Amsterdam, from the local stamp duty-that business goes on but slowly. The Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs in Brazil is dead, and Lord Strangford again states the Prince Regent to be very indignant at the continued delay of Count Funchal who is still at Worthing, never having made his appearance in London since your departure, and seemingly quite indifferent to what is going on, either on the Continent or in the Penirsula. I have nothing further to add, except that the voice of No peace with Buonaparte! is as general as ever. Yours, &c., W. HAMILTON. Pray have the goodness to let me know how many diamond snuff-boxes I must send you out, when we have exchanged the ratifications. You must have at least three, one for each of the Secretaries of State-and ought we to give any to the Ministers here? Probably not, as, in proper form, the ratifications are supposed to be exchanged in the place where the¦ treaty is signed, though that is not always the case. W. H. Your lordship would probably approve of Mr. Falconer (mentioned to you some time ago by Lord Liverpool for a Consulship) being appointed to Emden: it is not quite 5007. per annum. Fiume also is sufficiently open for Mr. Leard, to whom it was promised. The Hon. Sir Charles Stewart to Mr. Edward Cooke. Bar sur Aube, March 22, 1814. You will rejoice, my dear Cooke, I am persuaded, at the termination of the conferences at Chatillon. Indeed, as soon as it was perceptible that Caulaincourt neither talked the language, nor was kept au courant of the projects of Napoleon, and that the only desire the latter had was to protract a sterile negociation, to have allowed it to be spun out more would have been unpardonable; as it was, we were too long trifled with. I confess I thought Caulaincourt throughout sincere, and if it had depended on him we should have brought things to bear. A higher game will, however, be played now, and I have no doubt this will agree better with your blood. For myself, I rather like Bonaparte the better for being another Catiline, and the masterly military movements he has of late made, with an inferior army against two armies both superior, must increase his military reputation. I think he has never shown himself greater, or played a desperate game more skilfully, than since the battle of Brienne. Before that, I thought he had lost all wits. On the Elbe he was quite insane, and his lengthened stay there was the cause of the battle of Leipsig and all his subsequent misfortunes. However, to return to the actual position of our affairs. It seems Napoleon, beaten by Blücher on the 9th and 10th, retires before him, and heads this way. He makes his march from Fere Champenoise on Plancy, and with a view of intimidating Schwarzenberg, hopes by demonstration of an intention to attack him by passing the Aube, to force him to retire. Napoleon, however, being slower than was expected, enables Schwarzenberg to concentrate and withdraw his left from Troyes and Nogent sur Seine, and assemble before Plancy and Arcis. The enemy try to debouch on the 21st, at Planey finding themselves strongly opposed, they move in greater force to Arcis, and yesterday morning it was believed they would pass the Aube at both places, and attack Schwarzenberg, whose whole army was in position on some very favourable ground, between Pougis and Arcis sur Aube. There was fighting all day yesterday. The only report just arrived is, that the enemy were beat, and are retiring at all points; 1,000 prisoners of the old guard taken, and eight cannon. I do not think it has been a general battle. I never thought Bonaparte would debouch across the Aube, and place his army between that river and the fork formed by the junction of the Seine. Such an attempt would be out of ordinary calculation. I think, being very much worsted by Blücher, he turned down here to feel our pulse, and give us a knock if he could, without risking such a desperate battle, as, if he lost it with Blücher behind him, it must have been his end. Finding Schwarzenberg collected, and certainly more determined than he ever was before, he is hatching another expedient. You have my conjectures in these few lines. Just arrived from Chatillon, I have not my ideas pruned or got into order by the sages raisonnemens of head-quarters. Castlereagh, I conclude, will tell you all that is going on. I hope it will do, as I like to play one game or other decidedly; and, now we are free, our military plans must be better arranged, and these armies must be brought into such close connexion, that they may strike a blow at the same moment. I know not Castlereagh's plans, nor are they settled yet. He has been here so invalu able, I know not how they'll do without him, and yet he thinks he must go back for Parliament; however, can he not come back here again? The times are so eventful, England should be here on the spot. It will not do else. Think of this. He wants to send me off to Blücher, so God knows where I may write to you from again. C. S. Yours ever most affectionately, Castlereagh in high favour now with the Emperor of Russia. Lord Walpole to Lord Castlereagh. St. Petersburg, March 22, 1814. My Lord-In my private letter of March 8th, I mentioned to your lordship a General Guillaume de Vaudecourt,' general in the Italian army, and formerly charged with the geogra phical department in the Depôt de la Guerre, at Milan. From the Duc de Serra Capriola, &c., I have been inclined to think well of his principles and motives, and, from the situations he formerly filled, I have every reason to confide in 1 Vaudoncour. his talents and knowledge. As I before observed to your lordship, he had long ago proposed to the Emperor to organise the Italian prisoners now in Russia, and to transport them, either by the way of Hungary or Odessa, into Italy, to form a noyau of troops in that country, to which those desirous of shaking off the French yoke might attach themselves. He has means of information here, and a more accurate statement of their numbers and situation will be procured. He is inclined to state them, at the lowest, at about 14,000 men, the Piedmontese and Tuscans incorporated into the French regiments included. Of officers there may be perhaps proportionably fewer, but he is not inclined to think so. They are, for the greater part, stationed at Kharcoff and Pultawa, from whence the march to Kherson and Odessa would not be long. Some few are at Novogorod, not a great way from this capital. The means of arming and accoutring them cannot be procured here, except in small quantity; but the means of transport from Odessa might possibly be obtained. Whatever your lordship may judge best of this plan, I cannot but recommend the procuring from the Emperor the liberty of this officer, either with the view of sending him to Lord William Bentinck, or the occupying him in England for the present. Mr. Young, son of the famous Arthur Young, is lately gone to England, to raise money by the sale of his living, being a clergyman, or by any other means, in order to buy land in the Crimea, where he has lately purchased considerably. He is said to be employed by Romanzoff, to engage workmen from Wedgewood's and the different potteries, and is connected by similar views with those whom I have lately mentioned to your lordship. I have often mentioned the finances of this country as being in a wretched condition. From what Mr. Gourieff has lately let drop to me, they are greatly in want of money. As Minister of Finance, he complains of no treaty of subsidy having yet been concluded for the year 1814, and seems m anxious that Great Britain should come forward with bull to assist this country. I am not without my suspicions th they are endeavouring to prevent the circulation of the Fedrative Paper. I have the honour to be, &c., WALPOLE [Enclosures.] Translated. The Duke de Serra Capriola to the Prince of Villa Franca. Petersburg, March 22, 1814 I have received from your Excellency two packets with enclosures, one by the way of London, with letters of the 3r and 8th of November, and one over Vienna, dated the 10th of January. We had been for several days without any courier or letters rom the Emperor, which circumstance caused some uneasi ness to the Empress Mother, but two arrived at length yes terday, almost at the same hour, having been detained br various causes on their long journey from the vicinity of Paris. I shall add nothing to the details furnished by the enclosed Gazettes from No. 16 to 20, being persuaded that Excelyour lency will receive much earlier intelligence of what is occurring in France, by way of Vienna and London. But I think it my duty to inform your Excellency that the prolonged negociation in the heart of France excites a very strong sensation in every part of this empire, especially as it is known, by letters of authority from Vienna and Berlin, that this nego ciation will terminate in smoke-Bonaparte having rejected the offers of the Allies, and advanced claims perfectly inad missible. From letters written by his Imperial Majesty, we have learned that his Majesty consented to the holding of a Congress out of mere compliment to the Allies, but that his Majesty was at the same time persuaded it would lead to no favourable result. There are some persons, however, and very |