elong to
England.

--[Afterwards to be ceded by her to Greece. Belgium is free.]--

Romulus never thought he was founding Rome for Goths and priests.
Alexander did not foresee that his Egyptian city would belong to the
Turks; nor did Constantine strip Rome for the benefit of Mahomet II. Why
then fight for a few paltry villages?

Thus have we been gloriously conquering for Austria and England. An
ancient State is overturned without noise, and its provinces, after being
divided among different bordering States, are now all under the dominion
of Austria. We do not possess a foot of ground in all the fine countries
we conquered, and which served as compensations for the immense
acquisitions of the House of Hapsburgh in Italy. Thus that house was
aggrandised by a war which was to itself most disastrous. But Austria
has often found other means of extending her dominion than military
triumphs, as is recorded in the celebrated distich of Mathias Corvinus:

"Bella gerunt alli, to felix Austria nube;
Nam quae Mars allis, dat tibi regna Venus."

["Glad Austria wins by Hymen's silken chain
What other States by doubtful battle gain,
And while fierce Mars enriches meaner lands,
Receives possession from fair Venus' hands."]

The Directory was far from being satisfied with the treaty of
Campo-Formio, and with difficulty resisted the temptation of not
ratifying it. A fortnight before the signature the Directors wrote to
General Bonaparte that they would not consent to give to the Emperor
Venice, Frioul, Padua, and the 'terra firma' with the boundary of the
Adige. "That," said they, "would not be to make peace, but to adjourn
the war. We shall be regarded as the beaten party, independently of the
disgrace of abandoning Venice, which Bonaparte himself thought so worthy
of freedom. France ought not, and never will wish, to see Italy
delivered up to Austria. The Directory would prefer the chances of a war
to changing a single word of its ultimatum, which is already too
favourable to Austria."

All this was said in vain. Bonaparte made no scruple of disregarding his
instructions. It has been said that the Emperor of Austria made an offer
of a very considerable sum of money, and even of a principality, to
obtain favourable terms. I was never able to find the slightest ground
for this report, which refers to a time when the smallest circumstance
could not escape my notice. The character of Bonaparte st