Parliament was prorogued on the 11th of July by a speech from the throne, in which the prince regent, after recapitulating the events which led to the glorious termination of the war—for the war, as will be seen, had terminated—trusted that there would be no relaxation in the exertions necessary to establish the permanent peace and security of Europe.
CONGRESS OF VIENNA.
The Congress of Vienna continued its sitting at the commencement of this year. The result of the deliberations of the allied sovereigns may be thus briefly stated:—The King of Prussia obtained the electorate of Saxony, Swedish Pornerania, and a great portion of the territory between the Rhine and the Meuse; Russia obtained the grand duchy of Warsaw under the name of the kingdom of Poland; Austria, as before related, recovered Lombardy, etc.; Tuscany was given to the Archduke Ferdinand; Genoa was bestowed upon the King of Sardinia; Parma and Placentia were ratified to the ex-empress Maria Louisa; the foreign policy of the German states was submitted to the decision of a federal diet, under the control of Austria and Prussia; Sweden acquired Norway at the expense of Denmark; England was gratified by the acquisition of Heligoland, the Cape of Good Hope, the Isle of France, the Ionian Islands, Malta, and all the colonies won during the war; and Holland and Belgium were confirmed as the kingdom of the Netherlands, under the House of Orange. The allied sovereigns were thus engaged in parcelling out the world, when Talleyrand informed them that the prisoner of Elba had returned to France, and was again seated on the throne of the Bourbons.
AFFAIRS OF FRANCE.
Although Napoleon consented to retire to the island of Elba over which he was to rule, it was never his intention to remain there. No sooner had he arrived, in fact, than he commenced his intrigues, in order to effect a return to France and empire. Under the plea of nonnecessity he dismissed his few troops, and these joined their old regiments for the purpose of preparing the general mind to receive back the emperor, who had so often led them on to victory. All these regiments were, in fact, almost to a man in his favour; the tri-coloured cockade was preserved in their knapsacks, and his memory in their hearts. These sentiments were reported to Napoleon; and on the 27th of February he embarked in a brig of war, followed by six light barks, and, stealing cautiously over the Mediterranean, arrived on the 1st of March at Camres. He had with him one thousand soldiers, and his three generals, Bertrand, Drouet, and Cambronne. With these he proceeded onwards to Paris; and during several days he marched without meeting any forces. On the 7th of March, however, a body of seven hundred men presented themselves at the defile of Vizille, near Grenoble; and the officer in command threatened to fire on his party. But Napoleon was not afraid of being shot by Frenchmen. Advancing alone, and throwing open his riding coat, he remarked:—“Soldiers, it is I! Look upon me! If there is a man amongst you who would slay his emperor, he comes with uncovered breast to offer himself to his weapon!” Instead of the sound of musketry the loud shout of “Long live the emperor!” rent the air; and, hoisting the same standard with his own troops all marched together upon Grenoble. They were soon after joined by Colonel Labédoyère, at the head of the seventh regiment; and Ney was the next to join his ranks. Ney had been sent by the French government to check his progress; and he had boasted that he would bring Napoleon to Paris in an iron cage: but no sooner had he reached Auxerre than he declared the Bourbon cause hopeless, and at the head of 14,000 men joined his old emperor’s standard. Finally, with the exception of Marmont, Macdonald, and some other marshals, all the army deserted the cause of the Bourbons. Louis fled from, and Napoleon entered Paris in triumph.
Napoleon resumed the reigns of empire in the midst of the loud acclamations of the Parisians; though there were many who preserved an ominous silence. All, however, seemed to go well; for at an extraordinary assembly in the Champ de Mai of the electoral colleges, a new constitution was sworn to by the emperor and men of all parties. But there was a storm arising in the horizon which was to shatter his throne into pieces for ever. All Europe was preparing to crush his newly risen power. Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Holland entered into a treaty, binding themselves to support the house of Bourbon; to preserve inviolate the treaty of Paris; to bring into the field 150,000 men each; and not to lay down their arms until Napoleon was for ever crushed.