Sassuolo — Hesitation of Moreau — Blockade of Mantua — Concentration near Genoa — The Army of the Alps 257 — 273

CHAPTER XL

A Valuable Collection Lost — Joubert Commander-in-Chief — Fall of Mantua — Death of Joubert — Back in Paris — Action against Moreau — Landing of Napoleon — The 1 8th Brumaire — ^Reorganization of the Armies — Moreau's Double-dealing — The Army of the Grisons — Peace of Lundville — Diplomatic Mission to Denmark ------- 274—284

CONTENTS

Chapter XII

i'AGE

At Copenhagen — Diplomacy against the Grain — Recall to France — Monsieur de Talleyrand — Trial of Moreau — Napoleon elected Emperor — The Legion of Honour — In Disgrace — Purchase of Courcelles — Recalled to Active Service — Domestic Arrangements - 285 — 294

Chapter XIII

Departure for Italy — Untrustworthy Intelligence — A Bad Beginning — Arrival at Vicenza — Prince Eugene — Warnings and Defensive Measures - - - 295 — 307

Chapter XIV

Defence of the Alpone — Retreat of the Archduke John — Combat on the Piave — An Incomplete Success — Capitulation of Prewald — Siege of Laybach — Advance to Gratz - -----_. 208 — 323

Chapter XV

Arrival at Gratz — Advance to Raab — Battle of Raab — Before Komorn — The Eve of ^Vagram — Battle of Wagram — The Marshal's Baton - - - 324 — 348

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN THE FIRST VOLUME.

The Emperor Napoleon (on Horseback) at the

B.4TTLE OF Wagram . . . to facc page 336

VIII

The Battle of Wagram. Cuirassiers waiting to

charge .... to face page 340

From the original by Raffet, engraved by Geoffroy.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.

In the month of May, 1825, the sexagenarian Marshal Macdonald, left a widower for the third time, was plunged in the deepest grief. By his previous marriage he had only daughters ; the last marriage, solemnized scarcely four years before and which had terminated so grievously, left him a son, heir to his name. It was for him — for this child still in the cradle — that, far from Paris, far from the commonplace consolations and condolences of the Court, the Marshal undertook, not to distract, but to occupy the isolation caused by his sorrow, in noting down the various stages of his long and glorious career. He did not pretend to write memoirs ; they are simply recollections destined for the child who was alone to see them in the future. Sixty-five years have elapsed since they were penned ; more than fifty have come and gone since the Marshal died, and his granddaughter, Madame la Baronne de Pommereul, has thought that, in the interest and for the VOL. I. ci advantage ot history, as well as for the reputation and fame of her ancestor, the moment has come to lift the veil which, until now, has covered these ' Recollections,' and has entrusted to me the task of revealing them to the public. It is a great honour, for which I am grateful to her. I could not help feeling respectful emotion as I turned over those pages impregnated with sincerity, and which breathed forth truth like a refreshing perfume. On no occasion, nor in any presence, did Macdonald conceal his thoughts, even when with the greatest of men, with Napoleon as with Louis XVIII.

Ask him for truth ; he will lay it before you in bare simplicity, neither coloured nor cloaked ; do not ask him for ornaments of style. He has made several candid confessions with regard to this. ' On reading this hastily-written narrative,' he says, early in his ' Recollections,' ' you will easily see, my son, from the broken sentences, the repetition of words, the mistakes in spelling and punctuation, how absorbed I am in the over-mastering remembrance of our misfortune, and you will judge of the state of my mind from those things better than from any description I could give you. Moreover, I never read anything a second time, not even my letters ; but I treat my official correspondence, suggestions, reports, instructions, opinions, very differently. You will be struck by a remarkable difference of style ; mine is generally abrupt, concise, and to the point, when the matter in hand needs no elucidation, for, as a rule, this is destructive of energy.' Elsewhere he says : ' I have not patience to re-read what I have already written, owing to a bad habit long since contracted, because, writing much and very rapidly, I should find many mistakes ; but in order to correct them, I should have either to scratch them out or begin afresh, and I have not time for that, although I am a very early riser. I know the value of time, and how to make the most of it. Do not, however, imitate my bad habits ; write less and more correctly. But these historical notes are for you alone, and you will make allowances for your father.' I feel assured that the reader will be no less indulgent, for in this case the facts are a hundred times more interesting than the style.

There is no single erasure in this manuscript of 472 folio pages ; there are consequently a certain number of detached or amphibological sentences, of which it has been found necessary to restore the equilibrium or the sense. With these exceptions, and with the omission of a few intimate details of precious interest for the family, but with none for anyone unconnected with it, the text has been treated with the respect it merits. Having said this, I ask permission of the reader, before he embarks upon these important ' Recollections,' to present him with an abridgment of the entire narrative, together with some explanations that I have discovered among the archives of the War Office in Paris.

I.

Neil Macdonald, father of the Marshal, was born on one of the last days of the year 17 19, at Boubry, or Coubry,* in South Uist, one of the Hebrides. Educated in France, at the Scotch College at Douai, he had returned to his own country, when the advent of the Pretender Charles Edward set Scotland in a blaze and imperilled the Hanoverian dynasty. An ardent Jacobite, Neil was one of the first to join the Pretender, and remained faithful to him to the last, when evil fortune compelled them both to seek safety in France. The proscribed Jacobite was, at the end of 1747, provided with a lieutenancy in Albany's Scotch regiment, and later on in that of Ogilvie ; but, at the peace of 1763, most of the foreign regiments in the service of France were disbanded, and Neil Macdonald had great difficulty in obtaining a meagre pension of 300 louis (about ^s*^) a year.

His son, Jacques-Etienne-Joseph-Alexandre, the future Marshal, was born on November 17, 1765, at Sedan, whither he had retired. The family shortly afterwards left Sedan and took up their abode at Sancerre.

* Vide inf. p. 126, note.

As soon as young Macdonald was of an age to commence serious studies he was sent to Paris, and confided to the care of a compatriot, Chevalier Pawlet (sic), who managed a sort of half-civil, half-military academy for young gentlemen. The new-comer joined with the idea, impressed upon him by his family, that he was destined for the Church, and with dreams of a canonry at Cambrai ; but his military instincts prevailed, ' Especially,' he tells us, ' after reading Homer, which set my brain on fire ; I thought myself an Achilles.' He had to undergo a disappointment ; having passed but an indifferent examination in mathematics, he was prevented joining as an Engineer the Practical School for Artillery and Engineering {^cole cT application de Vartillerie et du gdnie). He was in despair, until a fortuitous circumstance came to open for him a back-door into the army.

This was in 1784. The Dutch were in difficulties upon the subject of the navigation of the Scheldt with their powerful neighbour, the Emperor Joseph n., sovereign of Belgium. They had but an insignificant and quite insufficient army, and required generals, officers, and men. A French gentleman, the Comte de Maillebois, more or less authorized by the Government, raised on their behalf a legion composed of all arms ; thanks to the recommendation of some persons in good position, young Macdonald was included as a Lieutenant of Infantry. He was almost beside himself with delight. While under Pawlet's roof he fancied himself an Achilles ; now he modestlylimited his hopes to becoming a Turenne. He started for Holland, and actively employed himself for several months in drilling his company ; but, alas ! just as the campaign was expected to open, peace was concluded, peace with its results, the disbandment of the legion. The Dutch, good and thrifty managers, had stipulated that in case this not unforeseen event should happen, a lifepension should be granted, consisting of half the monthly pay, and saddled with the express condition that it should be spent in their country, or an indemnity, once for all, of a sum down calculated upon four years of the said pension ; to which it must be added that the military year in Holland consisted only of eight months, each month counting as forty-five days. Could Macdonald accept the first alternative at the risk of vegetating for the rest of his days as a poor pensioner of the United Provinces ? He preferred the sum down, and retired.

He was now without a profession, as the Maillebois regiment had never had a recognised existence in France, and accepted with alacrity a proposal to begin his way up the military ladder from the lowest rung, not even with a sub-lieutenant's commission, but as a gentleman-cadet, that is to say, as rather less than an officer. Thus it came about that he joined Dillon's Irish regiment. At the end of six months he was named Brevet Sub-lieutenant, and after another six months received the titular rank. Then he travelled from garrison to garrison, always working hard, and was in Calais when his father died at Sancerre in 1788. In October, 1791, he was promoted to a Lieutenancy in Dillon's regiment, and was first married. The Revolution was now in full activity, and war soon followed.

General Beurnonville, who knew and appreciated him, obtained his appointment as Captain, and took him as aide-de-camp ; but he could only keep him for two months, because Dumouriez, Commander-in-chief of the Army of the North, wished to take him in the same capacity. Beurnonville, in the interest of his proUge, strongly urged him to accept the Commander-in-chief's proposal. The advice was good, for in less than five months Macdonald became a Lieutenant- Colonel, the reward for his bravery at the battle of Jemmappes. Early in the winter of 1793, he chanced to be on leave in Paris, when Beurnonville, now War Minister, appointed him to the Colonelcy of the Picardy regiment — Colonel at eight-and-twenty, and,, moreover. Colonel of Picardy, the chief of the four old corps, the head of the French infantry ! As he himself says, surely that was enough to satisfy the most boundless ambition ; but fortune was not always going to smile so sweetly upon him, and his fate hung for a moment ' by a thread.'

Dumouriez had been defeated at Neerwinde, and, now become ' suspected,' nearly dragged Macdonald with him in his fall ; while, at the same time, he lost the support of Beurnonville, who had been handed over to the Austrians by Dumouriez. It was but a lightning-flash ; but the storm continued to mutter round his head, with occasional threatening gleams. Commissioners from the Convention succeeded each other in turn at Lille, all prejudiced against the Picardy Colonel, all excited by denunciations, accusations, and jealous rivalries. However, he continued to discharge his duties with the same zeal, the same energy, and the same success. At length the thunderbolt fell. It took — will it be believed ? — the form of promotion to the rank of General of Brigade, a promotion conferred by the Commander-in-chief, Houchard, and confirmed August 26, 1793, by the representatives of the people, Levasseur and Bentabole.

'This,' he tells us, 'came upon me like a thunderbolt, as, although for several months past I had performed the duties of the office, I had not had the responsibilities attaching to the rank. I represented that I was youthful and inexperienced ; but they would not listen. I had to bow to their decision, under pain of being treated as a "suspect" and arrested.'

Thus he now becomes a General — that is to say, more conspicuous, more responsible, and consequently more exposed. He had fresh successes, which carried in their train fresh jealousies, enemies, and calumniators. Fresh representatives came, with the most extended powers. Their first act was intended to be the deprivation of Macdonald, followed by his arrest and arraignment before the Revolutionary tribunal at Arras. Happily for him, the Commissioners received orders to hasten to Dunkirk without delay. While awaiting their return, General Souham, commanding at Lille, and who had some friendship for Macdonald, advised him to cross the frontier. He refused. A previous Commissioner had publicly expressed confidence in him some time before.

' He !' replied Souham. ' I called upon him to speak up for you, but he was silent.'

' Never mind,' answered Macdonald ; ' maybe he was intimidated by his superiors. I should like to try him.'

' Do so,' was the reply, ' and then come back to me.'

Macdonald departed in search of his friend, and, on finding him, said :

' Look here, you know that I am in disgrace, and have come to beg your help.'

'Indeed!' replied the other. 'Do you wish me to speak quite openly to you ? I tell you, you are not a republican, and I neither can nor will mix myself up with you.'

' But I have not changed, as far as I know, since we met on the frontier, and on that occasion you assured me publicly '

' I remember what you mean, but times are changed,' and he turned on his heel.

Notwithstanding Souham's renewed entreaties, Macdonald refused to fly; and it was well for him that he did so. The special Commissioners were unexpectedly recalled from Dunkirk to Paris without going to Lille again, and this time he was once more saved.

Fresh Commissioners, fresh alarm ! A decree of the Convention banished to thirty leagues of the frontiers, from the armies and from Paris, all ' ci-devarit ' nobles. Pichegru had just taken over the command of the Army of the North. He knew that Macdonald was an excellent officer, and begged that he might be exempted by name from this measure. The Commissioners got over the difficulty by employing him. Macdonald demanded written orders from them, otherwise, said he, in case of a defeat, he would assuredly be accused of harbouring evil designs, or even treason, for having remained in the army despite the decree of expulsion. The written orders were refused.

' So be it !' he exclaimed ; ' I shall send in my resignation.'

' If you leave the army we will have you arrested and brought to trial.'

He thus remained between two menaces of death ; but, unknown to him, he had a protector in Paris — the representative I sore — who had seen him at work on the frontier. Macdonald was a foreign name, it was not preceded by the hateful particle 'de,' therefore its bearer could not possibly be included or compromised among the ' ci-devant ' nobles. Such was Isore's argument, and he wrote to Macdonald as follows :

' I do not suspect your birth ; you arrived at a good moment. There never was a more revolutionary period than ours, and the proofs are all in your favour. I have seen the War Minister, and have turned aside the storm that threatened you. Keep quiet, go on working as usual. If anyone worries you, I will stand up for you. Employ your talents, perfect your military science, and continue to pulverize all slaves. You need never fear deprivation.'

This was the last attempt made by revolutionary determination against Macdonald.

Under Pichegru he took an active part in the conquest of Belgium and Holland ; it was at this time that he made the acquaintance of Moreau. Towards the end of November, 1794, he was quartered near Nimeguen, when he received, without ever having dreamed of such a step, his brevet of General of Division. He was just nineand-twenty, and three years previously he was a humble infantry Lieutenant. He inaugurated his new rank by a brilliant piece of work. The Waal was frozen over ; on the right bank lay the lines of the Anglo-Hanoverians. One morning Macdonald fancied that he discerned among the enemv a tendency to retreat. Three divisions were under his orders at that time, and he made them cross the river on the ice ; but the retrograde movement he had observed was merely caused by a misunderstanding. A severe combat ensued, and the enemy, who had previously had no intention of retiring, were compelled to do so, notwithstanding their resistance. What is even more to Macdonald's honour is that he took no credit to himself. It may be advantageous to draw attention to the reflections roused in him by his success, as they are a proof of his goodfeeling, and may be profitable to his brethren in arms.

' I returned to Nimeguen to make my report. The Commander-in-chief and the Commissioners came to meet me. I was almost ashamed to receive their congratulations, because chance had had a much greater share in the success of the day than my combinations, which, as a matter of fact, were only founded upon the apparent retreat of the forces opposed to me, who, in reality, had no idea of such a thing. This event proves that in war it is necessary, on many occasions, to trust to chance ; for I repeat now what I said at the time, that I owed more to luck than to wisdom, although success is generally supposed to depend upon plans, schemes, and arrangements. On this occasion the evacuation of Thiel seemed to me the evident result of a retrograde movement, whereas, in reality, that movement was caused by a misunderstanding.'

Be that as it may, the passage of the Waal, executed by main force, carried with it most important consequences. The Dutch, separated from their allies, abandoned by them, gave up all hope for themselves. Naarden, the masterpiece of Cohorn, Vauban's rival — Naarden, which had arrested Louis XIV. in his triumph — surrendered to Macdonald without a blow. Very proud of this achievement, he hastened to carry the news to Pichegru.

' Bah !' answered the latter with a laugh. ' I pay no attention now to anything less than the surrender of provinces 1'

The temperature had risen ; Macdonald was once more able to cross the Yssel upon the breaking ice, but on the other side he had to march through mud, and shortly afterwards floods covered roads and fields. He thus reached the Ems, on the other bank of which he perceived the Prussians ; but they had merely come to inform him that peace had been signed between France and Prussia. He paid for the fatigues of this severe campaign by a violent attack of fever, which nearly carried him off, and which the doctors could not subdue for a twelvemonth.

In September, 1796, he was ordered to the Rhine, to cover the retreat of the Army of the Sambre and Meuse. He went thither again the following year, when the peace of Campo-Formio put a stop to the progress of the French armies in Germany. It was then that General Augereau arrived at Cologne, covered with the laurels of the 1 8th Fructidor, over and above the palms of Castiglione. The new Commander-in-chief was resplendent with gold lace ; he even wore it on his short boots. He conceived the utmost contempt for the miserable Army of Holland, famished and ill-clothed as it was, and boasted of the Army of Italy, of their comforts, their exploits, and his own, without once mentioning the name of their commander — General Bonaparte.

' There,' he said in presence of a number of poor ragged soldiers, ' was not a man in that army, bad character as he might be, who had not ten gold pieces in his pocket and a gold watch.' 'This,' remarks Macdonald, 'was a hint to our fellows.'

Augereau's henchman was General Lefebvre ; the ' Recollections ' give us a few traits of the coarseness and eccentricity of this personage. The Commander-in-chief had asked the theatrical manager to provide him with some very revolutionary play ; he was served with one of Voltaire's tragedies, either ' Brutus' or the ' Death of Caesar.' Lefebvre, honestly believing that the piece had been written for the occasion, applauded with his clumsy hands, digging his elbow into his neighbour's side the while, and asking :

' Tell me, where is the chap who wrote this ? Is he here?'

The neighbour was Macdonald.

II.

In the spring of 1798 he was placed at the disposal of General Brune, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. He was sent by the latter to Rome, at that time a Republic, to take command of a division in place of General Gouvion St. Cyr. Italy was in a state of ferment, the Neapolitans threatening. At the urgent request of the King of Naples, and more particularly of Queen Caroline, inveterate enemy of France and republicans, the Austrian Government had sent them General Mack, a famous tactician.

Macdonald had only 12,000 men at his disposal, more than half of whom were scattered along the Neapolitan frontier. He cautioned the Directory, and begged for reinforcements. His prayer was 'answered by the creation of the Army of Rome, distinct from the Army of Italy, with Championnet as Commander-in-chief. We must observe i6 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

here that this appointment was distasteful to Macdonald. Not that he did not do justice to Championnet's character, but only with reservations, which, if not actually unjust, were, at any rate severe, and not exempt from bitterness.

' It must be acknowledged,' he says, ' that he was a very brave man, but without much capacity. He had acquired a certain reputation while with the Sambre and Meuse Army, by commanding a division that had met with success. A faction had obtained his nomination as Commander-in-chief He himself was a man of pleasant temper, and easy to live with ; but he was surrounded by envious, pretentious, and ambitious men.'

Scarcely had Championnet joined, when he learned that, without any declaration of war, the Neapolitan army had crossed the frontier at several points, and was marching in columns on Rome. It was five or six times as numerous as the French army. Not feeling himself in a position to defend the city with efficacy, and fearing lest he should be enclosed there, the Commander - in - chief negotiated a convention of evacuation with Mack, and departed, leaving to Macdonald all the responsibility of carrying out the stipulations.

An insurrection immediately broke out ; all the French who could be surprised singly — military or civil — were massacred. Macdonald's little division was outside the town, watching for the approach of the Neapolitans ; inside the walls, with himself.

he had but a handful of men. Nevertheless, he boldly faced the storm, charging through the streets abutting on the Piazza del Popolo, and shooting at the windows. At length he got the better of the rising, but would not evacuate Rome during the night, and waited for daylight. The evacuation was effected with dignity and without precipitation.

Whatever might be said, it was, beyond doubt, a bad beginning, and needed reparation by force of arms. While Championnet went to rally his other divisions, Macdonald established himself at Civita-Castellana with, at the outside, 5,000 or 6,000 men. Mack attacked him there with 40,000. The position was a good defensive one ; the Neapolitans failed, and fled to Rome, leaving their camp as it stood. This was the first of a series of successes : at Otricoli, where the hospital for the French sick and wounded was found full of corpses horribly mutilated ; at Calvi, where 2,000 men forced 7,000 to surrender. Having done all this single-handed, Macdonald rejoined the Commander-in-chief, whom he found curiously embittered. In his correspondence, while giving an account of his brilliant and successful operations, he had written in a jocular manner, instead of blowing his trumpet, ' with no other intention than that of showing how little glory was to be obtained from fighting enemies who, a few days before, had proved themselves both boastful and

VOL. I. ^ cowardly.' Now, jealous people had persuaded Championnet that his Lieutenant was laughing at him, and a dialogue was begun founded on this wrongful impression.

' "You want to make me pass for a tool."

' " What foundation have you for such a statement ? How dare anyone suggest that I could display such a want of courtesy to my chief ?"

' " Here is your correspondence."

' I explained it to him,' continued Macdonald, ' and he softened somewhat. General Eble, commanding the artillery, came up at this moment ; he was a friend of mine, and explained matters, and the General and I were outwardly reconciled.'

They returned victoriously to Rome, seventeen days after quitting it. That same evening a Neapolitan parlementaire* was brought to Macdonald, to ask permission for a belated column from Viterbo to pass through the town.

' Are you in earnest in making such a request ?' asked Macdonald.

' Certainly ; they tell me a truce has been proclaimed.'

' You have been misinformed. Lay down your arms ; that is the best thing you can do.'

' What ! Lay down our arms ? We are in force ; we will defend ourselves.'

* Vide inf., p. i8i, note.

' Very good ; you shall be taken back, and orders given to the commandant of Ponte-Molle to put all you gentlemen to the sword.'

' Is that your final decision, General ?'

' Undoubtedly.'

' In that case I will surrender at once.'

He was the chief of the column. The scene was amusing, worthy of an Italian farce.

Next day there appeared a general order congratulating the army upon its success. Macdonald's division was scarcely mentioned, and all the promotions and rewards went to the staff From Rome they advanced to Capua, which surrendered ; then, instead of marching boldly to Naples, Championnet consented to grant an armistice for an indefinite time. This resolution, taken contrary to the strenuous advice of Macdonald, had at least an immediate and decisive result ; after a heated and final discussion with his chief, Macdonald offered to resign, and his offer was immediately accepted.

Shortly afterwards the armistice was violated. The lazzaroni disarmed the garrison of Naples, organized themselves to defend the town, and Mack, who like Macdonald had resigned, was thankful to escape safe and sound from the clutches of the mob, who would have lynched him. The French army marched upon and took Naples in spite of the resistance of the lazzaroni. Macdonald went thither as a visitor, spent a week there, and returned to Rome to await his farther destination.