he was made a Commander, and commanded the Orestes. Sept. 10. At Copenhagen, Mr Rothe, aged 94, father of the bookselling trade in Denmark, and most probably of Europe. He came originally from Germany, and edited the works of Klopstock. - At Carskey, Lieut.-Colonel Malcolm Macneil of Carskey. 11. At Walton, near Liverpool, David Graham, Esq. the last surviving son of the late Robert Graham, Esq. of Fintry. 20. At Geneva, Miss Robina Burnside, niece of the late Col. Robert Wright, of Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. -At Langdales, in the parish of Ainstable, Mrs Isabella Hogarth, aged 103 years. She was attended to the grave by no fewer than 46 greatgrand-children. 22. At Forth-Street, Edinburgh, Margaret Anne, eldest daughter of the late Jolm Thomson, Esq. 23. At Bath, Captain Brathwaite Christie, late of the 5th dragoon guards, third son of the late Admiral Christie of Baberton. 25. At Troon, Lieut. Bowie, R. N. and Commander of the Duke of Portland's yacht. -At Gunton, Norfolk, the Right Hon. Georgina Lady Suffield, wife of the Right Hon. Edward Lord Suffield, and only child of the late Right Hon. Geo. Edward Venables Lord Vernon. -In Behnort, in his thirty-second year, Braithwaite Christie, Esq. therd son of the late Admiral Alexander Christie, of Baberton, county of MidLothian, North Britain, being just compelled, by an obstinate and painful disease, to exchange for half pay a troop in the 5th regiment of dragoon guards, of which he arrived to be the senior captain. Attached to the service from a boy, his gal Jantry and perseverance, in arduous trials, were conspicuous during the campaigns of the Peninsula, and at the battle of Waterloo. He was aidde camp to Sir William Ponsonby, and, cn the fall of that distinguished General, was instantly again advanced to the staff, by Sir Denis Pack, whose confidence and friendship he always enjoyed 26. At Inverary. Mrs Elizabeth Campbell, relict of Provost Lachlan Campbell. -At Chelsea, after a short illness, Henry Cooper, Esq. barrister. 27. At his father's house, in the 50th year of his age, David Bogue, of the Inner Temple, London, son of the Rev. Dr Bogue, of Gosport. - At Ardeer House, Patrick Warner, Esq. of Ardeer, and late of the R. N. 29. At Dunse, the Rev. Andrew Davidson, senior pastor of the second United Associate Congregation there, in the 86th year of his age, and 34th of his ministry. At Loudhani Hail, Suffolk, Lady Sophia Macdonald, wife of James Macdonald, Esq. M.P. -At Greenwich, the Lady of Captain James Ross, H. E. C. S. -At Barwhinnock, George Douglas Macmillan, Esq. late of Kingston, Jamaica. 30. At Helensburgh, John Bartholomew, Esq. of Cotton Hall, merchant, Glasgow. - At Tarbolton, in the 79th year of his age, universally regretted, Captain Robert Cowan, late of the Royal Scots Greys, in which regiment he served with distinguished merit, for the very long period of upwards of 15 years. Oct. 1. Mary, widow of John Stockdale, bookseller, Piccadilly, in her 76th year. 2. At Muttonhole, Mr J. Mann, vintner, aged 62. - At Shawhill, John Carlyle, Esq. - At Airdrie, Mrs Erskine, of Airdrie. 3. At his father's house, Tomperran, Perthshire, Alex. M'Laren, Esq. late of Manchester. William Marshall, Esq. Perth. -At Edinburgh, Esther, the wife of the Rev. Christopher Anderson. 4. At Hawick, Mr George Waldie, merchant. - At Arbroath, in his 42d year, David Carey, Esq. 5. At Stirling, Alexander, aged four years and six months; and, on the same day, William Fraser, aged two years and five months, both sons of Mr Alexander Blackadder, civil engineer, Allan Oct. 6. At Edinburgh, Robert Wellwood, second son of Robert Clarke, of Comrie, Esq. -At Edinburgh, the Rev. Robert Elliot, Reetor of Wheldrake and Huggate, in Yorkshire. -At Kirkton, near Dumbarton, Mr Robert Knox, late merchant in Glasgow, in the 90th year of his age. 7. At Stockbridge, Mr George Mitchell, merchant, Leith. - Mr J. Otridge, bookseller, of the Strand, London, aged 55. 8. At Woodhill, Robert Miln, Esq. of Woodhill. 9. At Falkirk, Miss Helen Scott, daughter of the late David Scott, Esq. of Netherbenholm. -At Kingston, East Lothian, William Lawrie, Esq. At the Barracks, Chichester, Capt. M'Iver, 98th foot. 10. At Whitehill, the wife of John Robison, Esq. Coates Crescent. 11. At Inverleith House, James Rocheid, Esq. of Inverleith. -At Coblentz, of apoplexy, his Excellency Baron Thielman, General of cavalry, and Commander in Chief of the Prussian provinces on the Rhine. 12. At Edinburgh, Nathan Mills, printer, aged 75, a native of Boston, North America. At the evacuation of that town by the British troops he accompanied the army as editor and printer, and published a newspaper under the title of the Massachusetts Gazette, against which a severe edict was issued, prohibiting its being brought into the State. His custom was to express himself in se vere terms against his countrymen for throwing off their allegiance to the British Government, which he always termed the parent country. It may be some consolation to his relatives and friends to know that he was well atten,led to during the time of his trouble, under which he evinced a great degree of patience and resignation. This 15. At Ballinrobe, in Ireland, Mary, wife of John M'Robert, Esq. M.D. Surgeon in the 10th hussars. 16. At Malahide, aged 98 years, John Haig, Esq. M.D., late Physician to the Forces at Cork. truly skilful and zealous officer began his career under Admiral Saunders, in the Mediterranean, where (although then a very young man) he had sufficient nerve to inoculate the Dey of Algiers; an operation previously unknown to these semibarbarians; a race, whose conduct, in case of failure, no man could calculate on: in fact, he operated with a drawn scymeter over his head! The Emperor of Morocco was also his patient Dr Haig served his country in the reigns of George II., 11., and IV., and has left two most amiable children (females) behind him. 17. At Edinburgh, in his 81th year, Mr Alexander Hacket, formerly of Fraserburgh. Lately, after a short illness, the Princess Kutusow Smolenski, widow of Field Marshal Blucher. -At Haining, Mr George Bowie, late merchant in Kilmarnock, aged 68 years. - At his house, Keir-Street, Edinburgh, suddenly, Mr Robert Pasley, session-clerk of St. Cuthbert's parish. At 32, Bishopsgate-Within, London, Hugh Blair Finlay, bookseller, stationer, and librarian, in the 27th year of his age. At Dublin, the Rev. Benjamin McDowall, D.D. senior minister of the Scots Church, Mary's Abbey. - At North Shields, while sitting alone writing a letter, Mr W. Richardson, notary public, the elegant translator of the Odes of Anacreon, and author of several works of genius. -At London, Viscountess Templeton. At Bath, the Hon. Sarah Jones, youngest daughter of the late Viscount Ranelagh. At York, Elizabeth Elgin, a poor widow, in the 102d year of her age. Her mother lived to be 105 years old, and her grandmother attained the still greater age of 104, J. Ruthven & Son, Printers. THE EDINBURGH MAGAZINE, AND LITERARY MISCELLANY. DECEMBER 1824. HISTOIRE MILITAIRE DE LA CAMPAGNE DE RUSSIE EN 1812*. THE Campaign of the year 1812 forms, probably, the most extraordinary military event in the history of the world, and, without doubt, the most interesting in the history of civilized Europe. The end of that memorable year was fraught with deeds which shook the nations of the earth, kept in agitation the minds of hundreds of millions of its population, and ultimately had an important influence upon the reigning dynasties of the continent. Little further intelligence respecting the gigantic invasion of Russia, and the awful overthrow of the splendid legions of Napoleon, can now be expected from the pens of the Germans, the French, or the English, with respect to the stupendous events to which we have just alluded. It is to the Russians, of whose works and literature but little is known in Great Britain, we must look for the elucidation of many important events. Accordingly, we took up the work, whose title is at the head of this article, with great anxiety to know its contents. Having some time ago seen a prospectus of it in Russia, we confess we had no prepossessions in its favour. When we remembered that the Colonel Boutourlin is Aide-de-Camp of the Emperor Alexander, and when we found that the work was dedicated to His Imperial Majesty, we augured nothing impartial, no plain and correct statement of facts in its pages; because, although the author be a man of considerable talents, and enjoyed the means of obtaining the most detailed and accurate accounts respecting the subjects of which he treats, yet we feared that the influence of a despotic government, and the trammels of a despotic censorship, would be every where evident-which is not the case. The work has been printed in Russia, and in the situation in which the Colonel stands to the Emperor, as well as on account of the interest which, no doubt, his Majesty had in seeing an account of events so memorable to his country as well as to himself, we may naturally suppose that the manuscript met with Imperial approbation, and that the proof sheets were even examined and revised by the Autocrat of all the Russias. In fact, we may conceive that Colonel Boutourlin is the representative of the Emperor, and of the principal officers of the Russian army, throughout his volumes. Colonel Boutourlin's has been a laborious performance, and we think it is one which does him great credit, both as an officer and as an author. No work ever issued from the autocratic press containing the same liberality of sentiment, so freely discussing the actions of the Russian commanders, and breathing so much impartiality,-though we often discover a bearing favourable to his country and his countrymen. Such a performance could • Histoire Militaire de la Campagne de Russie en 1812, par le Colonel Boutourlin, Aide-de-Camp de S. M. l'Empereur de Russie. 2 Vol. 8vo. Paris. 1824. 4 L VOL. XV. not have seen the light under the reign of any of Alexander's predecessors; and notwithstanding some other strong proofs to the contrary, we are now more disposed than ever to believe that the present Autocrat of Russia, if uncontrolled by his Cabinet Council and his Ministers, would show less ambition, and less love of despotic-fascinatingly named monarchical—power than is now generally ascribed to him. The Colonel's volumes contain an authentic narration of facts, which fill up a most important chasm in the history of the Grand Campaign. They contain twelve chapters, in which all the minutia with respect to the plans of operations, the state of the opposing armies, the marches and the countermarches, the positions, the engagements and their results, &c., are clearly stated; and each chapter generally concludes with a critique upon the conduct and operations of the commanding officers, Russian as well as French. The work is well illustrated by an atlas, containing numerous important military statistic tables, a couple of maps shewing the movements of the armies, and beautiful plans of all the engagements of consequence: and it will become a text-book for military men and young officers, who will now be able to study the history of the war in Russia in 1812 with delight and infinite utility. While they read Colonel Boutourlin's remarks-though not always his own-his praise and his blame, respecting the chief actions of the great military commanders of different nations, they will be excited the more to think for themselves, and they will form their own conclusions. According to Sir Robert Wilson, there never was a campaign in which the two opposing armies lost such frequent opportunities of obtaining certain victory, and insuring the total destruction of each other, as that between the French and the Russians*: hence the utility of an impartial history of the great events which signalized it. The style of the Colonel's work is perspicuous, forcible, and lively; but we regret, that either he or his editors at Paris have barbarously adopted the Polish mode of representing Russian words in Roman characters, without attending to their sounds, and have thus disfigured the book; an error which we shall carefully avoid in our review. In the author's advertisement, we are informed, that "the History of the Campaign of 1812" is a work which still remains to be executed. All that has hitherto appeared in Europe upon this subject is either incomplete or inaccurate. The author, convinced of this truth, has neglected nothing, in order to give to his work the highest character of authenticity. An eyewitness of the greater part of the events of which he has rendered an account, he had, besides, an opportunity of searching among the archives of the Russian Imperial Staff, (Etat-Major.) "The official documents of this army, and those of the enemy which the fortune of war threw into the hands of the Russians, form a precious mine, which he has ransacked with the greatest care," and of which he has made ample use. The author is not unconscious of the difficulties of his enterprize. To write a contemporary history is not an easy task. The man who knows not to compose con scientiously, will not fail to become a butt to the outrage of trifling and jarring ambitions, (petites ambitions froisées,) and of the hatred of party-spirit, whose passionate judgment cannot be ratified by history. Therefore the author resigns himself to all the calumnies of which he will become the object. Proud of having advanced no other language but that which his own conviction dictated, he ambitiously seeks after the suffrages of the small number of men who are nobly impartial: he will repel with disdain the declamations of those to whom truth is an offence or a crime. Still he has not the ridiculous presumption to believe in the infallibility of his own judgment. He will receive with gratitude all the observations which, for the interest of the art, (of war,) it may be judged proper to propose to him. Quant aux points de vue de son livre, ils sont essentiellement Russes, et cela doit être ainsi. The author too highly esteems military men of all nations, who place the glory of their country above Sir R. Wilson's Sketch of the Military and Political State of Russia in 1817 contains a critique upon the Campaign of 1812, which, although we do not always coincide with, yet we recommend military men to read and study it. all things, to suppose that such a sentiment can surprise them, and, on the contrary, not merit their approbation. If this patriotism has led him into some exaggeration, it is against his will, for he has made every effort to avoid it. Boutourlin has used the Russian Calendar, which, as is well known, is twelve days later than the Gregorian. But as it is of some consequence, in comparing other works with this, to have the date both according to the old and the new Calendar, in the following pages we have always put them together, the last being included in a parenthesis. The First Chapter of Boutourlin's work is occupied with a sketch of the political relations of Russia and France, or, indeed, we may say, of all the powers of Europe, from the peace of Lunéville till the war of 1812, as well as with the investigation of the causes which led to the rupture between Russia and France. The author has shewn considerable ability in compressing a great deal of valuable information into a small compass, which forms a good introduction to his history of the campaign of 1812. But as the events alluded to are familiar to our countrymen, we shall merely quote, from this part of his work, a few passages which unveil to us the author's manner of thinking, or perhaps we should rather say, the light in which the Russian Cabinet would wish the events alluded to to be regarded. As the Emperor Napoleon forms one of the chief dramatis persona of Colonel Boutourlin's narration, we shall not hesitate to allude to his opinion of that hero. After speaking of the peace of Amiens, and of the laurels which Napoleon had already acquired, he says, This extraordinary man, one of the greatest captains who ever existed, to the most sublime talent for war joined the art, so important and so rare, of adroitly managing the minds of others, and of constantly bending them to his inflexible will. Taking advantage of the circumstances in which fortune had placed him, he constituted himself the heir of the Revolution, and seized the supreme power with so firm a grasp, that the enemies of order were reduced to silence. He alone, standing upon the ruin of the parties which had distracted his country, rebuilt the social edifice which the factious and the anarchistes had succeeded in destroying. Already France, restored to peace, blessed his name, and addressed to him just actions de graces, for the benefits which his vigorous administration had spread over her. Europe admired him, and was pleased to see in him the support of justice and of good order. But this reverie of happiness did not endure. The great qualities with which he was endowed were obscured by the inextinguishable ambition which filled his heart. After alluding to the amicable connection which the Emperor Paul had begun to establish, and which Alexander wished to confirm, between Russia and France, and to the subsequent and evident coolness between their two cabinets, which was augmented in consequence of the invasion of Hanover and of the States of Naples by the latter, the Colonel says, Nevertheless, Russia still balanced to declare openly against France, when the murder of the Duc d'Enghien determined the choice of the political system which she had to follow. The Emperor Alexander, for the honour of his crown, and for the surety of Europe, could no longer acknowledge an alliance with a government which had committed so unheard-of an action. Having spoken of the unfortunate battle of Friedland, the Colonel states that The Emperor Alexander, menaced upon his territory, was forced to think of his own safety. Austria did not move; Prussia existed no more; the Swedes, too feeble to afford any succour to their allies, could scarcely support themselves at Stralsund; and England, placed in difficult circumstances, did not appear disposed to push the war with activity. In this situation, the safety of Europe became a chimera impossible to realize, and the Emperor Alexander, by continuing the war, could do nothing but uselessly lavish the blood of his brave troops. The only end that was still permitted him to have in view, that of re-establishing Prussia, at least in part, could not be more certainly attained than by an intimate alliance between France and Russia. One might have supposed that Napoleon, flattered by the honour of being acknowledged Emperor by the only sovereign of the Continent who had hitherto refused him that title, would have relaxed the rigour of the conditions which he would impose upon Prussia: these considerations induced the Emperor of Russia à provoquer un rapprochment avec l'ennemi. The famous interview, (says Boutourlin,) which took place between the Emperor Alexander and Buonaparte upon the Niemen, gave a new aspect to the politics and to the situation of Europe, and its result was the treaty of peace signed at Tilsit. Such is a Russian officer's account of the weakest act Alexander was ever guilty of. To use a common phrase, he was assuredly gulled by the wily Buonaparte. The following remarks are curious, as coming from Russia : While Napoleon endeavoured to excite all nations to war against England, the British Government struck one of those blows against Denmark which vulgar politics will try to justify, but which equity and morality will always disapprove. Denmark was a power friendly to Russia; consequently, the Emperor Alexander could not regard the bombardment of Copenhagen with an indifferent eye. He then determined no longer to defer breaking the peace with England, and to shut his ports against her commerce. But this measure had been illusory, if the English had preserved free access to the ports of the Baltic, which belonged to Sweden. This last power was therefore summoned to renounce her alliance with England, and to adhere to the Continental System. Gustavus IV. having refused to obey the wishes of Russia, the Emperor Alexander declared war against him, and caused Finland to be invaded. The signs of coolness which began to be manifested in the connections of France with Russia could not escape the penetration of the Emperor Alexander. He felt, that the alliance concluded at Tilsit, and cemented at Erfurt, being no longer for the interests of Napoleon, would not subsist for any length of time, and that the grand crisis was approaching, which ought either to consolidate the universal monarchy which the Emperor of the French pretended to establish upon the Continent, or to break the chains which retained all the nations of Europe under his sceptre. The Emperor of Russia, determined never to subscribe to any condition incompatible with the dignity and independence of his crown, regarded a rupture as inevitable, and even as very near. Then he applied himself to organize quietly all the means of defence which the immense resources of his vast estates presented to him, to sustain a struggle so much more terrible, because he had to reckon alone upon his own forces to make head against those of the greatest part of Europe. Already the extraordinary augmentation which the Duchy of Warsaw had received by the union of New Gallicia had begun to cause just uneasiness to the Russian Minister, who believed that he ought to take measures of surety, by proposing to Napoleon to sign a convention, by which he would engage himself never to acknowledge the re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland. The Emperor of the French, while he protested that this re-estab lishment did not at all enter into his system, always refused to sign the proposed convention, under the futile pretext that such an act would be incompatible with his dignity. This refusal unveiled the insincerity of the amicable dispositions which he still feigned to preserve with respect to Russia. The Cabinet of St. Petersburgh, under these circumstances, did not dissemble that it ought, above all, to endeavour to constrain the Turks to peace, so as to be able to unite, without distraction, all its means of war upon the western frontier of the Empire. The levy of the conscription of 1811, the extraordinary preparations for war by the Poles in the Duchy of Warsaw, and the progressive reinforcement of the French army of Germany, whose head-quarters had been transferred from Ratisbon to Hamburgh, were unequivocal marks of the hostile dispositions of France. The Emperor Alexander judged it necessary no longer to delay putting himself in a state of defence, by assembling the greater part of his forces upon the western frontier of his Empire. These preparations alarmed Napoleon, to whom "prudence still prescribed dissimulation toward Russia; and he determined, in consequence, to address new |