at Leipsic, with all the honours due to the illustrious deceased.  A modest stone marks the spot where the body of the Prince was dragged from the river.  The Poles expressed a wish to. erect a monument to the memory of their countryman in the garden of M. Reichenbach, but that gentleman declared he would do it at his own expense, which he did.  The monument consists of a beautiful sarcophagus, surrounded by weeping willows.  The body of the Prince, after bring embalmed, was sent in the following year to Warsaw, and in 1816 it was deposited in the cathedral, among the remains of the Kings and great men of Poland.  The celebrated Thorwaldsen was commissioned to execute a monument for his tomb.  Prince Poniatowski left no issue but a natural son, born in 1790.  The royal race, therefore existed only in a collateral branch of King Stanislas, namely, Prince Stanislas, born in 1754.

CHAPTER XXX.

1813

Amount of the Allied forces against Napoleon—­Their advance towards the Rhine—­Levy of 280,000 men—­Dreadful situation of the French at Mayence—­Declaration of the Allies at Frankfort—­Diplomatic correspondents—­The Due de Bassano succeeded by the Duke of Vicenza —­The conditions of the Allies vaguely accepted—­Caulaincourt sent to the headquarters of the Allies—­Manifesto of the Allied powers to the French people.—­Gift of 30,000,000 from the Emperor’s privy purse—­Wish to recall M. de Talleyrand—­Singular advice relative to Wellington—­The French army recalled from Spain—­The throne resigned Joseph—­Absurd accusation against M. Laine—­Adjournment of the Legislative Body—­Napoleon’s Speech to the Legislative Body—­Remarks of Napoleon reported by Cambaceres.

When the war resumed its course after the disaster of Leipsic I am certain that the Allied sovereigns determined to treat with Napoleon only in his own capital, as he, four years before, had refused to treat with the Emperor of Austria except at Vienna.  The latter sovereign now completely raised the mask, and declared to the Emperor that he would make common cause with Russia and Prussia against him.  In his declaration he made rise of the singular pretext, that the more enemies there were against Napoleon there would be the greater chance of speedily obliging him to accede to conditions which would at length restore the tranquillity of which Europe stood so much in need.  This declaration on the part of Austria was an affair of no little importance, for she had now raised an army of 260,000 men.  An equal force was enrolled beneath the Russian banners, which were advancing towards the Rhine.  Prussia had 200,000 men; the Confederation of the Rhine 150,000:  in short, including the Swedes and the Dutch, the English troops in Spain and in the Netherlands, the Danes, who had abandoned us, the Spaniards and Portuguese, whose courage and hopes were revived by our reverses, Napoleon had arrayed against him upwards of a million of armed men.  Among them, too, were the Neapolitans, with Murat at their head!