Note 15 — Chapter I

Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne, whom the Comte de la Garde mentions so frequently, and always in terms of the deepest veneration, was indeed a grandiose figure. Born in Brussels in 1735, he entered the service of Austria, and distinguished himself in the Seven Years’ War. He was made a major-general in 1766, a lieutenant-general in 1771, and the campaign of 1778 only increased his military reputation. Subsequently he travelled in Italy, in Switzerland, and in France; at Versailles he was thoroughly appreciated as a very able, amiable, and witty grand seigneur. In Russia, whither he was sent in 1782 on a mission, he became persona gratissima with Catherine the Great, who bestowed upon him an estate in the Crimea. He was present, as a general, at the siege of Oklakoff, directed by Potemkin, and at some of the actions of Laudon. In consequence of the part borne by his son in the insurrection of the Netherlands (the provinces now constituting the kingdom of Belgium), against Austria, he was removed from public life, and, though a field-marshal in 1808, he had no longer a command. The Prince de Ligne was an able and profound tactician. He left a great number of writings both in German and in French. They are replete with witty and pungent remarks, but the style is incorrect and diffuse. Under the title of Mélanges militaires, littéraires et sentimentaires, there are thirty volumes (1798–1809). His Journal des Guerres and l’Essai sur les Jardins are worth keeping. In addition to these he published in 1809 a Vie du Prince Eugène de Savoie. Madame de Staël, Malte-Brun, and Lacroix, have published either Lettres or Fragments, which were well worthy of being preserved, and which have practically become classics. His Lettres de Russie à la Marquise de Coigny have been published by Lescure, Librairie des Bibliophiles, and M. Lucien Percy has just published his Lettres à Catherine II.