attended the vespers, and when they were over, he passed an hour with the Buonapartes, or admitted to his presence some members of the clergy. The day was concluded, as it was begun, with some hours of devotion.

Had Pius VII. possessed the character of a Pius VI. he would never have crossed the Alps; or, had he been gifted with the spirit and talents of Sextus V. or Leo X. he would never have entered France to crown Buonaparte, without previously stipulating for himself, that he should be put into possession of the sovereignty of Italy. You can form no idea what great stress was laid on this act of his Holiness, by the Buonaparte family, and what sacrifices were destined to be made, had any serious and obstinate resistance been apprehended. Threats were indeed employed personally against the Pope, and bribes distributed to the refractory members of the sacred college; but it was no secret, either here or at Milan, that Cardinal Fesch had carte blanche with regard to the restoration of all provinces seized, since the war, from the Holy See, or full territorial indemnities in their place, at the expense of Naples and Tuscany: and indeed, whatever the Roman Pontiff has lost in Italy, had been taken from him by Buonaparte alone; and the apparent generosity, which policy and ambition required, would, therefore, have merely been an act of justice. Confiding foolishly in the honour and rectitude of Nalone, without any other security than the assertion of Fesch, Pius VII. within a fortnight's stay in France, found the great difference between the promises held out to him, when residing as a Sovereign at Rome, and their accomplishment, when he had so far forgotten himself, and his sacred dignity, as to inhabit as a guest the castle of the Thuilleries.

Pius VII. mentioned, the day after his arrival at Fontainbleau, that it would be a gratification to his own subjects, were he enabled to communicate to them the restoration of the former ecclesiastical domains, as a free gift of the Emperor of the French, at their first conference; as they would then be as well convinced of Napoleone's good faith, as he was himself. In answer, his Holiness was informed, that the Emperor was unprepared then to discuss political subjects, being totally occupied with the thoughts how to entertain worthily his high visitor, and to acknowledge becomingly the great honour done, and the great happiness con

ferred on him by such a visit. As soon as the ceremony of the coronation was over, every thing, he hoped, would be arranged to the reciprocal satisfaction of both parties.

About the middle of last December, Buonaparte was again asked to fix a day, when the points of negotiation between him and the Pope could be discussed and settled. Cardinal Caprara, who made this demand, was referred to Talleyrand, who denied having yet any instructions, though in daily expectation of them.. Thus the time went on until February, when Buonaparte, informed the Pope of his determination to assume the crown of Italy; and of some new changes necessary, in consequence, on. the other side of the Alps.

Either seduced by caresses, or blinded by his unaccountable partiality for Buonaparte, Pius VII. if left to himself, would not only have renounced all his former claims, but probably have made new sacrifices to this idol of his infatuation. Fortunately, his counsellors were wiser and less deluded; otherwise the remain-ing patrimony of St. Peter might now have constituted a part of Napoleone's inheritance in Italy. "Am I not, Holy Father!". exclaimed the Emperor frequently, "your son, the work of your hand? and if the pages of history assign me any glory, must it not be shared with you? Or rather, do you not share it with me? Any thing that impedes my successes, or makes the continuance of my power uncertain, or hazardous, reflects on you, and is dan-gerous to you. With me you will shine or be obscured, rise or fall. Could you therefore hesitate (were I to demonstrate to you the necessity of such a measure) to remove the Papal See to Avignon, where it formerly was, and continued for centuries, and to enlarge the limits of my kingdom of Italy, with the ecclesias-tical states? Can you believe my throne at Milan safe, as long as it is not the SOLE throne of Italy? Do you expect to govern at Rome, when I cease to reign at Milan? No! Holy Father! the Pontiff who placed the crown on my head, should it be shaken,, will fall to rise no more." If what Cardinal Caprara said can be depended upon, Buonaparte frequently used to intimidate or flatter the Pope in this manner.

The representations of Cardinal Caprara changed Napoleone's: first intention of being again crowned by the Pope as a King of Italy.. Hiscrafty Eminence observed, that according to the Emperor's own

declaration, it was not intended that the crown of France and Italy should continue united. But were he to cede one supremacy, confirmed by the sacred hands of a Pontiff, the partisans of the Bourbons, or the factions in France, would then take advantage to diminish, in the opinion of the people, his right and the sacredness of his Holiness, and perhaps make even the crown of the French empire unstable. He did not deny that Charlemagne was crowned by a Pontiff in Italy, but this ceremony was performed at Rome, where that Prince was proclaimed an Emperor of the Holy Roman and German Empire, as well as a King of Lombardy and Italy. Might not circumstances turn out so favourable for Napoleone the First, that he also might be inaugurated an Emperor of the Germans, as well as of the French? This last compliment, or prophecy, as Buonaparte's courtiers call it, (what a prophet a Caprara!) had the desired effect, as it flattered equally Napoleone's ambition and vanity. For fear, however, that Talleyrand, and other anti-catholic counsellors, who wanted him to consider the Pope merely as his first almoner, and to treat him as all other persons of his household, his Eminence sent his Holiness as soon as possible packing for Rome. Though I am neither a cardinal nor a prophet, should you and I live twenty years longer, and the other Continental Sovereigns not alter their present incomprehensible conduct, I can, without any risk, predict, that we shall see Rome salute the second Charlemagne an Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; if before that time death. does not put a period to his encroachments and gigantic plans.

LETTER XXIII.

Paris, August, 1805.

MY LORD,

NO Sovereigns have, since the Revolution, displayed more grandeur of soul, and evinced more firmness of character, than the present King and Queen of Napies. Encompassed by a revolutionary volcano, more dangerous than the physical one; though disturbed at home, and defeated abroad, they have neither been disgraced nor dishonoured. They have, indeed, with all other Italian princes, suffered territorial and pecuniary losses

but these were not yielded through cowardice or treachery, but enforced by an absolute necessity, the consequence of the desertion or inefficacy of allies.

But their Sicilian Majesties have been careful, as much as they were able, to exclude from their councils both German illuminati and Italian philosophers. Their principal minister, Chevalier Acton, has proved himself worthy of the confidence with which his Sovereigns have honoured him, and of the hatred with which he has been honoured by all revolutionists—the natural and irreconcileable enemies of all legitimate sovereignty.

Chevalier Acton is the son of an Irish physician, who first was established at Besançon, in France, and afterwards at Leghorn, in Italy. He is indebted for his present elevation to his own merit, and to the penetration of the Queen of Sardinia, who discovered in him, when young, those qualities, which have since distinguished him as a faithful counsellor and an able minister. As loyal as wise, he was, from 1789, an enemy to the French Revolution. He easily foresaw that the specious promise of regeneration, held out by impostors or fools, to delude the ignorant, the credulous, and the weak, would end in that universal corruption and general overthrow, which we since have witnessed, and the effects of which our grand-children will mourn.

When our Republic, in April, 1792, declared war against Austria, and when, in the September following, the dominions of his Sardinian Majesty were invaded by our troops, the neutrality of Naples continued, and was acknowledged by our government. On the 16th of December following, our fleet from Toulon, however, cast anchor in the Bay of Naples, and a grenadier of the name of Belleville, was landed as an ambassador of the French Republic, and threatened a bombardment, in case the demands he presented in a note, were not acceded to in twentyfour hours. Being attacked in time of peace, and taken by sur prise, the Court of Naples was unable to make any resistance, and Chevalier Acton informed our grenadier-ambassador, that this note had been laid before his Sovereign, who ordered him to sign an agreement in consequence.

When, in February, 1793, the King of Naples was obliged, for his own safety, to join the league against France, Acton concluded a treaty with your country, and informed the Sublime

Porte of the machinations of our Committee of Public Safety, in sending De Semonville as an ambassador to Constantinople; which, perhaps, prevented the Divan. from attacking Austria,. and occasioned the capture and imprisonment of our emissary.

Whenever our government has, by the success of our arms, been enabled to dictate to Naples, the removal of Acton has been insisted upon; but though he has ceased to transact business ostensibly as a minister, his influence has always, and deservedly, continued unimpaired, and he still enjoys the just confidence and esteem of his Prince.

But is his Sicilian Majesty equally well represented at the cabinet of St. Cloud, as served in his own capital? I have told you before, that Buonaparte is extremely particular in his acceptance of foreign diplomatic agents; and admits none near his person, whom he does not believe to be well inclined to him.

Marquis de Gallo, the ambassador of the King of the Two Sicilies, to the Emperor of the French, is no novice in the diplomatic career. His Sovereign has employed him for these fifteen years in the most delicate negotiations, and nominated him, in May 1795, a minister of the foreign department, and a successor of Chevalier Acton, an honour which he declined. In the summer and autumn of 1797, Marquis de Gallo assisted at the conferences at Udine, and signed, with the Austrian plenipotentiaries, the peace of Campo Formio, on the 17th of October, 1797.

During 1798, 1799, and 1800, he resided as Neapolitan ambassador at Vienna, and was again entrusted by his Sovereign with several important transactions with Austria and Russia. After a peace had been agreed to between France and the Two Sicilies, in March, 1801, and the Court of Naples had every reason to fear, and of course to please, the Court of St. Cloud, he obtained his present appointment, and is one of the few ambassadors here, who has escaped both Buonaparte's private admonitions in the diplomatic circle, and public lectures in Madame Buonaparte's drawing-room.

This escape is so much the more fortunate and singular, as our government is far from being content with the mutinous spirit (as Buonaparte calls it) of the government of Naples; which, considering its precarious and enfeebled state, with a French army in the heart of the kingdom, has resisted our attempts, and