VICTORY OF BASSANO.—MURAT WOUNDED. 315

his enemies before him with dreadful slaughter and confu-sion, he entered along with them into their own “ coveredways,” and, as a signal trophy, he brought away some ofthe palisades, wrenched from off the glacis. The brilliantexhibition of activity and valour united in Murat, exciteduniversal attention. Night and day he was always fightingat the van. The Austrian general, Davidovich, defended abridge over the Adige ; but Murat, leaving the bridge tobe attacked by the artillery of D’Allemagne , succeeded infinding a ford for horses. Taking a foot soldier on thecrupper of each horseman of the 10th dragoons, he fellupon the flank of the Austrian, routed him, and night aloneput a stop to the carnage.

At the battle of Bassano, Murat, with only two thousandcavalry, completed the rout of Wurmser , and so dispersedhis army, that, but for the mistake of a guide, not oneAustrian would have been saved. Massena, with his in-fantry, was to meet Murat at Sanguinetto, through a shortby-road. The guide mistook it; so that Murat found him-self alone, in front of the Austrian force, under General Ott.Disdaining to retreat, he fell upon the enemy, who, at first,were thrown into confusion; but immediately perceivinghis isolated condition, they rallied, and he became sur-rounded by the entire Austrian cavalry. The combat be-came one of desperation,—what the French call a terriblemelee ,—Murat performed prodigies of valour - Massenaarrived,—the enemy was routed, and still pursued byMurat, although exhausted and covered with blood, havingslain or disabled with his own hand, at least a dozen of theAustrians. In this hand to hand unequal conflict, Muratescaped without a scratch ; not so at the quickly succeed,ing action of St. George, in the course of which his ardourcaused him to be similarly enveloped, when he received hisfirst wound,—a severe sabre cut on the arm.