Daily National Intelligencer

Letter from an intelligent gentleman in France, to his friend in New York

Bordeaux, May 24.

"My curiosity has been wound up to the highest pitch within the last month; every day we have been expecting to hear that hostilities had commenced, and yet all is quiet on the frontiers. The allies seem not to be in a hurry to attack and as every day adds to Napoleon's strength, he of course is glad to gain time; besides, as he wishes to throw all the odium of the war upon the allies, he will wait until they shall have entered his territories, which would make the war more popular in France. From the best information I can get, he has 400,000 men on the frontiers. Such enthusiasm was never seen amongst the troops since the first days of the Republic; thousands of old worn out veterans who have been discharged from the army, living on half pay, some with the loss of a leg, others with the loss of an arm, have come forth and desired to be sent on to defend the strong places; and it is even said, many women in mens' clothes have joined their husbands and gone forth to battle. The tenth regiment having remained with the duke of Angouleme until the last moment, were of course behind all the rest of the army in putting up the tri-coloured cockade; the first time they were reviewed by the emperor, he spoke to them with affection, and reminded them of their former glory and touched but lightly on their late disaffection: their colonel then came forward, and in the name of all his regiment desired to be sent on to the frontiers without cartridges and to be placed in the "front of the battle." The emperor received him kindly, and said, "I will take care you shall have an early opportunity of distinguishing yourselves."

"Some emigrants, said to be 2000 headed by La Roche Jacqueline, (whose name will be found in the history of La Vendee) effected a landing in Brittany and endeavoured to stir up an insurrection, but before any troops could be sent against them the peasants fell on them, and cut them all up: La Roche Jacqueline is said to be mortally wounded. Thus ends the first attempt.

"Murat has had a battle with the Austrians, and killed, and wounded, and made prisoners, fifteen thousand. The Poles are playing the devil, so that Russia dares not draw her troops from thence. The Saxons have had several skirmishes with the Prussians, and refuse to a man to be incorporated with them: in a late attack they had nearly killed the Prussian general Blucher. The Belgians and English troops are far from being on good terms A short time since two regiments of Belgians attempted to desert to France, 4 regiments of Hanoverians and English were sent to stop them, they however succeeded, sword in hand and cut their way through. In this affair 200 English were said to be left dead on the field. You may easily conjecture that the allied powers having so much to do at home, will tend greatly to paralyze their efforts on France; their their newly acquired provinces only wish a fair opportunity to throw off the yoke so that on the first favorable occasion Poland, Belgium, Saxony and Italy, will declare for France. But it is thought that Austria will get out of the scrape by remaining neuter. It is certain several couriers have lately arrived from Vienna. To-morrow the deputies from the different departments meet at Camp-de-Mai, at Paris, to accept the new constitution, A superb building has been erected for that purpose; the eagles are likewise to be distributed to the deputies from the different regiments."