, 1859-08-26
THE CAPTURE OF TvREE.
By MISS PARD0E.

The French army was preparing, during the
campaign Of 1900, to meet the Austrian forces un'
der the Archduke Charles, in the plains Of Italy,
and was tratetsing, with alT.Ost incredible dim.
Guilty and perseverance,, the stupendous line Of
the Alps which extends from St Bernard to Nice
and MontenotteAA tteAAeAcountering hour by hour, Oh.
stacles so formidable, that neither the courage o
the troops, the immense resources Of the com
mssaFist nor the military genius Of their leaders
were enabled entirely To overcome them.
Nothing daunted, however, by either suffering
or fatigue, they toiled on, as i they already fore
saw that the indomitable will Of tleir general-in'
chief was destined 10 make them masters Of MI.
Ian and Turin, to lead them TO Genoa, and To
dictate his own terms Of peace 10 his naughty
rival on the battlefield Of Mareng0.
Within few leagues Of Milan, in hollow be.
tween two hills, and on the leit bank Of the DoFa
Balthea they at length came upon the town and
fortress Of lVree, which they scarcely anticipated
would venture to dispute their passage even for
an instant-its fortifcations being almost nomi'
nal, aud the nature Of its position rendering Il
impossible that its garrison could sustain regu-
lar siege.
They were, however, in error. Courageous,
wonderfully adroit and fanatically patriotic, the
inhabitants Of the town, and the troops in the
citadel, consisting only Of four thousand men,
with twenty five guns, held the place three en-
tire days against an army Of thirty thousand men,
commanded by three Of the youngest but already
three Of the best generals in Europe -BcrnadOtte,
Massena, and Lannes.
Furious to find himself arrested on his march
before so insignificant an obstacle, Bonaparte-
who had taken Alexandra in day, and Cairo
In an hour-and who was, moreover, anxious %
possess himself Of position which would facili'
tate his operations on Milan, issued an order for
the division under Lannes to make an attack
upon the town, and TO compel surrender. A
battalion Of the twenty y-second demi-brigade, led
by Gen. COchet, irst escaladed the fortress, and
carried il at the point Of the bayonet; when the
French no sooner found themselves in possession
Of the fifteen field pieces which had defended the
entrance, than they turned them upon the town,
and opened for their legions perilous but unob-
structed path, along which they boldly advanced,
singing the AGrseilLaise After three hours Of
. struggle as heroic as Il was hopeless, driven
from the citadel, decimated In the streets Of the
town, shot down on all sides when beyond the
reach Of their enemies, or cut down by the sabre
Of those by whom they were overtaken in their
fight few Of the Austrian soldiers. and the
mere handful Of inhabitants who had escaped
the carnage, took refuge In the house Of the Aus
TRAN Adjutant General, resolved to hold out 30
long as one Of them should be left alive.
w 'ess sJ ;ss.aeeo s,..S =. sS c...,.. o.s.e
~ usns.o.nsI II'G ~ .uo
OoPuOss YEA xeLs PeIlo.sso S ~ ~ .ne wan, JAIL,
S-.s,.J !. Snu wa
'AS,seu y HDSCAlP,... - e.soIVe ue',n0e
Oocnes vas tne nfst 70 enter ivreei out ne was
closely followed by Lannes, VINO sent an onicer
and two oatallions OF the twenty-second TO force
tne Postlons o. the enemy. We Te,rMn nom
naming this oiiicer, out Of respect to his iamlly
--sevefai Of whose members have, since tho
event We are about TO record hneds with honor
70 themselves. an elevated rank In the French
army let t suiiiee that Major L., VINO was
conspicuous in the republican forces Tor his Zero.
city and headlong courage, penetrated ct the head
Of one Of the batallions, (by passing over the
bodies Of the forty gallant fellows BY whom bis
entrance was opposed into the house Of the Aus
trian general: -.
This dauntless man, aftef having seen all his
little garrison fall and expire around him, bad
armed himself with hatchet which be welded
witha suPerhuman energy against his advancing
foes; and as Major L. appeared at tho door
Of the room where be had taken up his late post,
he aimed 50 furious blow at his head with the
formidable weapon, to which his hand had al
ready become accustomed, that had not The wary
ottcer adrotly struck It aside with his sword i
must have ieiled him to the earth. lt was his
closing effort, however; In the next instant he
!ell and the apartment was invaded by the
French soldiery. =,
Major L., who had never. during his nj
teen years Of military service, given quarter 70
an enemy, was already adtancing toward the vet
Gran to complete his work Of blood, when .
young and beautiful woman rushed out Of neieh.
boring chamber and, hIling at his feet and
cli9glng 70 hls Knees pa,e, disheveied. wrtnlng.
and almost insane. shrieked out IN voice Of
terror and despair, rom which all the tenderness
OF ne woman and VILE had disapPeared-
mercy mercy 70 NOT XII himi ne Is
my nusoan9, ana tne mtner Of my cniidl
Inc Iepuo'lcan oIncer I0oked down upon ner
"'sn%u. sns PIy Or emGuon: