resisting the cold in Russia better than the soldiers of any other
nationality, nevertheless 26,000 Italians were lost in the retreat
from Moscow. That happened a year ago. Exhausted patience got the
better of judgment; in April 1814, the Milanese committed the
irremediable error of revolting against their Viceroy, who commanded
the only army which could still save Italy: the pent-up passions of a
long period broke loose, the peasants from the country, who had always
hated the French, flooded the streets of Milan, and allying themselves
unimpeded with the dregs of the townsfolk, they murdered with great
brutality General Prina, the Minister of Finance, whose remarkable
abilities had been devoted towards raising funds for the Imperial
Exchequer. Personally incorruptible, Prina was looked upon as the
general representative of French voracity; he met his death with the
utmost calmness, only praying that he might be the last victim. No one
else was, in fact, killed, and next day quiet was resumed, but the
affair had another victim--Italy. You cannot change horses when you
are crossing a stream. Prince Eugène was in Mantua with a fine army,
practically intact, though it had suffered some slight reverses; the
fortress was believed to be impregnable; by merely waiting, Eugene
might, if nothing else, have exacted favourable terms. But the news of
Prina's murder, and the blow dealt at his own authority in Milan,
caused him to give over the fortress and the army to the Austrians
without more ado; an act which looked like revenge, but it was most
likely prompted by moral cowardice. The capitulation signed with
Field-Marshal Bellegarde on the 23rd of April, so exasperated the army
that the officers in command of the garrison decided to arrest Eugene,
but it was found that he was already on his way to Germany, taking
with him his treasure, in accordance with a secret agreement entered
into with the Austrian Field-Marshal. Such was the end to the Italian
career of Eugène Beauharnais.