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diff --git a/59489-0.txt b/59489-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1fdc674 --- /dev/null +++ b/59489-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11712 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59489 *** + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 59489-h.htm or 59489-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59489/59489-h/59489-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59489/59489-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + https://archive.org/details/memoirsofsergean00bour + + + + + +[Illustration: SERGEANT BOURGOGNE. + +(From a portrait made in 1830.)] + + +MEMOIRS OF SERGEANT BOURGOGNE + +1812-1813 + +Compiled from the Original MS. by Paul Cottin + +Illustrated + +[Illustration] + + + + + + +New York +Doubleday & McClure Company +1899 + +Copyright 1899, by +Doubleday & Mcclure Co. + + + + +PREFACE + + +Adrien Jean Baptiste François Bourgogne was the son of a cloth-merchant +of Condé-sur-Escaut (Nord). He reached his twentieth year on November +12th, 1805, a time when military glory was the one dream of youth. To +make this dream real, his father procured his admission into a corps +of the Vélites of the Guard, where a fixed income was a necessary +qualification. + +The Vélites were originally Roman soldiers lightly armed, for +skirmishing with the enemy (_velitare_). In the year XII. when the +Revolution was at an end, two corps of Vélites, consisting of 800 +men each, were attached to the foot Grenadiers, and to the mounted +Grenadiers of the Consul's Guard. + +In times of peace each cavalry regiment had attached to it a squadron +of Vélites made up of troops of 125 men each, and each infantry +regiment a battalion of two companies of 150 Vélites each. The uniform +worn by the Vélites was always that of the corps into which they were +drafted. + +The Vélites were trained first at Saint Germain-en-Laye, then at Écouen +and at Fontainebleau. Bourgogne attended the writing, arithmetic, +drawing, and gymnastic classes which were meant to complete the +military education of these future officers; for, after a few years, +the more efficient of the Vélites were promoted to the rank of +Sub-Lieutenant. + +After a few months, Bourgogne and his comrades were among the troops +required for the campaign of 1806 in Poland, where Bourgogne became +corporal. Two years later he took part in the Battle of Essling, where +he was twice wounded.[1] From 1809 to 1811 he fought in Austria, Spain, +and Portugal. In 1812 he was at Wilna, where the Emperor re-assembled +his Guard before marching against the Russians. Bourgogne was now +sergeant. Already he had travelled a great deal. He had seen something +of most countries, and he had taken note of what he saw wherever he had +been. + +How immense would be the value to the intimate history of the army +under the First Empire, had he but left behind really complete memoirs, +as foreshadowed in one passage of his book![2] The remarkable fragment +or portion now issued raises a great expectation of the completion. + +M. de Ségur's account of the Russian campaign needs no eulogy. In one +respect it is lacking. It has not, and could not have, the personal +accent of the experience that has been lived. M. de Ségur was on the +staff, and had not to endure such sufferings as the private soldiers +and the company officers--the sufferings which we now want to know +in their minutest details. They make real the immense interest of +Bourgogne's memoirs--for he was not only a keen observer, he was a +man who could see and put what he saw in a telling way; he ranks with +the Captain Coignet revived for us by Loredan Larchey. His notes are +classics in their kind, and have set the example of a new sort of +military memoirs, that of the simple and obscure, who come from the +people and represent them in the ordinary man. An accurate rendering of +their impressions is likely to be valuable and interesting. + +There is no need for us to insist on the dramatic worth of the pictures +Bourgogne has drawn. We need only mention the orgie in the church at +Smolensk, strewn with more dead than it held already, the unfortunate +men stumbling over the snow-covered heaps to reach the sanctuary, +guided by music they believed to be from heaven, actually produced by +drunken men at the organ; the organ itself half burnt, on the point of +crashing down into the nave below. All this is unforgettable. + +These Memoirs are equally valuable for their psychology of the soldier +depressed by a succession of reverses. The army of 1870 will read their +own miseries again. Here, too, is the drama of hunger. Where shall +we find a scene to compare with that of the garrison of Wilna flying +at the sight of the spectre army, ready to devour everything before +it? Moreover, we cannot help seeing that Bourgogne was a kind-hearted +man; his bursts of egotism are contrary to his real nature, and are +followed instantly by remorse. He helped his comrades to the utmost, +and risked a great deal so that a prisoner whose father had aroused +his sympathy might escape. He was deeply influenced by the horrors he +witnessed. He saw men stripped and robbed before the breath was out of +their bodies; he saw Croats pull corpses out of the flames and devour +them; he saw wounded men left by the roadside for want of means of +transport, begging for help with out-stretched hands, and dragging +themselves across snow reddened by their blood, while those who passed +by looked on silently, wondering how soon their turn might come. +Bourgogne himself fell into a ditch covered with ice near the Niémen, +and begged for help in vain from the men who passed. One old Grenadier +came up to him. 'I have not got any,' he said, raising two stumps to +show that he had no helping hands to offer. Near the towns, where the +troops thought their sufferings would come to an end, the return of +hope made them more pitiful. Their tongues were loosed, they inquired +for their comrades, they carried the sick on their muskets. Bourgogne +saw soldiers carry their wounded officers on their shoulders for miles. +Nor must we forget the Hessians, who stood all night close round their +young Prince in twenty-eight[3] degrees of frost, as a fence protects +a young plant. However, the effects of fatigue, fever, frost-bite, +and badly-healed wounds, the undermining of his constitution by an +attempted poisoning, were more than enough to make our sergeant drop +behind and lose his regiment, as had happened to so many others. + +He advanced, therefore, slowly and painfully quite alone, often +sinking in the snow up to his shoulders, thinking himself lucky if he +escaped the Cossacks, and found hiding-places in the woods; finally he +recognised the road his column had taken by the corpses strewn along +the way. + +On a pitch-dark night he reached the scene of a battle, and in +stumbling over heaped-up bodies, found one which feebly cried 'Help!' +He searched and found an old friend, Grenadier Picart, a shrewd type of +old soldier, and a thoroughly good fellow, whose happy nature carried +him through everything. + +Hearing, however, from a Russian officer that the Emperor and his Guard +had all been made prisoners, Picart was suddenly seized with a mad +fit, presented arms, and shouted 'Vive l'Empereur!' as if he were being +reviewed. + +This fact is most noteworthy, that the soldier, in spite of all his +sufferings, never accused the sole cause of his misfortunes. He +remained loyal and devoted, soul and body, convinced that Napoleon +would know how to save the army and take his revenge. It was the +soldiers' religion. 'Picart, like all the Emperor's old soldiers, +thought that as soon as they were with him, everything would be well, +all would succeed; that, in fact, nothing was impossible.' Up to a +certain point, Bourgogne shared this view. And yet, when they returned +to France, his regiment was reduced to twenty-six men! + +Their god always moved them deeply. When Picart saw him at the crossing +of the Bérézina, 'wrapped in a great fur-lined cloak, a purple velvet +cap on his head, and a stick in his hand,' he wept, saying, 'Look at +our Emperor on foot! So great as he is, so proud as we always were of +him!' + +At last, in March, 1813, Bourgogne was once more in his own country, +and promoted (receiving the epaulette of a Sub-Lieutenant of the 145th +of the Line). He then set off again for Prussia. He was wounded at the +Battle of Dessau (October 12th, 1813), and made prisoner. + +His leisure hours of captivity were spent in recalling his recent +experiences and making notes. These, and the letters written to his +mother, served later to form the Memoirs. Also he talked of the past +with old comrades, a list of whom he has given, and who have added +their testimony to his. + +On the first return of the Bourbons,[4] he had sent in his resignation +on the pretext of helping his parents to support their numerous +family. He married soon afterwards. + +Family life has its trials also. Bourgogne lost his wife, who left him +with two daughters. He married again,[5] and had two more children. + +He had settled down to his father's business, a draper's; but he +soon left the shop, and threw himself into an industrial enterprise, +where he lost most of his money. His simple habits, and his naturally +cheerful nature, helped him through his misfortunes, which did not, +however, prevent his educating his daughters well. He was devoted to +them, and inspired them with his own love of art; one gave herself up +to painting, the other to music. He possessed a good voice, and often +sang, according to old custom, after the family meals. His collection +of pictures, curiosities, and souvenirs of his campaigns brought many +visitors to his house. + +When he went to Paris he never neglected to pay a visit to his old +comrades at the Invalides. Many also in his native town met every +day at the café, and talked of old times. On the anniversary of the +entrance of the French into Moscow they had a dinner, and all drank in +turn from a cup brought from the Kremlin: these old soldiers of the +Guard made a religion of the past. + +When the days of 1830 brought the return of the tricolor,[6] Bourgogne +thought of returning to the service. His family had some influence at +Condé, where his brother was a doctor.[7] + +M. de Vatimesnil, previously Minister of Louis XVIII. and Charles X., +and then Deputy for Valenciennes, did all he could to support the old +soldier of nine campaigns and three wounds, and, moreover, neglected +by the fallen Government. He therefore proposed, as legitimate +compensation, his nomination to the post of Major de Place, now vacant +at Condé. The letter to Marshal Soult, then Minister of War, was +countersigned by the two other Deputies of the Nord, Brigade and Morel. +As M. de Vatimesnil received no answer, he wrote again in a fortnight +afterwards. + +'This nomination,' he wrote, 'would not only be an excellent one from +a military point of view, but also from a political one. The Château +of the Hermitage, belonging to M. le Duc de Croy, is one league from +Condé, and is a meeting-place for malcontents. I do not wish for a +moment to suggest that they have evil intentions, but prudence demands +that a fortified place situated near the Château, and on the extreme +frontier, should be confided to perfectly trustworthy officers. I can +answer for the energy of M. Bourgogne.' + +Failing the post, he asked for the Cross of the Legion of Honor for his +protégé. But Bourgogne was entirely forgotten at the offices of the +Ministry, and all traces of his services seemed to have disappeared. +M. de Vatimesnil was now obliged to compile a set of papers, which he +sent in on September 24th. Two months afterwards, on November 10th, +the former Vélite was at last appointed Lieutenant-Adjutant de Place, +but at Brest instead of Condé. That was far off indeed; but, at the +same time, it was one rung up the ladder, and on March 21st, 1831, the +Cross came to give him patience. New efforts were now made to obtain +the post of Adjutant de Place at Valenciennes, and his wish was at last +fulfilled on July 25th, 1832. They remember at Valenciennes to this +day the services he performed there, especially during the troubles of +1848. He retired on a pension of twelve hundred francs in 1853.[8] + +He died, an octogenarian, on April 15th, 1867, two years after the +famous Coignet, who lived to be ninety years old. The terrible +hardships they had gone through had not the effect of shortening their +lives. But a man had to be exceptionally strong to survive them. +Unhappily his last days were clouded by physical suffering, but neither +his good temper nor the philosophy of his character was spoiled by it. +Mme. Bussière, one of his nieces, came after the death of his second +wife to take care of him, and, by her devoted care, to give him all the +relief possible. + +Two portraits of our hero are given here. One is the facsimile of +a drawing by Alphonse Chigot; it is Bourgogne in profile, dressed +in ordinary clothes, at the time of his leaving the service; the +frontispiece, an earlier lithograph, shows him at the age of +forty-five, with the stern official air and hard glance of an +Adjutant-in-charge, a living personification of command. What we know, +however, of his natural kindness shows us the truth of the poet's +precept: + + 'Garde-toi, tant que tu vivra, + De juger les gens sur la mine!' + +Let us add that in his youth he was called a handsome soldier; his +height and military carriage were impressive.[9] We have made no +alteration in the text other than to correct mistakes of spelling +and the suppression of unnecessary words. Less scruple was shown in +a paper--now out of print (_L'Écho de la Frontière_)--which in 1857 +published a part of the Memoirs of Bourgogne, and corrected them so +effectually that all the original flavor had vanished. + +The collection of _L'Écho de la Frontière_ is very rare. The only +copy I know of is in the library at Valenciennes. The Bourgogne paper +was torn away from it, and we have only found two copies, one at the +National Library, the other in the library of M. le Baron Olivier de +Watteville. These contain only part of the text published by the paper, +and do not go further than p. 176 of the present volume. _L'Écho de +la Frontière_ takes the reader to p. 286. We have therefore treated +these Memoirs as having the value of an unpublished work up to their +publication in 1896 in our _Nouvelle Revue Rétrospective_.[10] + +We must acknowledge with gratitude our indebtedness to M. Maurice +Henault, keeper of the records at Valenciennes, for having communicated +to us the original manuscript, now preserved in the town library. He +did far more, by copying with his own hand the 616 pages in folio of +the manuscript, thus guaranteeing the accuracy of the copy. + +We also express our thanks to M. Auguste Molinier, whose original idea +it was to offer the publication of the manuscript to the _Nouvelle +Revue Rétrospective_, and to M. Ed. Martel, who made inquiries as to +the Bourgogne family at Valenciennes and Condé. We must also mention +our hero's nephews, M. le Docteur Bourgogne and M. Amadée Bourgogne, M. +Loriaux--his former landlord--and M. Paul Marmottau, who have given us +valuable assistance in our work. + + Paul Cottin. + + _December 13th, 1896._ + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: He was wounded in the neck and leg; the ball entered the +right thigh, and could never be extracted. Towards the end of his life +it had worked down to about twelve inches above the foot.] + +[Footnote 2: Note here passage in Book 282 in French copy.] + +[Footnote 3: About 14° below zero, Fahrenheit.] + +[Footnote 4: 'As the Emperor is no longer in France,' he said himself +in a note in his Memoirs, 'I shall throw up my commission.'] + +[Footnote 5: Bourgogne married at Condé on August 31st, 1814, Thérèse +Fortunée Demarez. After her death, in 1822, he married Philippine +Godart, a native of Tournai.] + +[Footnote 6: 'In 1830,' he said in the note already quoted 'I shall +return to the service when the tricolor reappears.'] + +[Footnote 7: Our sergeant had three brothers and a sister, of whom +he was the eldest: François, Professor of Mathematics at the College +of Condé; Firmin, died young; Florence, married to a brewer; Louis +Florent, Doctor of Medicine of the Faculty of Paris, died in 1870. +Marie Françoise Monnier, their mother, was born at Condé in 1764.] + +[Footnote 8: We found M. de Vatimesnil's letters in the military +portfolio of Bourgogne, in the War Archives.] + +[Footnote 9: We give here a list, copied from the Memoirs, of the +important battles in which Bourgogne took part: Jena, Pultusk, Eylau, +Eilsberg, Friedland, Essling, Wagram, Sorno-Sierra, Benévent, Smolensk, +La Moskowa, Krasnoë, La Bérézina, Lutzen, and Bautzen. 'I may add,' he +said, 'more than twenty small encounters and other skirmishes.'] + +[Footnote 10: Bourgogne's Memoirs appeared for the first time _in +extenso_ in our _Nouvelle Revue Rétrospective_, which for the last +fourteen years has been devoted to the publication of documents on our +national history.] + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + PREFACE vii + + + CHAPTER I. + + FROM ALMEIDA TO MOSCOW 1 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE FIRE AT MOSCOW 14 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE RETREAT--REVIEW OF MY KNAPSACK--THE EMPEROR + IN DANGER--FROM MOJAISK TO SLAWKOWO 55 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + DOROGOBOUI--VERMIN--A CANTINIÈRE--HUNGER 65 + + + CHAPTER V. + + A DISASTER--A FAMILY DRAMA--MARSHAL MORTIER--TWENTY-SEVEN + DEGREES OF FROST--WE REACH + SMOLENSK--A DEN OF THIEVES 74 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + A DISTURBED NIGHT--I FIND MY FRIENDS AGAIN--WE + LEAVE SMOLENSK--A NECESSARY CORRECTION--THE + BATTLE OF KRASNOË--MELLÉ THE DRAGOON 93 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + THE RETREAT GOES ON--I TAKE A WIFE--DISCOURAGEMENT--I + LOSE SIGHT OF MY COMRADES--DRAMATIC + SCENE--MEETING WITH PICART 122 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + I TRAVEL WITH PICART--THE COSSACKS--PICART IS + WOUNDED--A CONVOY OF FRENCH PRISONERS--A + HALT IN A FOREST--POLISH HOSPITALITY--AN ATTACK + OF INSANITY--WE REJOIN THE ARMY--THE EMPEROR + AND THE SACRED BATTALION--THE CROSSING OF THE + BÉRÉZINA 145 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + FROM THE BÉRÉZINA TO WILNA--THE JEWS 207 + + + CHAPTER X. + + FROM WILNA TO KOWNO--THE REGIMENTAL DOG--MARSHAL + NEY--THE TREASURY OF THE ARMY--I + AM POISONED--THE THIEVES' DRIPPING--THE OLD + GRENADIER, FALOPPA--GENERAL ROGUET--FROM + KOWNO TO ELBING--TWO CANTINIÈRES--THE ADVENTURES + OF A SERGEANT--I FIND PICART AGAIN--THE + SLEDGE AND THE JEWS--A SHREW--EYLAU--ARRIVAL + AT ELBING 229 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + OUR STAY AT ELBING--MADAME GENTIL--AN UNCLE'S + HEIR--JANUARY 1ST, 1813--PICART AND THE + PRUSSIANS--FATHER ELLIOT--MY WITNESSES 329 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + + Sergeant Bourgogne in 1830. _Frontispiece_ + + The French Receiving Hospitality from Russian Women, 50 + + The Bridge over the Kolotscha near Borodino, September + 17, 1812, 90 + + On the High Road from Mojaiska to Krymskoïe, September + 18, 1812, 130 + + Bivouac near Mikalewka, November 7, 1812, 170 + + On the Road between Braunsberg and Elbing, December 21, + 1812, 210 + + Passage of the Berezina, November, 1812, 250 + + Beside the Road, not far from Pnéwa, November 8, 1812, 300 + + + + + MEMOIRS OF + SERGEANT BOURGOGNE + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +FROM ALMEIDA TO MOSCOW. + + +It was in the month of March, 1812, while we were engaged against the +English army commanded by Wellington, at Almeida in Portugal, that we +received orders to march for Russia. + +We crossed Spain, each day being marked by an engagement, sometimes by +two and in this way reached Bayonne, the first town over the frontier +in France. + +On leaving this place, we travelled by the stage as far as Paris, where +we expected to stay and rest; but after a halt of forty-eight hours, +the Emperor reviewed us, and, deciding that we were not in need of +rest, marched us all along the boulevards. Then we turned to the left +in the Rue St. Martin, crossed La Villette, and found several hundred +coaches and other vehicles waiting for us; we halted, but were ordered +to mount four into every carriage--and, crack! we were off to Meaux. +From there onwards to the Rhine in waggons, travelling day and night. + +We stayed at Mayence, and then crossed the Rhine, afterwards passing +on foot through the grand-duchy of Frankfort,[11] Franconia, Saxony, +Prussia, and Poland. We crossed the Vistula at Marienwerder, entered +Pomerania, and on the morning of June 25, a beautiful day (not, as +M. de Ségur said, in bad weather), we passed over the Niemen by our +pontoons, and entered Lithuania, the first province in Russia. + +On the next day we left our first position, and marched until the 29th, +without anything noteworthy happening; but during the night of the +29th and 30th we heard a rumbling noise--it was thunder accompanied by +a furious wind. Masses of clouds gathered over our heads, and broke. +The thunder and the wind lasted for more than two hours, and in a few +minutes our fires were put out, our shelter torn away, our piled arms +thrown down. We were lost, and did not know which way to turn. I ran +to take shelter in the direction of the village where the General was +lodged, but I had only the lightning to guide me--suddenly, in one of +the flashes, I thought I saw a road (it was unfortunately a canal, +swollen by the rain to the level of the ground). Expecting to find +solid earth under my feet, I plunged in and sank. On rising to the +surface I swam to the other bank, and at last reached the village. I +walked into the first house I saw, and entered a room filled by about +twenty men, officers, and servants, all asleep. I took possession of a +bench placed near a large warm stove, and, undressing, wrung the water +out of my shirt and other clothes, huddling myself up on the bench +till they were dry; when daylight came, I dressed as well as I could, +and left the house to look for my weapons and knapsack, which I found +scattered in the mud. + +On the 30th, a beautiful sun dried everything, and the same day we +reached Wilna, the capital of Lithuania, where the Emperor had arrived +the day before, with some of the Guard. + +While we were there, I received a letter from my mother, enclosing +another addressed to M. Constant, the Emperor's chief valet, who came +from Peruwelz[12] in Belgium. This letter was from his mother, an +acquaintance of my mother's. I went to the Emperor's lodging to deliver +the letter, but only saw Roustan, the Emperor's mameluke, who told me +that M. Constant had gone out with His Majesty. He invited me to wait +till he returned, but, as I was on duty, I could not do so. I gave him +the letter, and decided to come back and see M. Constant another time. +But the next day, July 16, we left the town, at ten o'clock in the +evening, going towards Borisow, and on the 27th we reached Witebsk, +where we encountered Russians. We took up our position on a height +above the town. The enemy occupied hills to right and left. + +The cavalry, commanded by Murat, had already made several charges. +Just as we arrived we saw 200 Voltigeurs of the 9th Regiment, who had +ventured too far, met by a portion of the Russian cavalry, which had +just been repulsed. Unless help arrived speedily to our men, they were +lost, as the river and some deep gullies made access to them very +difficult. But they were commanded by gallant officers, who swore, as +did also the men, to kill themselves rather than not come honourably +out of it. Fighting as they went, they reached a piece of favourable +ground. They formed a square, and having been under fire before, their +nerves were not shaken by the number of the enemy. They were quite +surrounded, however, by a regiment of Lancers and other horse trying +in vain to cut through them, and soon they had a rampart of killed and +wounded all round them, both of men and horses. This formed another +obstacle for the Russians, who, terrified, fled in disorder, amid cries +of joy from the whole army. + +Our men came back again quietly, as conquerors, every now and then +stopping to face the enemy. The Emperor at once sent for the most +distinguished, and decorated them with the order of the Legion of +Honour. From a height opposite to ours, the Russians had, like us, seen +the engagement and flight of their cavalry. + +After this brush we made our bivouacs, and directly afterwards I had a +visit from twelve young men from my own country (Condé); ten of them +were drummers, one a drum-major, and the twelfth was a corporal of +Voltigeurs. They all wore side-arms. I told them how much pleasure it +gave me to see them, and said I was sorry I had nothing to offer them. +The drum-major said: + +'_Mon pays_, we did not come for that, but to beg you to come with us +and share what we have, wine, gin, and other things very good for you. +We took them yesterday evening from the Russian General. There was a +little cart holding his kitchen and everything belonging to it. We have +put it all into the canteen cart, with Florencia our _cantinière_--she +is a pretty Spaniard. She might be taken for my wife: I protect +her--honourably, I can tell you!' As he said this, he struck the hilt +of his long rapier. 'She is a good woman: ask the others--no one dares +say anything else. She had a fancy for a sergeant, who was to have +married her; but he was murdered by a Spaniard from Bilbao, and until +she has chosen someone else she must be taken care of. Well, then, _mon +pays_, it is settled: you--you'll come with us. If there's enough for +three, there's enough for four. Come, right about! march!' And we set +off towards their army corps, which formed the advance guard. + +Well, we got to the camp of the natives of Condé. There were four +guests--two dragoons, Mellé, who was from Condé, Flament from Peruwelz, +and Grangier, a non-commissioned officer in the same regiment as +myself. We sat down near the _cantinière's_ cart. She really was a very +pretty Spaniard, and she was overjoyed to see us, as we had just come +from her own country, and could speak her language pretty well--the +dragoon Flament best of all--so we spent the night in drinking the +Russian General's wine and talking of our country. + +Day was just breaking, when a sound of artillery put a stop to our +talking. We went back to our own quarters, hoping to meet again. + +The poor fellows little thought that in a few days eleven of them would +not be alive. + +This was the 28th. We expected to fight, but the Russian army +retreated, and the same day we got to Witebsk, where we stayed a +fortnight. Our regiment occupied one of the faubourgs of the town. + +I was quartered with a Jew, who had a pretty wife and two charming +daughters with lovely oval faces. In this house I found a little vat +for making beer, some barley, and a hand-mill for grinding, but no +hops. I gave the Jew twelve francs to get some, and for fear he might +not return we kept Rachel his wife and his two daughters as hostages. +However twenty-four hours after his departure Jacob the Jew returned +with the hops. In our company was a brewer, a Fleming, who made us five +barrels of excellent beer. + +On August 13, when we left the town, we still had two barrels of beer +left; we put them under the care of Mother Dubois, our _cantinière_. +The happy idea then occurred to her of staying behind and of selling +the beer for her own profit to the men who were following us, while we, +in the sweltering heat, were nearly dead of thirst. + +Early on the morning of the 16th we arrived before Smolensk. The enemy +had just retired there, and we took up our position on the Champ Sacré, +so called by the natives of the place. This town is surrounded by +very strong walls, and old towers, half made of wood. The Boristhène +(Dnieper) runs on one side of the town. The siege was begun at once and +a breach made, and on the morning of the 17th, when we were preparing +to make an assault, to our surprise we found the town evacuated. The +Russians were retreating, but they had demolished the bridge, and from +a height which commanded the town they rained down bombs and shot on us. + +During that day of the siege I, with one of my friends, was stationed +at the outposts whence batteries were playing on the town. Marshal +Davoust commanded this position. Recognising us as belonging to the +Guard, he came to us and asked where the Imperial Guard was. Directly +afterwards he was told that the Russians had left the town, and were +advancing in our direction. He immediately ordered a battalion of +Light Infantry to take the advanced position, saying to the officer in +command, 'If the enemy advances you will drive them back.' I remember +an old officer of this battalion, as he went forward, singing Roland's +song: + + 'Combien sont-ils? Combien sont-ils? + C'est le cri du soldat sans gloire!'[13] + +Five minutes afterwards they advanced with the bayonet on the Russian +column, and forced it to re-enter the town. + +As we returned to our own camp, we were very nearly killed by a shell; +another fell on a barn inhabited by Marshal Mortier, and set it on +fire. I recognised among the men who brought water to extinguish the +fire a young soldier from my own country; he was in a regiment of the +Young Guard.[14] + +While we stayed outside the town, I visited the cathedral, where a +large number of the inhabitants had taken refuge, their houses having +been destroyed. + +On the 21st we left, and the same day we crossed the Valoutina plain, +where two days before a terrible encounter had taken place, and the +brave General Gudin had been killed. + +We continued to advance, and by forced marches arrived at a town called +Dorogoboui. We left on the 24th, following up the Russians as far as +Viazma, which was already in flames, and found there some brandy and a +little food. We went on to Ghjal, which we reached on September 1st; +there we stayed until the 4th, when we went forward again, and on the +5th met the Russian army in position. The 61st captured their first +redoubt. + +We got ready on the 6th for the great battle on the next day; some +cleaned muskets and other weapons, others made bandages for the +wounded, some made their wills, and others, again, sang or slept in +perfect indifference. The whole of the Imperial Guard received orders +to appear in full uniform. + +At five o'clock on the morning of the next day we were under arms. The +Emperor passed near us while he reviewed the whole line; he had been +mounted for more than half an hour. + +The battle began at seven o'clock. I cannot describe it in detail, +but the whole army was overjoyed to hear the roar of the artillery, +feeling certain that this time the Russians had not decamped, and that +we should come face to face with them. The evening before, and for +part of the night, a fine cold rain had fallen, but on this great day +the weather was magnificent. This, like all our great battles, was won +by the artillery, which fired 120,000 rounds. The Russians lost at +least 50,000 men, either killed or wounded. Our loss was 17,000 men; +forty-three Generals disabled, eight of whom, to my knowledge, were +killed on the spot. These were: Montbrun, Huard, Caulaincourt (the +brother of the Emperor's equerry), Compère Maison, Plauzonne, Lepel, +and Anabert. This last was Colonel of a regiment of foot chasseurs. +Each moment a message was sent to the Emperor, 'Sire, such and such a +General is killed or wounded,' and his place had to be filled on the +spot. This was how Colonel Anabert was made General. I remember it very +well, for I was close to the Emperor at the time. His words were: + +'Colonel, I appoint you General; lead the division which is in front of +the great redoubt, and take it.' + +The General galloped off, with his adjutant-major following him as +his aide-de-camp. A quarter of an hour afterwards the aide-de-camp +returned, and announced to the Emperor that the redoubt was taken, but +that the General was wounded. Eight days afterwards he died, along +with several others. I heard that the Russians lost fifty Generals, +either killed or wounded. While the fighting lasted, we were placed in +reserve, behind General Miaut's division; balls fell all amongst our +ranks, and round the Emperor. + +The battle ended with the day, and we remained on the field all night, +and all the next day (the 8th). I spent that day in walking over the +field--a sad and terrible spectacle. Grangier was with me, and we went +as far as the ravine, the position so hotly disputed during the battle. +Murat had ordered his tents to be pitched there. Just as we arrived +we saw him superintend the amputation by his own surgeon of the legs +of two gunners of the Imperial Russian Guard. When the operation was +over, he gave them each a glass of wine. Afterwards he walked on the +edge of the ravine, examining the plain which lies on the other side, +fringed by a wood. There, on the preceding day, he had made more than +one Muscovite bite the dust while he and his cavalry charged the +retreating enemy. He was splendid to look at--so distinguished by his +gallantry, his cool courage, and his handsome appearance--giving his +orders to those under his command, and raining blows on his enemies. He +was easily picked out by his cap, his white aigrette, and his floating +cloak. + +On the morning of the 9th we left the battlefield, and during the day +reached Mojaisk. The Russian rear-guard was on a height the opposite +side of the town from that occupied by us. A company of Voltigeurs and +Grenadiers, with more than a hundred men of the 33rd, making part of +the advance-guard, ascended the hill without troubling themselves about +the number of the enemy waiting for them. A part of the army, still in +the town, watched them astonished, as several squadrons of Cuirassiers +and Cossacks advanced and surrounded the Voltigeurs and Grenadiers. +But, as if they had foreseen all that, they quietly reunited, formed +into platoons, then in a square, and fired from all four sides on the +Russians surrounding them. + +We gave them up for lost, knowing the distance separating us from them, +and no help being possible. A Russian superior officer went up to +them, telling them to surrender; the officer in command of the French +answered him by killing him. Upon this the cavalry, terrified, ran away +and left our men masters of the field.[15] + +On the 10th we followed the enemy until the evening; and when we +stopped I was put in command of a guard near a château where the +Emperor lodged. I had just placed my men on a road leading to the +château, when a Polish servant, whose master was on the Emperor's +staff, passed near us, leading a horse laden with baggage. The horse +was worn out, sank down, and refused to get up again. The servant took +the baggage and went off. He had hardly left us when the men, who were +hungry, killed the horse, so that all night we were busy eating it and +cooking for the next day. + +Soon afterwards the Emperor passed on foot, accompanied by Murat and a +member of the Conseil d'Etat, on their way to the highroad. I made my +sentries present arms. The Emperor stopped in front of us, and near the +horse, which filled up the road. He asked me if we were eating it. + +I replied, 'Yes.' + +He smiled and said, 'Patience! In four days we shall be at Moscow, +where you will have rest and proper food--however good that horse may +be.' + +His prediction was fulfilled, for four days afterwards we arrived at +that city. + +The next day (the 11th) and following days we marched in beautiful +weather. On the 13th we slept at a place near a beautiful abbey, and +several other fine buildings. We could see that we were approaching a +great capital. + +On the 14th we set out very early; we passed near a ravine where +the Russians had begun to make redoubts for defence, and directly +afterwards we entered a great forest of pines and birches, where we +found a beautiful road. Now we were quite near Moscow. + +On that day I was with an advance guard of fifteen men. After marching +for an hour, the Imperial column halted, and just then I saw a +linesman with his left arm in a sling. He was leaning on his musket, +and seemed to be waiting for someone. I recognised him at once as one +of the Condé men who had been to see me at Witebsk. He was there hoping +to meet me. I went up to him, and asked him after his friends. + +'They are well,' he answered, striking the ground with the butt-end +of his musket. 'They all died on the field of honour, as they say, +and were buried in the great redoubt. They were killed by round shot. +Ah, sergeant,' he went on, 'never shall I forget that battle--what +slaughter!' + +'And you,' I said--'what is the matter with you?' + +'Ah, bah! nothing. A ball between the elbow and shoulder. Sit down for +a minute, and let us talk of our poor comrades and the young Spaniard, +our _cantinière_.' + +This is what he told me: + +'We had been fighting since seven in the morning, when General +Campans, who commanded us, was wounded. The officer who took his place +was wounded also, and then the third. A fourth came. This one from +the Guard. Directly he took command, he ordered the drums to sound +the charge. That was how our regiment (the 61st) was destroyed by +grape-shot--that was how our friends were killed, the redoubt taken, +and the General wounded. It was General Anabert. During the action I +got a ball in the arm, without knowing it at the time. + +'Soon afterwards my wound began to pain me, and I went to the ambulance +to have the ball extracted. I had not gone many steps before I met +the young Spaniard, our _cantinière_; she was in tears. Some men had +told her that nearly all the drummers of the regiment were killed or +wounded. She said she wanted to see them, to help them if she could; +so, in spite of the pain I suffered from my wound, I determined to +accompany her. We walked in the midst of wounded men; some moved +painfully and with difficulty, and others were carried on litters. + +'When we got near the great redoubt and that field of carnage, she +uttered heart-rending cries. But when she caught sight of all the +broken drums of the regiment strewing the ground, she became like a +madwoman. "Here, my friend, here!" she cried; "they are here!" And so +they were, lying with broken limbs, their bodies torn by shot. Mad with +grief, she went from one to the other, speaking softly to them; but +none of them heard. Some, however, still gave signs of life, one of +them being the drum-major, whom she called her father. She stopped by +him, and, falling on her knees, she raised his head and poured a few +drops of brandy between his lips. Just at that moment the Russians made +an effort to retake the redoubt, and the firing and cannonade began +again. Suddenly the Spaniard cried with pain; she had been struck by a +ball in her left hand, which crushed her thumb and entered the shoulder +of the dying man she held. She fell unconscious. Seeing her danger, I +tried to raise her, and take her to the baggage and ambulance waggons. +But with only one arm I had not strength enough. Happily, a Cuirassier +passed on foot close to us. He did not need asking; he only said, +"Quick! we must hurry; this is not a pleasant place." In fact, the +bullets were whistling round us. Without more ado he lifted the young +Spaniard and carried her like a child. She still remained unconscious. +After walking for ten minutes, we got to a little wood where there was +an ambulance of the Guard Artillery. Here Florencia came to her senses. + +'M. Larrey, the Emperor's surgeon, amputated her thumb, and extracted +the ball from my arm very cleverly, and now I feel all right again.' + +This is what I heard from Dumont, the man from Condé, corporal of the +Voltigeurs of the 61st. I made him promise to come to see me at Moscow, +if we stayed there; but I never heard of him again. + +Thus perished twelve young men from Condé in the famous Battle of +Moskowa, September 7th, 1812. + +End of the abstract of our march from Portugal to Moscow. + + Bourgogne,[16] + + _Ex-Grenadier of the Imperial Guard, Chevalier + of the Légion d'Honneur._ + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 11: Frankfort had been raised to a grand-duchy by Napoleon in +1806, in favour of the Elector of Mayence.] + +[Footnote 12: A large Belgian town, seven kilometres from Condé; a +favourite excursion, on account of the pilgrimage of Bonsecours.] + +[Footnote 13: + + 'Combien sont-ils? Combien sont-ils? + Quel homme ennemi de sa gloire + Peut demander! Combien sont-ils? + Eh! demande ou sont les perils, + C'est la qu'est aussi la victoire!' + +These are the exact words of the third verse of 'Roland à Roncevaux,' a +song (words and music) by Rouget de L'Isle.] + +[Footnote 14: Dumoulin, died of fever at Moscow.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 15: One of my friends, a Vélite Captain Sabatier, commanded +the Voltigeurs.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 16: Bourgogne's signature at the end of this chapter shows +that he considered it as a kind of introduction.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE FIRE AT MOSCOW. + + +At one o'clock in the afternoon of September 14th, after passing +through a great forest, we saw a hill some way off, and half an hour +afterwards part of the army reached the highest point, signalling to +us who were behind, and shouting 'Moscow! Moscow!' It was indeed the +great city; there we should rest after all our labours, for we of the +Imperial Guard had marched more than twelve hundred leagues without +resting. + +It was a beautiful summer's day; the sun was reflected on all the +domes, spires, and gilded palaces. Many capitals I have seen--such +as Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna, and Madrid--had only produced an +ordinary impression on me. But this was quite different; the effect was +to me--in fact, to everyone--magical. + +At that sight troubles, dangers, fatigues, privations were all +forgotten, and the pleasure of entering Moscow absorbed all our minds. +To take up good quarters for the winter, and to make conquests of +another nature--such is the French soldier's character: from war to +love, and from love to war! While we were gazing at the city, the order +was given to appear in full uniform. + +On that day I was in the advance-guard with fifteen men, and I had +under my charge several officers taken prisoner in the great battle +of the Moskowa, some of whom spoke French. Amongst them was a pope (a +priest of the Greek Church), probably chaplain of a regiment. He, too, +spoke French very well, but he seemed much sadder and more preoccupied +than his companions in misfortune. I noticed that, when they arrived at +the hill where we were stationed, all the prisoners bowed and crossed +themselves several times. I went to the priest and asked him the reason. + +'Monsieur,' he said, 'this hill is called the Mont du Salut, and every +good Muscovite on seeing the holy city must bow and cross himself.' + +Soon afterwards we descended the Mont du Salut, and after a quarter of +an hour's march we found ourselves at the gate of the town. + +The Emperor was there already with his staff. We halted, and I noticed +to our left an immense cemetery. After waiting a moment, Marshal Duroc +came out of the town, which he had just entered, and, addressing the +Emperor, presented to him several of the inhabitants who could speak +French. The Emperor questioned them; then the Marshal told His Majesty +that in the Kremlin there were a great number of persons under arms, +the greater part of whom were criminals released from the prisons; they +had been firing at Murat's cavalry, who formed the advance-guard. In +spite of several orders, they persisted in keeping their doors closed. + +'These wretches,' said the Marshal, 'are all drunk, and cannot listen +to reason.' + +'Open the doors with cannon,' replied the Emperor, 'and drive out all +you find behind them.' + +The thing was done already--Murat had undertaken it himself: two +cannon-shots, and all the riff-raff was dispersed through the town. +Then Murat continued his progress, pressing hard on the Russian +rear-guard. + +The order 'Garde-à-vous!' was now given, preceded by a rolling of drums +from the Guard, the signal for entering the town. It was three o'clock +in the afternoon, and we made our entrance marching in close columns, +the bands playing in front. I was in the advance guard of thirty men, +commanded by M. Césarisse, the Lieutenant of our company. + +We had hardly entered the outskirts of the town, when we met several +of the miserable creatures expelled from the Kremlin; they had all +horrible faces, and were armed with muskets, staves, and pitchforks. +In passing over the bridge leading from the suburbs to the town +itself, a man crept from underneath the bridge, and placed himself in +front of the regiment. He was muffled up in a sheepskin cape, long +gray hair fell on his shoulders, and a thick white beard came down to +his waist. He carried a three-pronged fork, and looked like Neptune +rising from the sea. In these accoutrements he walked proudly up to +the drum-major, moving as if to strike him, no doubt taking him for +the General with his smart uniform and gold lace. He aimed a blow at +him with his pitchfork, which luckily the drum-major managed to avoid, +and, snatching the miserable creature's weapon from him, he seized +him by the shoulders; then, kicking him behind, he launched him over +the bridge and into the water he had just left. He did not get out +again, however; swept away by the current, we only saw him come up at +intervals. Finally he disappeared altogether. + +We met several others of the same kind, who fired at us with loaded +arms. There were even some of them who had nothing but wooden +flint-locks to their muskets; as they wounded no one, we contented +ourselves with taking their arms from them and breaking them, and if +the creatures returned we got rid of them by blows in the back with +the butt-end of our muskets. Some of these weapons had been taken from +the arsenal at the Kremlin; the muskets with the wooden flint-locks +certainly came from that place. + +We knew that these wretches had tried to stab an officer of Murat's +staff. + +After passing over the bridge, we marched along a large and beautiful +street. We were astonished not to see anyone come out--not even a +lady--to listen to our band playing 'La victoire est à nous.' We +could not understand this total silence, and we imagined that the +inhabitants, not daring to show themselves, were peeping at us from +behind their shutters. Here and there we saw a few servants in livery, +and some Russian soldiers. + +After marching for about an hour, we got to the first enclosure of +the Kremlin. Turning sharp to the left, we entered a larger and finer +street than the one we had left, leading to the Place du Gouvernement. +Just as we stopped, we saw three ladies at a ground-floor window. I +happened to be on the pavement, and near one of the ladies, who gave me +a piece of bread as black as a coal, and full of long pieces of straw. +I thanked her, and in return gave her a bit of white bread, which I had +just got from Mother Dubois, our _cantinière_. The lady blushed, and I +laughed; then she touched my arm--I cannot tell why--and I went on my +way. + +At last we arrived on the Place du Gouvernement. We massed ourselves +together opposite the palace of Rostopchin, the Governor of the town, +who ordered it to be fired. We were told that the regiment was to camp, +and that no one on any pretence whatever was to absent himself. An +hour afterwards, however, the whole place was filled with everything +we could want--wines of all kinds, liqueurs, preserved fruits, and an +enormous quantity of sweet cakes and flour, but no bread. We went into +the houses on the Place asking for food and drink, but as we found no +one in them we helped ourselves. + +We had placed one guard under the principal entrance to the palace. On +the right was a room large enough to hold all the men of the guard, and +a few Russian officers--prisoners who had been found in the town. We +had left the others by order at the gates of the town. + +The Governor's palace is large, and its construction quite European. +Opposite the entrance are two beautiful staircases, which unite on +the first floor. On this story is a large drawing-room, containing an +oval table and a very large painting of Alexander, Emperor of Russia, +on horseback. Behind the palace is a large courtyard surrounded by +servants' offices. + +The fire began an hour after our arrival. On our right we saw a thick +smoke, then a whirl of flames, not knowing from whence it came. We were +told the fire was in the bazaar, the merchants' quarter. + +'They are probably freebooters,' we were told, 'who have carelessly set +fire to the shops in searching for provisions.' + +Many people who were not in the campaign have said that it was the +fire at Moscow that ruined the army. I, and many others with me, think +just the contrary. The Russians need not have set fire to the town; +they might have thrown all the provisions into the Moskowa, and wasted +the country for ten leagues round--an easy thing to do, as part of the +country is a desert already. Had this been done, we should have had to +leave in a fortnight. After the fire there were still houses enough +left to shelter the army, and, even supposing all the houses had been +burnt, there were the cellars remaining. At seven o'clock the fire +reached the back of the Governor's palace. The Colonel gave orders that +a patrol of fifteen men should leave at once. I was among them. M. +Césarisse came with us, and took command. We went in the direction of +the fire, but we had hardly gone three hundred steps before we heard +some firing on our right. We did not pay much attention, thinking it +was only a few drunken soldiers; but fifty steps further we heard it +again. It came from a sort of blind alley, and was directed at us. At +the same moment I heard the cry of a wounded man close to me. He had +a ball in the leg; but the wound was not dangerous, as he could still +walk. We had orders to go back at once to our regiment; but we had +hardly turned round, when more firing from the same quarter changed our +direction again. We advanced to the house where the firing came from; +we beat in the door, and came face to face with nine great rogues, +armed with lances and muskets to prevent an entrance. + +Then we fought in the yard, the numbers unequal. We were nineteen +against nine; but, believing there were more of them, we had started +by knocking down the three first. A corporal was wounded between his +shoulder-belts and his coat; feeling nothing, he seized his adversary's +lance, which placed him at a disadvantage, as he had only one hand +free, having to hold his musket with the other. He was thrown violently +back against the cellar door, still holding the lance fast. At that +moment the Russian fell wounded by a bayonet. The officer had just +wounded another in the wrist with his sword to make him drop his lance; +but, as he still held firm, he was struck by a ball in the side, +sending him to the shades. While this was going on, I with five men +held the remaining four (for three had run away) so closely against +a wall that they could not use their lances. At the first movement +they made, we could run them through with our bayonets held against +their breasts. They kept striking their weapons with their fists out of +bravado. These unfortunate fellows were drunk with the brandy they had +found in quantities, so that they were like madmen. We were obliged at +last to finish them off. + +We hurried into the house, and in one room we found two or three of the +men who had made off. They were so frightened when they saw us that +they had no time to seize their firearms, upon which we fell at once; +while we were doing so, they jumped from the balcony. + +As we had only found two men, and there were three muskets, we searched +for the third, who was under the bed, and came out without being told, +crying, 'Bojo! Bojo!' which means, 'My God! my God!' We did nothing to +him, but kept him by us as a guide. Like the others, he was frightful +and loathsome--like them, a convict clothed in a sheepskin, with a +leather belt round his middle. We left the house, and found in the +street the two convicts who had jumped from the window--one was dead, +his head being smashed on the pavement; the other had both his legs +broken. + +We left them as we found them, and set out to return to the Place du +Gouvernement; but what was our surprise to find this impossible, the +fire having spread to such an enormous extent! To right and left was +one wreath of flames, the wind was blowing hard, and the roofs were +falling in. We were forced to take another course. Unfortunately, we +could not make our prisoner understand us; he seemed more like a bear +than a man. + +After walking two hundred paces, we found a street on our right; but +before entering it, we wished out of curiosity to see the house from +which they had fired on us. We made our prisoner go in, following +close behind; but we had scarcely taken the precaution, when we heard +a cry of alarm, and saw several men flying off with lighted torches in +their hands. After crossing a large courtyard, we saw that the house we +had taken for an ordinary one was a magnificent palace. We left two men +as sentinels at the first entrance to warn us, should we be surprised. +As we had candles with us, we lit several and entered. Never in my life +have I seen such costly and beautiful furniture as met our eyes, and, +above all, such a collection of paintings of the Flemish and Italian +schools. Amongst all these grandeurs, a chest filled with firearms of +great beauty attracted our attention first. I took possession of a +brace of horse-pistols, inlaid with pearls and precious stones. I also +took a small machine for gauging the force of powder. + +We had been wandering about in these vast and beautiful rooms for more +than an hour, when we heard a terrible explosion overhead. The shock +was so great that we felt certain of being crushed under the ruins of +the palace. We ran downstairs cautiously, but were horror-struck on +discovering that the two men we had placed below as sentries were gone. +We looked a long while for them, and at last found them in the street. +They told us that on hearing the explosion they had taken to their +heels as fast as possible, thinking that the whole palace was falling +on them. Before leaving we tried to discover the cause of our terror. +In the great dining-hall the ceiling had fallen, and a large glass +chandelier was broken in a thousand pieces. A bomb had been concealed +in an earthenware stove. The Russians evidently considered that any +means were good enough to destroy us. + +While we were still in the palace we heard the cry 'Fire!' from our +two sentinels, who saw that the palace was burning. The smoke was now +bursting out in several places thick and black, then it became red, and +finally the whole building was in flames. At the end of a quarter of +an hour the roof, made of coloured and varnished iron, fell in with a +frightful noise, bringing with it three-quarters of the entire building. + +After a great many windings in and out, we entered a wide, long street +with splendid palaces on each side, which ought to have led us in the +direction from which we had come, but our convict guide could tell us +nothing. He was only useful in occasionally carrying our wounded man, +who walked with great difficulty. We met several men with long beards +and sinister faces looking still more terrible by the lurid light of +the torches they carried; we let them pass us quietly. + +We then met a number of Chasseurs of the Guard, who told us that the +Russians themselves had set fire to the town, and that the men we had +just met did the business. Soon afterwards we surprised three of these +wretches setting fire to a Greek church. On seeing us, two of them +threw away their torches and fled. We went up to the third, who kept +his torch, and in spite of us tried to go on with his work; a stroke +with the butt-end of a musket on the head soon punished him for his +obstinacy. + +Just then we met a patrol of Fusilier-Chasseurs, who like us had lost +their way. The sergeant in command told me that he had met convicts +setting fire to a great many houses, that he had found one whose wrist +he had to cut with his sword to force him to drop the torch, but that +he had picked up the torch with his left hand to continue his piece of +work, and they were obliged to kill him. + +Further on we heard cries from some women calling in French for help; +we went into the house from whence the cries came, believing that the +women must be _cantinières_ taken by the Russians. But on entering we +saw spread about here and there several costumes of different kinds, +all very costly, and two ladies of very dishevelled appearance came +running up to us. They had with them a boy of twelve or fifteen. They +begged our protection against the soldiers of the Russian police, who +were going to burn their house without giving them time to take away +their possessions. Amongst their things were Cæsar's mantle, Brutus's +helmet, and Joan of Arc's cuirass: for the ladies told us that they +were actresses and Frenchwomen, but that their husbands had been forced +to serve in the Russian army. For the time we were able to stop the +burning of the house, and we took the Russian police (four of them) to +our regiment, which was still in the Place du Gouvernement. After all +these troubles we got there at two o'clock in the morning, from the +opposite side to that by which we had left. When the Colonel heard that +we had come back, he came to tell us how displeased he was with us, and +to ask us what we had been doing since seven o'clock yesterday evening. +But when he saw our prisoners and our wounded man, and we had told him +of all the dangers we had been through, he said he was pleased to see +us again, as he had been very uneasy about us. + +On glancing at the Place where the men bivouacked, it seemed to be an +assembly from all parts of the world, for our soldiers were clothed as +Kalmucks, Chinese, Cossacks, Tartars, Persians, and Turks, and many of +them covered with splendid furs. There were even some dressed in French +Court dress, wearing swords with steel hilts shining like diamonds. Add +to this that the space was covered with all kinds of dainties to eat, +abundance of wines and liqueurs, a little fresh meat, a quantity of +hams and fish, a little flour, but no bread. + +On that day (the 15th), the day after our arrival, the regiment left +the Place du Gouvernement at nine in the morning for the neighbourhood +of the Kremlin, where the Emperor had taken up his quarters. I was left +at the Governor's palace with fifteen men. + +About ten o'clock I saw a General on horseback riding up, looking like +General Pernetty.[17] He was leading a young man dressed in a sheepskin +cape, fastened by a red woollen belt. The General asked me if I was in +charge of the guard, and on my saying 'Yes,' he continued: + +'Very good. You will see that this man is put to death with the +bayonet. I have just caught him with a torch setting fire to the palace +where I am staying.' + +I told off four men, therefore, to carry out the General's orders. But +French soldiers are not made for this kind of work--in cold blood. Our +blows did not pierce through his sheepskin, and we should have spared +his life on account of his youth (moreover, he had not the appearance +of a criminal), but that the General remained looking on till he saw +the poor wretch fall from a shot in the side. We left him lying where +he was. + +Soon after another man came, an inhabitant of the place, but a +Frenchman and Parisian by origin. He said he was proprietor of the +baths, and asked me for a safe-conduct, as they were setting fire to +his establishment. I gave him four men, who came back almost directly, +however, saying that the place was in flames already. + +A few hours after our dreadful execution, the men came to tell me that +a woman walking through the Place had thrown herself on the unfortunate +young man's body. I went to see her, and she tried to make us +understand that it was her husband, or at any rate a relation. She was +sitting on the ground, holding the dead man's head on her lap, stroking +his face, and from time to time kissing him, but without shedding a +tear. At last, not able to bear such a heart-rending scene, I brought +her into the guard-room and gave her a glass of liqueur, which she +eagerly drank, then a second, and a third, in fact, as much as she +could drink. She gave us to understand that she would stay for three +days where she was, waiting for the dead man to come to life again, +believing, like all the Russian peasants, that the dead revive in three +days. She fell asleep at last on the sofa. + +At five o'clock our company came back, and was again put on picket +duty, so I was there for another twenty-four hours. The rest of the +regiment was busy trying to extinguish the fire round the Kremlin; they +were successful for the time, but the fire broke out again afterwards +more fiercely than ever. + +After the company had returned, the Captain sent patrols in different +directions. One was sent to the baths, but came back directly, telling +us that the moment they arrived the whole place fell in with a terrible +noise, and that the sparks, carried far by a west wind, had caused +fires in many places. + +During all that evening and for part of the night, our patrols were +bringing in Russian soldiers from all quarters of the town, driven out +by the fire from the houses where they were hidden. Amongst them were +two officers--one of the regular army, the other of the militia; the +first allowed himself to be disarmed of his sword, only asking that he +might keep a gold medal hanging at his side; but the other, a young +man, having a cartridge-belt besides a sword, objected to my taking +them, and, speaking in French, told us he was in the militia. However, +after he had given us his reasons, we made ours pretty clear to him. + +At midnight the fire broke out again near the Kremlin; there were fresh +efforts made to extinguish it. But on the 16th, at three o'clock in the +morning, it recommenced more violently than ever; this time it spread. + +During the night of the 15th and 16th, I and two of my friends, +non-commissioned officers like myself, decided to explore the city and +the Kremlin we had heard so much of--so we set out. There was no need +of a torch to light us; but, as we intended to pay visits to the houses +and cellars of the Muscovite gentlemen, we each took a man with us +armed with candles. + +My comrades knew their way a little, but as at every instant fresh +houses fell in, the streets lost their character, and we were soon +hopelessly lost. After walking aimlessly for some time, we fortunately +met a Jew tearing his beard and hair at seeing the synagogue of which +he was rabbi burning away. As he spoke German, he told us his troubles, +saying that he and others of his religion had put everything valuable +they possessed into the synagogue for safety, but that now all was +lost. We tried to comfort this child of Israel, took him by the arm, +and asked him to lead us to the Kremlin. I can hardly help laughing now +when I remember that, in the midst of such a disaster, the Jew asked +us if we had anything to sell or exchange. I really think he asked the +question from force of habit, as just then no trading was possible. + +After going through several districts of the town, the greater part of +them on fire, and admiring the fine streets still standing, we reached +a little open place on a slight hill not far from the Moskowa. Here the +Jew pointed out to us the towers of the Kremlin, as clear as day by +the light of the fires. We stayed here to visit a cellar which some +Lancers of the Guard were just leaving. We took some wine and sugar +and a quantity of preserved fruits, and gave them all to the Jew to +carry, under our protection. It was daylight when we reached the first +enclosure of the Kremlin. We passed under a door built of gray stone, +surmounted by a belfry and a bell in honour of St. Nicholas, whose +statue stood in a niche over the door. This saint, at least six feet +high, richly dressed, was worshipped by every Russian who passed by, +even the convicts. He is the patron saint of Russia. + +When we had passed through the first enclosure we turned to the right, +and after crossing a street with much difficulty, on account of the +disorder caused by a fire which had just burst out in some houses where +the _cantinières_ of the Guard were lodged, we reached a high wall +topped by great towers with golden eagles on them. Passing through +a large gateway, we found ourselves in a courtyard and opposite the +palace. The Emperor had been there since the day before; the 14th and +15th he had slept in the suburbs. + +As soon as we arrived we found some friends in the 1st Chasseurs +picketing there, who invited us to breakfast. We ate some good meat, +a treat we had not enjoyed for a long time, and we had also some +excellent wine to drink. The Jew, who was still with us, was forced to +eat with us, in spite of his repugnance to the ham. I ought to say, +however, that the Chasseurs, who had some silver bullion taken from +the Mint, had promised to do business with him. The ingots were of the +size and shape of a brick. It was getting on to mid-day while we sat +at breakfast with our friends, our backs against the enormous guns +which guard each side of the arsenal, when we heard the cry 'To arms!' +The fire had attacked the Kremlin, and firebrands began to fall into +the courtyard where the Artillery of the Guard were stationed with +all their _caissons_. There was besides a great quantity of tow, left +by the Russians, part of which was already in flames. The fear of an +explosion disordered everything, and the confusion was increased by the +presence of the Emperor, who was obliged to leave the Kremlin. + +We parted from our friends while this was going on, and set out to +rejoin the regiment. We had explained to our guide where it was, and he +tried to take us there by a short-cut which we found to be impossible, +as the flames drove us back. We had to wait till the passage was free, +for now the fire had spread all round the Kremlin, and the violence +of the wind blew bits of red-hot wood against our legs, forcing us to +shelter in a cellar where several men had taken refuge already. We +stayed there for some time, and when we came out, we met the Guards +going to the Peterskoë Palace, whither the Emperor had now to betake +himself. Only the first battalion of the 2nd Chasseurs remained at +the Kremlin. It kept back the fire from the palace, for the Emperor +returned there on the 18th. I forgot to say that the Prince of +Neufchâtel, wishing to see the extent of the fire round the Kremlin, +had mounted with an officer on one of the battlements of the palace, +and had been nearly blown over by the fearful wind. + +The fire and the wind continued to rage, but there was now a free +passage by which the Emperor had just gone out. We followed it, and +found ourselves almost directly on the banks of the Moskowa. We walked +along the quay, following it till we found a street free from flames, +or one altogether burnt out. By the road the Emperor had taken, several +houses had fallen in ruins, and passage that way was impossible. + +We found ourselves at last in a district all burnt to cinders, and the +Jew tried with much difficulty to find a street leading to the Place +du Gouvernement. As we walked, the wind blew hot ashes into our eyes, +so that we could not see. We plunged through the streets with no worse +mishap than getting our feet scorched, for we had to walk over the iron +sheeting from the roofs and on the burning cinders which covered the +streets. + +We had already gone a long distance, when suddenly we found a clear +empty space to our right. This was the Jews' quarter; the houses, being +all of wood, had been burnt to the ground. On seeing this, our guide +uttered a cry of despair, and fell down unconscious. We hastened to +take off the burdens he carried, and, unpacking a bottle of liqueur, +we made him swallow a few drops, then poured a little over his face. +He soon opened his eyes, and when we asked him why he had fainted, he +told us that his house had been burnt, and that probably his family had +perished. On saying this, he again fell unconscious, so that we were +obliged to leave him in spite of not knowing which way to turn without +a guide. In such a labyrinth we had to make a decision, however, and we +gave the package to one of the men to carry, and continued our way, but +we were stopped directly by obstacles across our road. + +The distance round to the next street was about 300 yards, but we dared +not traverse it on account of the blinding hot ashes. While we were +deciding what to do, one of my friends proposed making an excursion +to reconnoitre. I advised him to wait, and the others agreed with me, +when, seeing our irresolution, he cried, 'Who loves me follows me!' and +set off. The other followed with two of our men, and I remained with +the man bearing the package, which consisted of three bottles of wine, +five of liqueurs, and some preserved fruits. + +They had hardly gone thirty yards, however, when the leader +disappeared; he fell all his length, and the second picked him up. The +two last had to cover their faces with their hands, nearly blinded by +the ashes like the first, who could not see at all, enveloped as they +were by a whirling cloud of this dust. The first one, not being able to +see, cried and swore like the devil. The others were obliged to leave +him, as they could not bring him back to where I was. I was afraid to +join them, the path becoming more and more dangerous. We had to wait +for an hour before I could get to them, and we provisionally emptied +one of the bottles. + +When at last we were reunited, we saw the impossibility of advancing +without danger. We decided to retrace our steps, and the idea struck +us of each taking a sheet of iron to cover our heads, holding it to +the windy and dusty side. After bending the iron into the shape of +shields, we set out, one of the men in front; then I came leading the +half-blinded man by the hand, the others following. We succeeded after +an infinite deal of trouble, stumbling time after time. + +We now found ourselves in a new street, where several Jewish families +and some Chinese were huddled up in corners, keeping guard over the +few possessions they had saved or had taken from others. They seemed +surprised to see us; they had, perhaps, not seen any other Frenchmen +in that quarter. We went up to a Jew, and made him understand that he +was to lead us to the Place du Gouvernement. A father came with his +son, and as the streets were blocked by ruined houses, or by others in +flames, it was only after many windings and great difficulties, and +many halts for rest, that at eleven o'clock at night we at last reached +the place we had left the evening before. I had had no rest since we +came to Moscow, so I lay down on some beautiful furs our soldiers had +taken, and slept till seven the next morning. + +The company was not yet off duty, as for thirty-six hours all the +regiments, the Fusiliers, and even the Young Guard, had been occupied +in suppressing the fire under the direction of Marshal Mortier, who had +been appointed Governor of the town. As soon as it was extinguished on +one side it broke out again on another. However, sufficient houses were +preserved for lodgings, but with infinite difficulty, as Rostopchin +had removed all the hand-pumps. A few were found, but they were quite +useless. + +During the 16th orders had been given to shoot everyone found setting +fire to houses. This order was executed at once. A little open space +near the Place du Gouvernement was called by us the Place des Pendus, +as here a number of incendiaries were shot and hung on the trees. + +The Emperor, on the day of our entry, had commanded, through Marshal +Mortier, that no pillage was to be allowed. The order had been given +in every regiment; but as soon as it was known that the Russians +themselves had fired the town, it was impossible to restrain the men. +Everyone took what he needed, and even things that were not needed. +On the night of the 17th the Captain allowed me to take ten men on +special duty and hunt for provisions. He sent twenty in a different +direction, as pillage[18] was to be allowed, but enjoining as much +order as possible. So I set out on my third night's expedition. We +crossed a wide street leading from our Place, which had been preserved +from the fire, and here many superior officers and a large number of +army employés had quartered themselves. We walked through several other +streets, where nothing was left but piles of sheet-iron off the roofs; +the wind of the day before had swept them clean of cinders. + +The quarter of the town we reached was still standing, but we saw +nothing except a few hackney coaches without horses. Absolute silence +reigned. We looked at the carriages, and found nothing; but we had +hardly got away, when we heard a ferocious cry behind us. This was +twice repeated, and in two different directions. We listened for +some time, and heard nothing more; so we decided to enter two of the +houses--I into the first with five men, and a corporal into another +with five others. We lighted the lanterns we had with us, and, sword +in hand, we made ready to force our way wherever we could find what we +wanted. + +The house I tried was shut up, and the door fastened by large plates of +iron. This was annoying, as we wanted to effect our entrance quietly; +but, noticing that the cellar door was open, two of our men went down, +and there they discovered a trap-door communicating with the house, and +in this way they opened the door for us. When we had entered, we saw +that we were in a grocer's shop. Everything was left in order, except +in a dining-room, where some cooked meat was left on the table, and +several bags of small change on a chest. + +After exploring the house, we collected provisions. We found flour, +butter, quantities of sugar and coffee, and a large barrel full +of eggs arranged in layers and packed in hay. We made our choice +without disputing about price, for we considered we might as well +help ourselves, as the house had been deserted, and at any moment it +might take fire. While we were engaged this way, the corporal sent to +tell me that the house he had entered belonged to a coach-builder, +and contained more than thirty of the pretty little carriages the +Russians call _drouschkys_; and that he had found a lot of Russian +soldiers lying on rush beds, who, seeing the Frenchmen, had fallen on +their knees, their hands crossed on their breasts, their foreheads to +the ground, imploring mercy. Seeing, however, that they were wounded, +the corporal tried to relieve them, as they were in no state to help +themselves, nor could they hurt us. + +I went immediately to the coach-builder's, and chose two pretty +convenient little carriages to transport all our provisions. + +I also saw the wounded men; five of them were gunners with broken +legs. There were seventeen altogether amongst them, some Asiatics, +recognisable by their manner of saluting. + +As I was going out with my carriages, I caught sight of three men, one +of whom had a lance, the second a sword, and the third a lighted torch, +setting the grocer's house on fire. The men I had left there were so +busy choosing and packing up all the good things that they were quite +unaware of what was going on. We shouted out to frighten the rascals, +but they never budged, and looked quietly at us. The man with the lance +even put himself in a position of defence, should we attack them. This +was difficult, as we had no swords. The corporal came up, however, with +two loaded pistols taken from the room where he found the wounded men; +he gave one to me, and made as if to fire with the other at the man +with the lance. I prevented him at the moment, fearing that the noise +might bring out a greater number upon us. + +On seeing this, one of our men, a Breton, seized the pole of one of the +little carriages, and, using it as a quarter-staff, attacked the man, +who was not used to this sort of fighting, and broke both his legs. He +uttered a terrible cry as he fell; but the Breton, in his rage, gave +him no time to cry again, and struck him a violent blow on the head. +No cannon-ball could have done the work better. He would have served +the two others in the same way, had not we prevented him. The fellow +with the lighted torch ran into the grocer's house with two of our men +after him, and only after two blows with the sword would he listen to +reason. He then submitted with a good grace, and was harnessed to one +of the carriages, together with a man just seized in the street. + +We now got ready for our departure. Our two carriages were packed with +everything in the shop--on the first, drawn by the two Russians, we +had placed the barrel of eggs, and had taken the precaution to tie the +men round the middle by a stout rope with a double knot; the second +carriage was drawn by four of our own men, until we could find a team +like the first. + +But just as we were setting off, we saw fire coming from the +coachmaker's house. We could not leave the wounded men to perish in +agony, so we carried them into a stable separated from the house. +That was all we could do, and, after performing this action of common +humanity, we departed as quickly as possible to get out of reach of the +flames, which were bursting out in several directions. Hardly, however, +had we gone twenty-five yards, when we heard the poor wounded wretches +shrieking frightfully. We stopped again, and the corporal went back +with four men to find out the cause. The fire had caught some straw in +the yard, and was fast gaining on their place of shelter. + +The corporal and his men did all in their power to save them, and then +rejoined us; but it is more than probable that the wounded men perished. + +We went on our way, and for fear of being overtaken by the fire we +forced our first team to trot, urging them on by blows from our swords. +However, there were no means of avoiding the fire, for when we got +near the Place du Gouvernement we saw that the principal street where +many of our superior officers were quartered was in flames. This was +the third time it had been set on fire, but it was also the last. + +We now saw that the fire was only burning here and there, and that by +running one could get through the clear spaces. When we reached the +first of the burning houses we stopped, considering whether it was +possible to get across them. Several had fallen already, and those +nearest to us threatened to crush us under the flames. However, we +could not remain where we were, for we saw that the houses behind us +had also caught fire. + +Thus, not only were the flames in front of and behind us, but also +on each side, and we were compelled to pass through a great vault of +fire. We sent the carriage on first, but the Russians objected to be +in front, in spite of several blows from the flat of our swords. Our +own men, therefore, went first, and, encouraging each other, got over +the worst place triumphantly. We therefore redoubled our blows on the +Russians, who, fearing there was worse to follow, rushed forward crying +'Houra!'[19] in great danger from the different articles of furniture +which continually fell into the street. As soon as the last carriage +had got over, we followed them, running, and found ourselves in a place +where four streets met, all on fire, and although the rain was now +pouring down, the fire still raged, and at every moment houses, and +even entire streets, disappeared in the smoke and ruins. + +It was necessary to rejoin the rest of the regiment as quickly as +possible, but we saw how impracticable this was, and that we should +have to wait till the whole street was reduced to ashes. So we decided +to turn back, and immediately acted on this. The Russians this +time went first without hesitation, but just as they had traversed +the dangerous passage, and we were about to follow, we heard a +terrible noise--the rending of beams, and the fall of burning wood +and iron roofs crashing on to our carriage. Instantly everything was +annihilated, even the Russians. We did not much regret them, but the +loss of our provisions distressed us very much, especially the eggs. +Our situation was now dreadful; we were blocked in by the fire without +any means of retreat. Happily for us, just where the four streets met, +there was a place where we could shelter from the flames, and wait +until the entire demolition of a street should afford us a passage. +While sheltering thus, we noticed that one of the houses was an Italian +confectioner's shop, and although it was on the point of burning, we +thought we had better try to save a few good things if we could. The +door was locked, but a window was open on the first floor, and chance +provided us with a ladder, which, placed on a barrel found against the +house, was long enough for the men to reach the window. + +Although part of the house was already on fire, nothing stopped +them. They opened the door to us, and we discovered, greatly to our +satisfaction and delight, that everything was left in the house. We +found all kinds of preserved fruits and liqueurs and a quantity of +sugar, but what astonished us most of all was the finding of three +large sacks of flour. Our surprise was greater still on seeing some +pots of mustard from the street of St. André des Arts, Paris. + +We hastily emptied the shop, and made a store of everything in the +middle of the street we occupied, until we could transport it all to +our company. As the rain still poured down, we made a shelter with the +doors of the houses, and bivouacking there, we stayed for more than +four hours, waiting for an opening through the fire. + +To pass the time we made jam-fritters, and when we departed we took +away all we could possibly carry. The remaining carriage and our sacks +of flour we left under the care of five men, meaning to come back +with others to fetch them. It was quite impossible to make use of the +carriage, as the middle of the street was filled up with a quantity of +furniture, broken and half burnt up, pianos, glass chandeliers, and an +infinity of other very expensive things. + +At last, after crossing the Place des Pendus, we reached the rest of +the company at ten in the morning; we had parted from them at ten the +preceding evening. We lost no time in sending back for what we had left +behind, and ten men set out at once. They returned an hour afterwards, +each carrying something, and, in spite of difficulties, bringing the +carriage also. They told us they had been obliged to clear out the +place where the Russians had been crushed, and that they had found the +bodies quite burnt and withered up. + +On the same day (the 18th) we were taken off duty, and we took +possession of our quarters in a fine street hitherto preserved from +fire, not far from the first enclosure of the Kremlin. Our company +had a large café assigned to it; one of the rooms contained two +billiard-tables. The non-commissioned officers were quartered in +a boyar's house, which occupied the first floor. Our men took the +billiard-tables to pieces to make room, and some of them made capes for +themselves of the cloth. + +We found a great quantity of wine in the cellars, and some Jamaica rum, +also a large cellar filled with barrels of excellent beer, packed in +ice to keep it fresh during the summer. We found at our boyar's house +fifteen large cases of wine and sparkling champagne. The same day our +men discovered a large sugar store, of which we took a quantity to make +punch with. This lasted all the time we were at Moscow, and we never +missed a day without drinking some. Every evening we made enough for +three or four times, in a large silver bowl which the Russian boyar had +forgotten to take away. This bowl held six bottles at the least. Add to +all this a fine collection of pipes and some excellent tobacco. + +On the 19th the Emperor inspected us at the Kremlin opposite the +palace, and on the same day I had orders to join a detachment of +Fusilier-Chasseurs and Grenadiers and a squadron of Polish Lancers--200 +men in all. Our object was to keep the Empress's summer palace, at the +farther end of Moscow, free from fire. This detachment was commanded by +a General whom I took to be General Kellerman. + +We left at eight in the evening, and it was half-past nine before we +arrived at a spacious building looking about the size of the Tuileries, +built of wood, and covered with stucco to represent marble. Guards +were immediately posted outside, and patrols were sent out for greater +safety. I was sent with several men to inspect the interior, to see if +anyone were hidden there. + +I was fortunate in having this opportunity of seeing this immense +building, furnished with all the combined splendour and brilliance of +Europe and Asia. It seemed as if everything had been lavished on its +decoration, and yet within an hour it was entirely consumed. A quarter +of an hour after we had used all the precautions possible against fire, +it broke out behind us, in front of us, to right, to left, and we were +unable to see who set it going. There it was in a dozen places at once, +and flaring from every attic window. + +The General immediately called for the sappers to try to cut the fire +off, but it was impossible. We had no pumps, and not even any water. +Directly afterwards we saw several men, some of them with torches still +burning, come out from under the great staircase, by some subterranean +way, and try to go quietly off. We ran after them and stopped them; +there were twenty-one of them, and eleven others were arrested on the +other side. These were not seen coming out of the palace, and nothing +about them showed that they were incendiaries. More than half of them, +however, were evidently convicts. + +The utmost we could do was to save some pictures and a few other +valuables, amongst which were Imperial ornaments, velvet mantles lined +with ermine, besides many other precious things which we afterwards +had to leave behind. About half an hour after the fire broke out, a +furious wind got up, and in less than ten minutes we were hemmed in by +the fire, and could neither advance nor retreat. Several men were hurt +by falling pieces of burning timber. It was two o'clock in the morning +before we could get out of this hell, and we then found that the fire +had spread for more than half a league all round--for the whole of this +quarter was built of wood, and was very beautiful. + +We set out again to return towards the Kremlin, taking with us +our prisoners, thirty-two in number. I was put in command of the +rear-guard, and the escort of the prisoners, with orders to bayonet +those who tried to run away or refused to follow. + +Two-thirds of these wretches were convicts, with sinister faces; the +others were middle-class citizens and Russian police, recognised by +their uniform. + +As we went along, I noticed amongst the prisoners one who was muffled +up in a fairly clean green cloak, crying like a child, and saying +repeatedly in good French: + +'Mon Dieu! I have lost my wife and my son in the fire!' + +He seemed very unhappy, so I asked him who he was. He told me that he +was Swiss, and came from near Zurich, and that for seventeen years he +had been at Moscow teaching German and French. He then began again to +cry out in despair, always repeating: + +'My dear son! my poor son!' + +I was very sorry for the poor fellow. I tried to comfort him, telling +him that very likely he would find them; and, as I knew that he would +be condemned to die with the others, I determined to save him. Two men +walked near him arm-in-arm, one young, and the other middle-aged. I +asked the Swiss who they were; he told me they were tailors, a father +and son. + +'But,' he said, 'the father is happier than I; he is not separated from +his son, and they can die together.' + +He knew the fate that awaited him; he had heard the order given in +French. While he was speaking to me, he stopped suddenly, and gazed +wildly in front of him. I asked him what was the matter, but he did +not answer. Soon afterwards he sighed heavily and began to weep again, +saying that he was looking for the place where his house had stood, and +that it must be there, as he recognised the large stove still standing. +I must here say that we could see as plainly as in broad daylight, not +only the town itself, but far beyond. + +Just then the head of the column, which was detached from the Polish +Lancers, stopped still, not knowing where to turn, as the narrow street +was completely blocked up. I took advantage of this delay to let the +unhappy man satisfy himself whether the bodies of his wife and son +were among the ashes of his house, and I offered to accompany him. We +went to the site of the house, and at first saw nothing to confirm +his suspicions. I was beginning to comfort him, saying that no doubt +they were saved, when, at the entrance to the cellar, I saw something +blackened and without form, all twisted up. I examined it, and found it +to be a dead body, but whether man or woman it was impossible to see. +I had hardly time, either, for the Swiss, who had come up behind me, +uttered a frightful cry and fell to the ground. I raised him with the +help of a man who stood near, but when he came to himself, he rushed in +despair all over the ruins of his house, and with another terrible cry +he called for his son, and flung himself into the cellar, where I heard +him fall heavily like an inert mass. + +I did not wish to follow him; I hastened to rejoin the detachment, +reflecting sadly on what I had just seen. One of my friends asked me +what I had done with the man who spoke French, and I told him of the +tragic scene I had just witnessed. As we were still halted, I asked +him to come and see the place. We went to the cellar door, and heard +groaning. My comrade proposed to go down and help him, but, knowing +that to save him from the cellar was to lead him to certain death, +as all the prisoners were to be shot, I said that it would be very +foolhardy to descend into such a place without a light. + +Luckily the order 'To arms!' was given at that moment. We waited while +the left column started, and as we were preparing to follow, we heard +steps behind us. I turned round, and was astounded to see the poor +Swiss, looking like a ghost, and with his arms laden with furs to +cover the bodies of his wife and son. He had found his son dead in the +cellar, but not burnt; the body at the door was his wife's. I advised +him to return to the cellar, and hide himself till we had left, when he +could perform his painful duty. I do not know if he understood me, but +we left him. + +We reached the Kremlin at five o'clock in the morning, and put the +prisoners in a place of safety; but I took the precaution to keep back +the two tailors, father and son, on my own account. As will be seen, +they were very useful to us during our stay in Moscow. + +On the 20th the fire had slackened a little. The Governor of the town, +Marshal Mortier, and General Milhaud, who was appointed Commandant of +the Place, were both very active in organizing a body of police. This +was formed from the Italians, Germans, and Frenchmen living in Moscow +who had escaped Rostopchin's rigorous orders to leave the city by +hiding themselves. + +While I was looking out of the window of our quarters at mid-day, I saw +the shooting of a convict. He refused to kneel down, but met his death +bravely, and, striking his breast, he seemed to defy his executioners. +A few hours afterwards our prisoners met with the same fate. + +I spent the day quietly enough, but at seven o'clock the +Adjutant-Major, Delaître, ordered me to surrender myself at a place +he named to me for having allowed three prisoners entrusted to me to +escape. I made what excuses I could, and went to the place indicated; +other non-commissioned officers were there already. I reflected that +my conscience was quite clear for having saved the lives of these men, +convinced as I was of their innocence. + +The room I was in opened on to a long, narrow gallery connecting the +house with another wing of the building. A part of this wing had been +burnt, so that no one inhabited it, and I noticed that the portion +still standing had not been examined. I was naturally curious to +see it, and having nothing to do, I went to the end of the gallery. +I fancied I heard a noise coming from a room with a closed door. I +listened, and thought I distinguished the words of a language I did not +understand. I knocked at the door, but no one answered, and profound +silence followed. I then looked through the keyhole, and saw a man +lying on a sofa, and two women standing, who appeared to be keeping him +from talking. I knew a few words of Polish, which is much like Russian, +so I knocked again, and begged for some water. No answer came; but at +my second request, which I made more forcible by a kick on the door, +they came and opened it. When I entered the room, the two women rushed +out into another. I closed the door, but the man on the sofa never +moved. At once I recognised him for a criminal of the lowest type, +dirty all over from his beard to his boots. His clothes consisted of +a sheepskin cloak and a leather belt; near him were a lance and two +torches, besides two pistols at his belt. These last I took from him, +and seizing one of the torches, I hit him on the side with it, and made +him open his eyes. On seeing me, he jumped up as if to spring upon me, +but fell flat down again. I aimed one of his pistols at him, but he +only gazed at me stupidly, and, trying to rise, fell again. After some +time, he at last succeeded in keeping on his feet. Seeing how drunk he +was, I took hold of his arm, and leading him from the room, I took him +to the end of the gallery. When we reached the top of the staircase, +which descended straight down like a ladder, I gave him a push; he +rolled down like a barrel, and fell almost against the guard-room door +opposite the stairs. The men dragged him to a room where they locked +up all of his description, and I did not hear him speak again. + +This expedition over, I returned to the room where I had found the man, +and shut myself in. I looked well round to see that there was no one +about, then opened the second door, and saw the two Dulcineas sitting +on a sofa. They did not seem surprised to see me, but both started +talking at once, I not understanding a word. I tried to ask them if +they had anything to eat; they understood me perfectly, and gave me +cucumber, onions, a large piece of salt fish, and a little beer, but +no bread. Afterwards the younger of the two brought me a bottle of +something she called _kosalki_; when I tasted it, I knew it was Dantzig +gin. In less than half an hour we had emptied the bottle, my two +Muscovites doing more service than I. + +I stayed for some time with these two sisters, and then I returned to +my room. I found there a non-commissioned officer of my company, who +had been waiting for me a long time. When I related my adventures, he +seemed delighted, as he could find no one to wash clothes. He seemed to +think the two Muscovite ladies would be only too much honoured by being +asked to wash and mend for French soldiers. We waited till ten o'clock, +when everyone was asleep, as we wished to keep our secret; then the +non-commissioned officer returned with the sergeant-major, and we went +to look for our beauties. They made a lot of difficulties at first, +not quite knowing where we were taking them, but making me understand +I was to go with them. I went as far as our quarters, where they +followed us willingly, laughing as they went. We found a small room at +liberty, which we made over to them, furnishing it with whatever we +could find--all kinds of pretty things which the noble Muscovite ladies +had not been able to carry away. Although our friends had had the +appearance of common servants, they were thus transformed into elegant +ladies--ladies, however, who had to wash and mend for us. + +On the next morning, the 21st, I heard a loud report of firearms, and +was told that several convicts and members of the police force had just +been shot; they had been caught setting fire to the Foundling Hospital, +and to the hospital containing our wounded men. The sergeant-major came +to tell me directly afterwards that I was free. + +When I got back to our quarters, I saw that the two tailors I had +saved were already at work making some capes out of the cloth off the +billiard-tables we had taken to pieces. I went into the room where we +had left our women, and found them at the wash-tub, and making but poor +work of it. This was very natural, however, as they were wearing some +silk dresses belonging to a Baroness. But for want of anything better +one had to put up with it. During the remainder of the day I was busy +arranging our quarters and getting in provisions, as we were apparently +to stay here for some time. To last for the winter we had seven large +cases of sweet champagne, a large quantity of port wine, five hundred +bottles of Jamaica rum, and more than a hundred great packets of sugar. +And all this was for six non-commissioned officers, two women, and a +cook. + +Meat was difficult to get, but on this evening we had a cow. I don't +know where she came from, but probably from some forbidden place; so +we had to kill her at night to escape observation. We had a large +number of hams, having found a shop full of them; add to all this a +quantity of salt fish, a few sacks of flour, two large barrels filled +with suet, which we had taken for butter, and as much beer as we +wanted. These constituted our provisions, in case we had to spend the +winter in Moscow. In the evening orders were given for a roll-call at +ten o'clock; eighteen men were missing. The remainder of the company +slept luxuriously in the billiard-room, lying on rich furs, sable, +lion, fox and bear's skins; many of them had their heads wrapped up +turban-fashion in fine cashmeres, looking, in fact, like Sultans +instead of Grenadier Guards; only the houris were wanting to complete +the picture. + +I prolonged my roll-call to eleven o'clock, so that I should not have +to report the absent men, and they returned soon afterwards bending +beneath their burdens. Amongst other valuable things they brought were +several silver plaques in relief; also each had a silver ingot, the +size and form of a brick. For the rest there were furs, Indian shawls, +silk stuffs brocaded in silver and gold. They asked for leave to make +two other journeys to fetch some wine and preserved fruits left behind +in a cellar. I gave them permission, and a corporal went with them. We +non-commissioned officers had a right to 20 per cent. of all the things +saved from the fire. + +On the 22nd we rested, added to our stock of provisions, sang, smoked, +laughed and drank, and amused ourselves. I paid a visit the same day +to an Italian print-seller, whose house had escaped the fire. On the +morning of the 23rd a convict was shot in the courtyard. That same +day we had orders to be ready the next morning for inspection by the +Emperor. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 24th we set out for the +Kremlin. Many other regiments were collected there for the same reason, +and that day many medals were given and many promotions made. Those who +were rewarded deserved well of their country, having shed their blood +many times on the field of battle. + +I took advantage of this occasion to look at all the wonderful things +in the Kremlin, and while several other regiments were being inspected, +I went to see the Church of St. Michael, the tomb of the Russian +Emperors. Some soldiers of the Guard (the 1st Chasseurs) picketed at +the Kremlin had come here the first day of our arrival, hoping to find +the treasure said to be concealed. They searched through the enormous +crypt, but found instead of treasures nothing but tombs in stone, +covered over with velvet, having inscriptions on silver plates. They +found also several people from the town who had fled there for refuge, +thinking that the presence of the dead would protect them. Amongst them +was a pretty young woman, said to belong to one of the best Moscow +families, who had foolishly become infatuated with one of the superior +officers. She behaved more foolishly still by following him in the +retreat. Like so many others, she died of cold, hunger, and want. + +After the crypt of St. Michael, I went to see the famous bell. It is +nineteen feet high, and a great part of it is embedded in the earth, +probably by its own weight, as it has lain on the ground ever since the +fire burned down the tower in which it hung. Near it, and opposite to +the palace, is the arsenal, with an enormous cannon on each side of the +door. On the right, farther off, is the cathedral, its nine bell-towers +covered with gilded copper. The cross of Ivan the Great is on the +highest tower, and dominates them all. It is made of wood, thirty feet +high, covered with silver-gilt plates, and is held in its place by +gilded chains. + +Some days after this, the men on extra duty, carpenters and others, +were ordered to take down this cross, to be conveyed as a trophy to +Paris; but, on their attempting to remove it, it fell by its great +weight, nearly killing the men, who were dragged down by the chains +they held. The same thing happened with the great eagles on the towers +round the Kremlin walls. + +It was mid-day by the time we had been inspected. We went out by the +arched gateway containing the great St. Nicholas. Several Russian +slaves were praying there, bowing and crossing themselves before the +saint; they were no doubt making intercession against us. + +On the 25th I and several friends explored the ruins of the town. +We saw much that we had not seen before. Everywhere we met Russian +peasants--women dirty and repulsive, some of them Jews, mixing +helter-skelter with soldiers, and searching in cellars for things which +might have escaped the fire. Besides wine and sugar, they were loaded +with shawls, cashmeres, magnificent Siberian furs, stuffs brocaded with +silk, gold and silver, and several with silver plate and other precious +objects. There were Jews there, too, with their wives and daughters, +making all kinds of offers to our men for the possession of our things. + +On the evening of the same day a Greek church opposite to us was set on +fire, close to the place where Marshal Mortier was quartered. We could +not extinguish the fire, in spite of all our efforts, and this church, +which was in beautiful preservation, was reduced in an incredibly short +time to ashes. Many unfortunate people had taken refuge there with the +few things remaining to them. This made the circumstance much worse. + +On the 26th I was on guard over the Emperor's carriages in a +coach-house at the farther end of the town. Opposite were some large +barracks saved from the fire, where part of our army was quartered. To +get there I had to traverse more than a league of ruins on the left +bank of the Moskowa, only seeing here and there a few rafters of the +churches left. Everything else was reduced to ashes. On the right bank +a few pretty country-houses were still left, only partially burnt. +Close to where I placed my guard there was a house which had quite +escaped the flames, and out of curiosity I went to see it. I met by +chance there a man who spoke French very well, who told me he came +from Strasbourg, and had been led by fate to Moscow only a few days +before us. He also said that he was a wine-merchant dealing in Rhine +wines and sweet champagne, and that by strokes of bad luck he had lost +more than a million--partly on account of wine destroyed in shops by +the fire, and partly by all we had drunk and were still drinking. He +had not even a piece of bread to eat, so I asked him to come and share +my rice soup; he accepted gratefully. + +The Emperor issued orders for a thorough organization in Moscow, in +preparation for remaining there for the winter while waiting for peace. +The first steps taken were for hospitals for the wounded, the Russians +being treated like ourselves. The stores of provisions scattered +through the town were concentrated as much as possible. Several +churches which had escaped the fire were reopened for worship. Near our +quarters was a Catholic church, where an emigrant French priest said +Mass. A theatre was even opened, where French and Italian actors played +comedies--at least, so I was told; but whether this was true or not, I +know they were paid in advance for six months, in order to convince the +Russians that we were going to remain for the winter. + +On the 27th I was agreeably surprised to meet two of my fellow-townsmen +coming to see me. These were Flament, from Peruwelz, vélite in the +Dragoon Guards, and Mellé, a dragoon from the same regiment, from +Condé. They were very welcome, for that day we felt merry, so we +invited them to dine and spend the evening with us. In the men's +various foraging expeditions, they found a quantity of men's and +women's costumes of all nations, even French dresses of the time of +Louis XVI., all of most beautiful materials. So this evening, after +dinner, we decided to have a ball and wear all these dresses. + +But I must not forget to say that Flament had told us a sad piece of +news--the loss of the brave Lieutenant-Colonel Martod, who commanded +the regiment. On reconnoitring in the outskirts of Moscow two days +before the 25th, they had fallen into an ambuscade, and were attacked +by 3,000 men, both cavalry and infantry. Colonel Martod was mortally +wounded; a Captain and the Adjutant-Major were made prisoners after +fighting desperately. Two days after we heard that the Colonel was dead. + +Now I must return to our ball--a real carnival, as we were all +disguised. First of all we dressed up the Russian women as French +Marquises; as they knew nothing of the business, Flament and I +superintended their toilette. Our two Russian tailors were dressed as +Chinese, I as a Russian boyar, Flament as a Marquis--each of us in +different costume, even our _cantinière_, Mother Dubois, who wore a +beautiful Russian national dress. As we had no wigs for our Marquises, +the regimental perruquier dressed their hair. For grease he used suet, +and flour for powder. They looked splendid, and when everyone was ready +we began to dance. I forgot to say that during all this time we drank +a great deal of punch dealt out to us by Mellé, the old dragoon. Our +Marquises and the _cantinière_, although they could stand a good deal, +were beginning to feel their heads swim in consequence of the large +quantity they had swallowed. + +For music, we had a flute played by a sergeant-major, accompanied by +the drum to keep time. We began with the air: + + 'On va leur percer les flancs + Ram, ram, ram, tam plan; + Tire-lire, ram plan.' + +Just as the music struck up, however, and Mother Dubois advanced with +our Quarter-master, our Marquises, excited no doubt by the music, +began to jump like Tartars, flying from right to left, swinging their +arms and legs, falling backwards, getting up, only to fall again. They +seemed to be possessed by the devil. There would have been nothing so +very extraordinary had they worn their Russian clothes, but to see +two French Marquises jump about like lunatics made us nearly die with +laughing, and the flute-player was obliged to stop playing, the drum +filling up the pauses by sounding the attack. The Marquises began again +with redoubled energy, until, exhausted, they sank on the floor. We +lifted them up and applauded them, and then we went on drinking and +dancing until four o'clock in the morning. + +[Illustration: THE FRENCH RECEIVING HOSPITALITY FROM RUSSIAN WOMEN. + +_From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army._] + +Mother Dubois, true to her trade, and knowing the full value of the +clothes she wore (silk brocade in gold and silver), went off without a +word. As she left, however, the sergeant of the guard on police duty, +seeing a strange lady in the street so early, and thinking he had found +a prize, went to her, and tried to take her by the arm and lead her +to his room. But Mother Dubois, who had a husband, and, moreover, had +drunk a good deal of punch, dealt the sergeant such a vigorous blow on +the face that she knocked him completely over. He shouted out, and, as +we had not gone to bed yet, we ran down to help him. The sergeant was +so furious that we had a great piece of work to din into his head that +he must not arrest a woman like Mother Dubois. + +The 28th and 29th we spent in looking after our provisions. We went out +in reconnoitring-parties during the day, and at night we went back to +take the things away. + +On the 30th we were inspected in the street opposite our quarters; +when it was over it occurred to the Colonel to show the inspector +how the troops were quartered. When the turn of our company came, the +Colonel took the Captain and the sergeant of the week with him; and the +Adjutant-Major, Roustan, who knew our quarters, walked in front and +opened all the doors. After seeing nearly everything, the Colonel said: + +'And what about the non-commissioned officers?' + +'Oh, they are very comfortable,' said the Adjutant-Major Roustan. And +he began to open the doors of our rooms.[20] + +But, unfortunately, we had not removed the key from the door of our +Dulcineas' little room (which everyone had taken for a cupboard). This +the Adjutant-Major opened, and, surprised at seeing a space within, he +looked and saw our birds. He said nothing, locked the door, and put the +key in his pocket. When he was in the street, he held up the key on +seeing me, and coming up to me he laughed. + +'Ah!' he said, 'you have some caged birds, and you keep them all +to yourselves. What in the devil's name do you do with those queer +customers, and where did you find them? There are not many about.' + +I told him then how I had found them, and how we kept them to wash our +clothes. + +'Well, then,' he said to the sergeant-major and me, 'you might lend +them to me for a few days to wash my shirts, as they are horribly +dirty. I hope you will be friendly, and not refuse me this.' + +He took the women away the same evening, and no doubt they washed all +the officers' shirts, as they did not come back for seven days. + +A strong detachment of the regiment was sent on October 1st to +plunder a large country-house some leagues from Moscow. We found very +little--only a cart loaded with hay. As we returned, we met some +Russian cavalry, who began caracoling round us without meaning to +attack us seriously. We marched, however, in such a way as to show them +that the advantage would not be theirs, for, although far fewer in +numbers than they were, we had disabled several of them. They followed +us to within a quarter of a league of Moscow. + +On the 2nd we heard that the Emperor had given orders to arm the +Kremlin; thirty pieces of cannon and howitzers of various calibre were +to be placed on all the towers round the outside wall. The men on extra +duty of every regiment of the Guard were commanded on the 3rd to dig +and carry away all the materials coming from the old walls round the +Kremlin, which the sapper-engineers had demolished, and all foundations +which had been undermined. + +On the 4th I went in my turn with the extra-duty men of our company; +the next day the Colonel of the Engineers was killed close to me, by a +brick from a mine just exploded. On the same day I saw near a church +several dead bodies with the legs or arms eaten away, probably by +wolves or dogs. + +On the days off duty we drank, smoked, and laughed, talking of France +and the distance separating it from us, and the possibility of being +sent still farther off. When evening came, we invited our Muscovite +slaves to join us (or, rather, our two Marquises, as we called them +since the night of the ball), and we sat drinking Jamaica rum-punch. + +The remainder of our stay in the town was passed in reviews and +parades, up to the day when a courier came to inform the Emperor, in +the middle of a review, that the Russians had broken the armistice, +and had taken Murat's cavalry by surprise. The order to leave was +therefore given, and the whole army was in instant movement; but our +regiment only knew in the evening that we had orders to leave the next +day. We gave the Muscovite women and the two tailors their share of +the booty which we could not carry away. They threw themselves on the +ground to kiss our feet twenty times--never had they imagined such +riches. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 17: I learned since that it was General Pernetty, commander +of the gunners of the Imperial Guard.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 18: Our soldiers called the pillage of the town the _foire de +Moscou_.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 19: _Houra!_ means 'En avant!'--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 20: It is necessary here to say that we had opened a door of +communication between our quarters and those of the company.--_Author's +Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE RETREAT--REVIEW OF MY KNAPSACK--THE EMPEROR IN DANGER--FROM MOJAISK +TO SLAWKOWO. + + +During the evening of October 18th, when, according to our daily +custom, several non-commissioned officers were assembled together, +stretched at full length like pashas on ermine, sable, lion and bear +skins, smoking costly tobacco in magnificent pipes, an enormous +silver bowl filled with punch before us, above which a huge loaf of +sugar was melting, held in its place by two Russian bayonets--just +as we were talking of France and of the glory of returning there +as conquerors after so long an absence, just as we were composing +farewells and promises of fidelity to our female Mongol, Chinese, +and Indian friends--we heard a tremendous noise in the large room +where the soldiers of our company slept. And who should enter but the +Quarter-master with the announcement that we must hold ourselves in +readiness to leave. The next day (the 19th) the town was filled with +Jews and Russian peasants--the first-named to buy of the soldiers what +they could not carry away, the last to pick up what we threw into the +streets. We heard that Marshal Mortier was to remain at the Kremlin +with 10,000 men to defend it if necessary. + +We set out in the afternoon, packing some liquor from our stores on +Mother Dubois's cart, as well as our large silver bowl; it was almost +dark when we got outside the town. We found ourselves amongst a great +number of carts and waggons, driven by men of every nationality, three +or four in a line, and stretching for the length of a league. We +heard all round us French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and +other languages also, for there were Muscovite peasants among them, +and a great number of Jews. This crowd of people, with their varied +costumes and languages, the canteen masters with their wives and crying +children, hurried forward in the most unheard of noise, tumult and +disorder. Some had got their carts all smashed, and in consequence +yelled and swore enough to drive one mad. This was the convoy of the +whole army, and we had a great deal of trouble in getting past it. We +marched by the Kalonga road (we were then in Asia); soon we stopped to +bivouac in a wood for the rest of the night. As the hour was already +far advanced, we had not long to rest. + +We resumed our march at dawn, but before we had gone a league we again +met a large part of the fatal convoy, which had passed us while we were +asleep. Most of the carts were already shattered, and others could not +move, the wheels sinking deep in the sandy road. We could hear screams +in French, oaths in German, entreaties to the Almighty in Italian, and +to the Holy Virgin in Spanish and Portuguese. + +After getting past this babel we were forced to wait for the left of +the column. I spent the time in making an examination of my knapsack, +which seemed too heavy. I found several pounds of sugar, some rice, +some biscuit, half a bottle of liqueur, a woman's Chinese silk dress, +embroidered in gold and silver, several gold and silver ornaments, +amongst them a little bit of the cross of Ivan the Great[21]--at +least, a piece of the outer covering of silver gilt, given me by a man +in the company who had helped in taking it down. Besides these, I had +my uniform, a woman's large riding-cloak (hazel colour, lined with +green velvet; as I could not guess how it was worn, I imagined its +late owner to be more than six feet high): then two silver pictures +in relief, a foot long and eight inches high; one of them represented +the Judgment of Paris on Mount Ida, the other showed Neptune on a +chariot formed by a shell and drawn by sea-horses, all in the finest +workmanship. I had, besides, several lockets and a Russian Prince's +spittoon set with brilliants. These things were intended for presents, +and had been found in cellars where the houses were burnt down. + +No wonder the knapsack was so weighty! to lighten it, therefore, I +left out my white trousers, feeling pretty certain I should not want +them again just yet. I wore over my shirt a yellow silk waistcoat, +wadded inside, which I had made myself out of a woman's skirt; above +that a large cape lined with ermine, and a large pouch hung at my +side, underneath the cape, by a silver cord. This was full of various +things--amongst them, a crucifix in gold and silver, and a little +Chinese porcelain vase. These objects seemed to have escaped the +general ruin by a sort of miracle, and I still keep them as relics. +Then there were my powder-flask, my firearms, and sixteen cartridges +in my cartridge-case. Add to all this a fair amount of health, good +spirits, and the hope of presenting my respects to the Mongol, Chinese +and Indian ladies I hoped to meet, and you will have a very good idea +of the Vélite sergeant of the Imperial Guard. + +I had scarcely finished reviewing my treasures[22], when in front +of us we heard a report of firearms: we were ordered to set off in +double-quick time. We arrived half an hour afterwards at the place +where part of the convoy, escorted by a detachment of red Lancers of +the Guard, had been attacked by partisans. Several of the lancers were +killed, also some Russians and many horses. Near a cart was a pretty +woman, stretched on her back on the ground, killed by the shock. We +marched on by a fairly good road, and stopped in the evening to bivouac +in a wood. + +Early the next morning we resumed our march, and met at noon a party of +Cossacks of the regular army. The artillery made short work of them. We +marched for most of this day over fields, and at night encamped on the +banks of a stream. + +There was rain on the 22nd, and it was slow and difficult walking +all day. In the evening we posted ourselves near a wood. During the +night we heard a loud explosion. Afterwards we discovered that Marshal +Mortier had blown up the Kremlin, putting a great quantity of powder +in the cellars. He left Moscow three days after we did with his 10,000 +men. Two of the regiments were the Young Guard, which we met on the +road to Mojaisk a few days afterwards. For the rest of the day we got +on very slowly, although we were marching all the time. + +On the 24th we found we were near Kalonga, and that same day, at +Malo-Jaroslawetz, the army of Italy, commanded by Prince Eugene, +engaged the Russian army, which was endeavouring to prevent our +passage. In this bloody struggle 16,000 of our men met 70,000 Russians. +The Russians lost 8,000 men, and we 3,000. Many of our superior +officers were killed and wounded--amongst them General Delzous, struck +on the forehead by a ball. His brother, a Colonel, in trying to save +him, was himself shot, and both died together on the same spot. + +On the 25th I had been on guard since the previous evening near a +little house where the Emperor had spent the night. There was a thick +fog, as there often is in October. All at once, without informing +anyone, the Emperor mounted his horse, merely followed by some orderly +officers. He had scarcely gone, when we heard a great noise. Just +at first we supposed it to be cries of 'Vive l'Empereur!' but then +we heard the order 'Aux armes!'--'To arms!' Six thousand Cossacks, +commanded by Platoff, had come to surprise us, favoured by the fog +and the deep ravines. The squadrons of the Guard on duty flew across +the plain. We followed them, crossing a ravine to make a short-cut. +We found ourselves directly in front of this host of savages, who +howled like wolves as they drew back. Our squadrons came up with +them, recaptured what they had taken of our baggage and waggons, and +inflicted heavy losses on them. + +When we got to the plain, we saw that the Emperor was in the midst of +the Cossacks, surrounded by Generals and by his orderly officers, one +of whom was dangerously wounded through a fatal mistake. Just as the +squadrons arrived on the plain, many of the officers, for their own +defence and that of the Emperor, who had nearly been taken in the midst +of them, had been obliged to use their swords against the Cossacks. One +of the orderly officers dropped his hat and his sword after killing and +wounding several of the Cossacks; so, finding himself defenceless, he +threw himself on a Cossack, and took his lance from him. Just at that +moment a mounted Grenadier of the Guard caught sight of him, and, +thinking from his green cloak and his lance that he was a Cossack, +rushed at him, and ran him through the body. + +The unhappy Grenadier, on seeing his mistake, endeavoured to get +killed. He flung himself amongst the enemy, striking to right and left, +but everyone fled before him. After killing several men, without being +able to die himself, he returned, alone and covered with blood, to ask +after the officer he had wounded. Fortunately he recovered, and was +taken back to France in a sledge. + +I remember that, just after this incident, the Emperor was talking +to Murat, laughing at the narrow escape he had had of being taken. +Monfort, the Grenadier-vélite from Valenciennes, again distinguished +himself, killing and wounding many Cossacks. + +We waited for some time longer in this place, and then resumed our +march, leaving Kalonga on the left. We crossed a muddy river by a very +bad bridge, and took the direction of Mojaisk. It began to freeze +during the night. + +On the 28th we started very early, and during the day, after passing +over a little river, we arrived at the famous battlefield (the +Moskowa), covered all over with the dead, and with débris of all +kinds. Legs, arms, and heads lay on the ground. Most of the bodies +were Russians, as ours had been buried, as far as possible; but, as +everything had been very hastily done, the heavy rain had uncovered +many of them. It was a sad spectacle, the dead bodies hardly retaining +a human resemblance. The battle had been fought fifty-two days before. + +Further on we fixed our bivouac, passing on our way the great redoubt +where General Caulaincourt had been killed and buried. We sheltered +ourselves as well as we could, and made a fire with broken remains of +rifles, carts, gun-carriages. We had no water, however, for the little +stream flowing near was full of decaying bodies. We had to go a quarter +of a league to find any fit for drinking. When we had everything +settled, I went with a friend[23] to explore the battlefield; we went +as far as the ravine where Murat had pitched his tents. + +On that same day a report went round that a French Grenadier had been +found still living on the battlefield. He had both his legs cut off, +and was sheltered by the body of a horse, whose flesh he had eaten to +keep himself alive. His drink was the water from the stream full of +the dead bodies of his comrades. I heard that he was saved--and no +doubt for the time it was true--but afterwards he would be left behind, +like so many others. That evening many whose store of provisions had +come to an end began to feel hunger. Up till then everyone contributed +his share of flour for the soup; but now, seeing that some did not +contribute, men began to hide what they had to keep it for themselves. +The soup made out of horseflesh--which we had eaten for the last few +days--was all we had to eat in common. + +On the following day we passed near a convent, used as a hospital for +many of our wounded in the great battle. Many of them were still there, +and the Emperor gave orders for them to be taken away on any of the +carts, beginning with his own; but the canteen men, who had the care +of these unfortunate people, left them for one pretext or another on +the road, in order to keep all the booty they had brought from Moscow, +which filled their carts. + +We slept that night in a wood behind Ghjat, where the Emperor stayed. +Snow fell for the first time during the night. + +The next day (the 30th) the road had become very heavy, and many carts +laden with booty had the greatest difficulty in getting along. Several +were damaged, and others were lightened by throwing away useless parts +of the load. I was that day in the rear-guard, and could see from the +extreme rear of the column the beginning of the frightful disorder +that followed. The road was heaped with valuable things--pictures, +candlesticks, and quantities of books. For more than an hour I was +picking up volumes, which I glanced through, and then threw down +again, to be taken up by others, who in their turn left them on the +road--books such as Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Buffon's +'Natural History,' bound in red morocco and gold. + +I had the good fortune that day to obtain a bearskin coat found by +a man in our company in a broken-up waggon. On the same day our +_cantinière_ lost her cart containing our provisions, and our beautiful +silver punch-bowl of so many pleasant memories. + +On the 30th we got to Viasma--called by our men Ville au Schnaps, on +account of all the brandy they had found there on going to Moscow. The +Emperor stopped here, but our regiment went forward. + +I forgot to say that before arriving at this town we made a halt, and +while I was resting near a little pine wood I met a sergeant in the +Chasseurs of the Guard, whom I knew.[24] He had taken advantage of +a ready-made fire to cook a potful of rice, and invited me to share +it. He had with him a _cantinière_ of the regiment--a Hungarian. They +were the best friends possible. She still had her cart with two horses +intact, well filled with provisions, furs, and silver. I stayed for +more than an hour with them. While I was there a non-commissioned +Portuguese officer came up to warm himself at our fire. I asked him +where his regiment was, and he replied that it was dispersed, but +that he, with a detachment, was under orders to escort seven or eight +hundred Russian prisoners. They had no food, and were reduced to eating +each other. Literally, when one of them died, he was cut up and divided +between them, and afterwards eaten. He offered to let me see for +myself--this I refused. This took place not a hundred yards from our +resting-place. We learnt some days afterwards, that, having no food for +the rest, they had been abandoned. + +The sergeant and _cantinière_ of whom I spoke afterwards lost +everything they had at Wilna, and were both taken prisoners. + +On November 1st we slept near a wood, as we had done the preceding +night. For the last few days we had nothing but horseflesh to eat. The +few provisions we had brought from Moscow were all gone, and now, with +the cold weather, our real miseries began. I had saved a little rice +for myself, which I meant to keep for a great pinch, foreseeing much +greater hardship in the future. + +I was in the rear-guard again to-day. We were all non-commissioned +officers, as many of the men stayed behind to rest and warm themselves +at the fires made by those in front. As I walked, I saw to my +right several men from different regiments round a large fire. The +Adjutant-Major sent me to tell them to follow, and when I got near +them I recognised Flament, a Dragoon-vélite. He was cooking a piece +of horseflesh on the point of his sword, and invited me to join him. +I asked him to follow the column. He said that he would come as soon +as he had finished his meal, but that he was unfortunately obliged to +walk in his riding-boots, as in an encounter with the Cossacks the day +before his horse had strained himself, and he was forced to lead the +animal. Luckily, I was able to give Flament a pair of shoes, so that +he could walk like a foot soldier, and said good-bye to him, little +thinking that I was not to see him again. Two days afterwards he was +killed near a wood, just as he and some other stragglers were lighting +a fire to rest themselves. + +On the 2nd, before getting to Slawkowo, we saw close to the road a +_blockhaus_, or military station--a kind of large fortified shed, +filled with men from different regiments, and many wounded. All those +who could follow us did so, and the slightly wounded were placed, as +many as possible, in our carts. Those more seriously wounded were left, +with their surgeons and doctors, to the mercy of the enemy. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 21: I forgot to say that in the middle of the large +cross of Ivan the Great was a small one in solid gold about a foot +long.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 22: On account of the Continental blockade, a rumour ran +through the army that we were to penetrate into Mongolia and China, and +seize the English possessions there.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 23: Grangier, a sergeant.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 24: This man's name was Guinard; he was a native of +Condé.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +DOROGOBOUI--VERMIN--A CANTINIÈRE--HUNGER. + + +On the 3rd we stayed at Slawkowo, and saw Russians to the right of us +all the day. The other regiments of the Guard, who had remained behind, +now joined us. We made a forced march on the 4th to reach Dorogoboui, +the 'cabbage town.' We gave it this name on account of the vast number +of cabbages we found there on going to Moscow. This was also the place +where the Emperor settled the number of artillery and rifle-shots to +be fired in the great battle. By seven in the evening we were still +two leagues from the town, but the depth of the snow made marching +exceedingly difficult. It was with infinite labour we got so far, and +for a short time we lost our way. + +It was quite eleven o'clock before we made our bivouac. Amongst the +débris from the houses (for this town had been almost burned down, like +so many others), we found wood enough to make fires and get thoroughly +warm. But we had nothing to eat, and we were so horribly tired that we +had not the strength to go and look for a horse, so we lay down to rest +instead. One of the men in the company brought me some rush matting to +make a bed, and with my head on my knapsack, my feet to the fire, I +went to sleep. + +I had slept for about an hour, when I felt an unbearable tingling over +the whole of my body. Mechanically I passed my hand over my chest and +other parts of my body, and to my horror discovered that I was covered +with vermin! I jumped up, and in less than two minutes was as naked as +a new-born babe, having thrown my shirt and trousers into the fire. The +crackling they made was like a brisk firing, and my mind was so full of +what I was doing that I never noticed the large flakes of snow falling +all over me. I shook the rest of my clothes over the fire, and put on +my only remaining shirt and pair of trousers; and, feeling miserable +almost to the point of tears, I sat on my knapsack, covered with my +bearskin, and, my head in my hands, spent the rest of the night as far +as possible from the cursed rush matting on which I had slept. The men +who took my place caught nothing, so I suppose I monopolized them all. + +Early the next morning we set out (November 5th). Before leaving, a +distribution of hand-mills was made in every regiment of the Guard, in +case of finding any corn to grind; but as we found none, and the mills +were very heavy, we got rid of them before twenty-four hours were over. +This was a sad day--so many of our sick and wounded died. Up till now +they had made superhuman efforts in the hope of reaching Smolensk and +finding food and shelter. + +In the evening we stopped near a wood, and the order was given to +make shelters for the night. Just afterwards our _cantinière_, Madame +Dubois, the regimental barber's wife, was taken ill, and in the midst +of the falling snow, with twenty degrees of frost, _i.e._, about ten +below zero, she was delivered of a fine boy--a miserable position for +the poor woman. Colonel Bodel, who commanded our regiment, did all he +possibly could to make her comfortable, lending his cloak to cover +the shelter where she lay. Madame Dubois bore her pain and discomfort +bravely; the surgeon did his best, and all ended happily. That same +night our men killed a white bear, which was eaten at once. After +spending a miserable night, on account of the fearful cold, we set out +again. The Colonel lent Madame Dubois his horse. She held her new-born +infant wrapped in a sheepskin in her arms, and she herself wore the +cloaks of two men who had died during the night. + +There was a dense fog that day, November 6th, and more than twenty-two +degrees of frost. Our lips were frozen, our brains too; the whole +atmosphere was icy. There was a fearful wind, and the snow fell in +enormous flakes. We lost sight not only of the sky, but of the men in +front of us. As we approached a wretched village,[25] a horseman came +at full speed, asking for the Emperor. We heard afterwards that it was +a General bringing news of Malet's conspiracy in Paris. + +We were just then packed very closely together near a wood, and had a +long time to wait before we could resume our march, as the road was +narrow. As several of us sat together beating with our feet to keep +warm, and talking of the fearful hunger we felt, all at once I became +aware of the smell of warm bread. I turned round and behind me saw +a man wrapped in a great fur cape, from which came the smell I had +noticed. I spoke to him at once, saying, 'Sir, you have some bread; +you must sell it to me.' As he moved away, I caught him by the arm, +and, seeing that he could not get rid of me, he drew out from under +his cloak a cake still warm. With one hand I seized the cake, while +with the other I gave him five francs. But hardly had I the cake in my +hand, when my companions threw themselves on it like madmen, and tore +it from me. I only had the little bit I held between my thumb and two +first fingers. + +While this was going on, the Surgeon-Major (for it was he) went off, +and well for him he did so, as he might have been killed for the sake +of the rest of the cake. He had probably found some flour in the +village, and had had time to make the cake while waiting for us. + +During this half-hour several men had lain down and died; many more had +fallen in the column while marching. Our ranks were getting thinned +already, and this was only the very beginning of our troubles. Whenever +we stopped to eat hastily, the horses left behind were bled. The blood +was caught in a saucepan, cooked, and eaten. But often we were forced +to eat it before there was time to cook it. Either the order for +departure was given, or the Russians were upon us. In the latter case +we did not take much notice. I have sometimes seen men eating calmly, +while others fired at the Russians to keep them off. But when the order +was imperative and we were obliged to go, the saucepan was carried with +us, and each man, as he marched, dipped his hands in and took what he +wanted; his face in consequence became smeared with blood. + +Very often we were obliged to leave the horses, for want of time to +cut them up, and men would drop behind and hide themselves for fear +of being forced to follow their regiments. Then they would throw +themselves on the meat like vultures. These men seldom reappeared; they +were either taken by the enemy or they died of cold. + +This day's march was not so long as the preceding one; it was still +daylight when we stopped. A village had been burnt down, and only a few +rafters here and there remained. The officers encamped against these +for the night, getting a little shelter this way. Besides the fearful +pains we felt all over through our great fatigue, we were by this time +quite famishing. Those of us who still had a little rice or oatmeal, +hid themselves to eat it in secret. We had no friends left; we looked +suspiciously at each other, and even turned against our best comrade. +I will not keep back a base act of ingratitude I committed against my +truest friends. Like everyone else that day I was devoured by hunger; +but besides that, I was also devoured by vermin I had got the previous +day. We had not even a bit of horseflesh to eat, and we were waiting +for some men of our company to come up who had stayed behind to cut up +the fallen horses. I was standing near one of my friends, Poumot, a +sergeant, close to a fire we had made, in quite indescribable torment, +and looking round continually to see if no one was coming. Suddenly I +seized his hand convulsively, and said: + +'Look here: if I met anyone in the wood with a loaf of bread, I should +force him to give me half!' And then, correcting myself, 'No,' I said, +'I would kill him to have it all!' + +Almost before I had finished I strode off towards the wood, just as if +I expected to meet the man and the loaf. When I got there, I roamed +about for a quarter of an hour, and then, turning in the opposite +direction from our bivouac, close by the borders of the wood, I saw a +man seated near a fire. On the fire was a pot in which something was +evidently cooking, as the man took a knife and, plunging it into the +pot, drew out a potato, which he pinched, and then put back again, as +if it were not boiled enough. + +I ran towards him as hard as I could, but fearing that he might escape +me, I made a little circuit, so as to come up behind him without his +seeing me. The brushwood crackled, however, as I came through, and he +turned round; but before he had time to speak, I said: + +'Look here, comrade: you must either sell or give me your potatoes, or +I shall carry away the pot by force!' + +He seemed quite taken by surprise, and as I put out my sword to fish +with it in the pot, he said it did not belong to him, but to his +master, a Polish General, who was camping close by, and that he had +been ordered to hide himself here to cook the potatoes ready for the +next day. + +Without answering him, I offered him money, and began to take the +potatoes. He told me they were not boiled enough yet, and as I seemed +not to believe him, he took one out for me to feel. I tore it from him, +and devoured it just as it was. + +'They are not fit to eat--you can see that for yourself,' he said; +'hide yourself for a little while, try to be patient, and don't let +anyone see you till the potatoes are boiled, and then I will give you +some.' + +I did as he bade me, hiding behind a bush, but not losing sight of him. +After about five or six minutes, thinking no doubt that I was some +distance off, he looked stealthily to right and left, and taking the +pot, he ran off with it. Not far, however, as I soon stopped him, and +threatened to take the whole if he did not give me half. He said again +that the potatoes belonged to his General. + +'I must have them if they are the Emperor's,' I cried. 'I am dying of +hunger.' + +Seeing he could not get rid of me, he gave me seven. I paid him fifteen +francs, and left him. He then called me back, and gave me two more. +They were hardly cooked at all, but that did not matter much to me. I +ate one, and put the rest in my bag. I reckoned that, with a little +horseflesh, they would last me for three days, allowing two each day. + +As I walked on, thinking of my potatoes, I lost my way. I was made +aware of this by hearing cries and curses from five men, who were +fighting like dogs; the leg of a horse on the ground was the cause of +the disturbance. One of them, on seeing me, told me that he and his +companion, both artillery soldiers, had killed a horse behind the wood, +and that, on returning with their portion, they had been attacked by +three men of another regiment. If I would help them they would give me +a share. I feared the same sort of fate for my potatoes, so I replied +that I could not wait, but that if they could hold on for a little I +would send some people to help them. A little further on I met two men +in our regiment to whom I told the story. The next day I heard that +when they got to the place they only saw a man lying dead, covered with +blood, killed by a great pine cudgel at his side. Probably the three +aggressors had taken advantage of the absence of one of their enemies +to fall on the other. + +When at length I got back to my regiment, several of the men asked me +if I had found anything. I answered 'No,' and, taking my place near the +fire, I hollowed out a bed in the snow, stretched my bearskin coat to +lie on, a cape lined with ermine for my head. Before going to sleep, I +had my potato to eat. Hiding it by my cape, I was as quiet as possible, +terrified lest anyone should observe that I was eating. I had a little +snow for drink, and then went to sleep, holding my bag containing the +rest of my provisions fast in my arms. Several times in the night, as +I woke, I put in my hand, carefully counting my potatoes; so I passed +the night without sharing with my starving companions the bit of luck +I had had. I shall never forgive myself for this selfishness. I was +awake and sitting on my knapsack before the reveille sounded in the +morning. I saw that a terrible day was in store for us, on account +of the high wind. I made a hole in my bearskin coat, and put my head +through it. The bear's head fell over my chest, and the rest over my +back, but it was so long that it dragged on the ground. Before dawn +we set out. We left behind us an enormous number of dead and dying. +Further on it was worse still, as we had to stride over the dead bodies +left on the road by the regiments going before us. It was worst of all +for the rear-guard, as these were witnesses of all the horrors left by +the whole army. The last corps were those commanded by Marshal Ney and +Davoust, and the army of Italy under Prince Eugène. Daylight appeared +when we had been marching for about an hour, and, as we had come up +with the corps in front of us, we halted. Our _cantinière_, Mother +Dubois, took advantage of the halt to feed her baby, when suddenly we +heard a cry of anguish. The infant was dead, and as stiff as a piece +of wood. Those nearest to her tried to comfort her by saying that it +was the best thing both for the baby and herself, and, in spite of her +cries and tears, they took the infant from her breast. They gave it +to a sapper, who, with the child's father, went a short distance from +the road. The sapper dug a hole in the snow, the father on his knees +holding the child in his arms. When the grave was made, he kissed the +baby, and placed it in its tomb. It was covered with snow, and all was +at an end. + +We stopped an hour later for a long halt at the edge of a wood. Here a +large party of artillery and cavalry had encamped, for we found a great +many dead horses, some of them cut in pieces. There were many more +still living, though numbed, standing still to be killed; those that +had died during the night were frozen so hard that it was impossible +to cut the flesh. During this disastrous march I noticed that we were +always placed as much as possible behind the cavalry and artillery; so +that when we halted where they had passed the night, the horses they +had left behind were ready for us. + +While we were all resting, and each busy in arranging some fearful +meal for himself, I retired furtively into the thickest part of the +wood to eat the potatoes I had hidden so carefully. But a fearful +disappointment was in store for me. When I tried to bite, I felt +nothing but ice; my teeth slipped, and I could not get hold of a bit. +I was sorry then that I had not shared the potatoes with the others, +and I went back to them, holding in my hand the frozen one, covered +with blood from my lips. They asked me what I had got, and I silently +showed them the potato I held, and the others in my bag. They were +snatched instantly from me; but the result, when they tried to bite, +was no better than mine. They tried to thaw them at the fire, but they +melted away like ice. While this was going on, other men came up to ask +me where I had found the potatoes, and when I pointed to the wood they +ran there, returning to say they had found nothing. They were very good +to me, as they invited me to share a potful of horse's blood which they +had cooked. I did not need two invitations. I have always felt very +sorry for behaving as I did. The men believed that I found the potatoes +in the wood, and I did not undeceive them. But all this is only a +hundredth part of what came afterwards. + +After an hour's rest we set out again, crossing a wood, where every +now and then we came on open spaces, with houses in them occupied by +Jews. Some of them are large, and built very much like our barns, only +of wood. At each end is a large door. These houses take the place of +posting houses. A carriage is taken in at one end, and, after changing +horses, goes out at the other. The houses are built about three leagues +apart; but most of them had disappeared, having been burnt at the +army's first passage. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 25: The name of the village was Mickalowka.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + A DISASTER--A FAMILY DRAMA--MARSHAL MORTIER--TWENTY-SEVEN DEGREES OF + FROST--WE REACH SMOLENSK--A DEN OF THIEVES. + + +When we got out of the wood, near to a miserable little hamlet called +Gara, I saw, a short distance off, one of the posting-houses I have +been describing. I pointed it out to one of our sergeants, an Alsatian +called Mather, and suggested to him that we should spend the night +there, if we could possibly manage to get there first. We set off +running, but found on arriving that it was crammed full with officers, +men, and horses--about 800 people being there--so that there was not an +inch of room for us. + +While we were running, first one way and then another, trying to find +places, the Imperial column and our own regiment passed, so we decided +to spend the night under the horses tied up to the doors. Those who +were camped round the house repeatedly tried to pull it down to make +fires and shelters with the wood, and to get hold of the straw lying in +a sort of loft. Some of this straw was used for beds by those inside +the house, and, tightly packed though they were, they even made small +fires to warm themselves and cook their horseflesh. They threatened to +shoot those outside who tried to pull up the planks of the house. Some +who had got on the roof, and had torn off planks, were forced to jump +down in danger of their lives. + +It might have been perhaps eleven o'clock at night. Some of the +unfortunate men were asleep, others were warming their limbs at the +fire, when we heard an indistinct noise behind us. Fire had broken out +in two places--in the centre and at the other end of the barn. When we +tried to open the doors, the horses fastened to the inside reared and +prevented our passing. It was impossible to get to the other door for +the smoke and flames. + +The confusion was supreme. The men from the further side of the barn +threw themselves in a compact mass against the inside of the door near +where we slept, to prevent others from getting in. To do this more +effectually, they had fixed the door firmly with a cross-bar of wood. +In less than two minutes the whole place was in flames; the fire had +begun in the straw where the men slept, and rapidly spread to the dry +beams above their heads. Some men near the door tried to open it, but +failed, as it opened inwards. A terrible scene, impossible to describe, +took place; smothered groans and terrible shrieks were heard from the +building. The unfortunate wretches inside climbed one upon the other, +endeavouring to get out through the roof; but flames were already +issuing through the holes there, and no sooner did the men appear, +their clothes on fire, and the hair burnt off their heads, than they +were driven back again by the force of the fire. + +Then cries and shrieks of rage were heard, the fire became a vast +tossing mass, through the convulsive efforts the poor wretches made to +escape. It was the picture of hell. + +We saved seven men by dragging them through a hole made by a plank +torn from its place. One of them was an officer of our regiment. His +hands were burnt and his clothes torn, and the other six were worse off +still. It was impossible to save any more in this way, as the others +were already half suffocated by the smoke, and by the weight of other +men on the top of them; we had to leave them to be burnt with the rest. +Some few flung themselves off the roof, and begged us to finish them +off by shooting them. + +Other men who were camping near, half dead with cold by their wretched +fires, now came running up, attracted by the light of the flames. They +came, not to offer help--they were too late for that--but to warm +themselves, and cook their horseflesh on the points of their swords +and bayonets. In their opinion, the disaster was an intervention of +Providence, as the men burnt in the barn were the richest in the army, +having brought away more treasure than any others from Moscow. In +spite of their hunger and weakness, we saw men running the risk of the +flames to drag out the bodies of their wretched comrades, in order to +hunt for what they could find. Others said, 'It serves them right; if +they had let us get on to the roof, this would not have happened.' +Others, again, stretched out their hands to the warmth, saying, 'What a +beautiful fire!' regardless of the fact that several hundreds of their +comrades, perhaps even of their relatives, had given their bodies to +feed the flames. + +Before the dawn, I set out with my companion to rejoin the regiment. +We walked on, thinking of all that had passed, stumbling over dead and +dying men. The cold was even more intense than on the day before. We +joined two men of the line who had their teeth in a bit of horseflesh. +They said, if they waited any longer, it would be frozen too hard to +eat. They assured us as a fact that they had seen foreign soldiers +(Croats) of our army dragging corpses out of the fire, cutting them up +and eating them. I never saw this sort of thing myself, but I believe +it frequently happened during this fatal campaign. + +What object could these men have, almost dying as they were, in telling +us this story, if it were not true? It was not an occasion for lying. +I am sure that if I had not found any horseflesh myself, I could have +turned cannibal. To understand the situation, one must have felt the +madness of hunger; failing a man to eat, one could have demolished the +devil himself, if he were only cooked. + +Since we left Moscow, a pretty Russian carriage drawn by four horses +had followed the Guards' column. For the last two days, however, we +only saw two; the others had either been killed and eaten, or had died +of the cold and fatigue. In the carriage was a lady, probably a widow, +still young, with her two daughters, of seventeen and fifteen years of +age. They were from Moscow, of French origin, and had yielded to the +entreaties of one of our superior officers to accompany him to France. +Perhaps the officer intended to marry the lady, for he was no longer +very young. Be that as it may, these unhappy ladies were, like us, +exposed to the terrible cold, and to all the miseries of hunger and +want, feeling it, no doubt, far more keenly than we did. + +The day was breaking when we got to the place where our regiment had +slept, and the army was already in motion. During the last two days +the regiments were diminished by a third of their number, and it was +only too evident, from the slow, painful progress of many of the men, +that they would succumb before the day was over. I saw the carriage +containing the unfortunate ladies emerge from a little wood on to the +highroad; there it stopped close to me, and I heard cries and groans +proceeding from it. The officer in charge of the ladies opened the +door, got into the carriage, and presently lifted out a dead body to +the sappers waiting outside. One of the poor girls had just died. She +was dressed in gray silk, with a cape of the same colour trimmed with +ermine. She was still beautiful, but very thin. We were all very much +touched at this sight, in spite of our usual indifference to tragic +scenes, and when I saw the officer in tears, I wept also. + +As the sappers took the girl's body away, I glanced into the +carriage, and there I saw the mother and the other girl fallen one +over the other. They seemed to be quite unconscious, and, indeed, +their sufferings were ended that evening. I think they were all +three buried by the sappers in the same grave, near Valoutina. The +Lieutenant-Colonel, reproaching himself for this misfortune, tried at +Krasnoë and other battles to meet his death; and in January, a few days +after our arrival at Elbingen, he died of grief. + +This day (November 8th) was a terrible one. We were late at our +halting-place, and, as we were supposed to reach Smolensk the following +day, the hope of getting food and rest, and the rumour that we were +to go into cantonments there, inspired many of our men to superhuman +exertions, in spite of the frightful cold and every kind of privation. + +Before reaching the place for bivouac, we had to cross a deep ravine +and climb a hill. Some artillerymen of the Guard had stopped in the +ravine with their guns, quite unable to get up the hill. The horses +were entirely spent, and the men's strength gone. They were accompanied +by some gunners of the King of Prussia's Guard; they had been through +the campaign with us, attached to our artillery as a Prussian +contingent. They had made their bivouacs by the side of their guns, +lighting their fires as best they could, and hoping to continue their +way in the morning. Our regiment and the Chasseurs were on the right of +the road. I believe these were the heights of Valoutina, where a battle +had been fought on August 19th that same year. + +I was on guard at Marshal Mortier's. His quarters were a barn without +a roof. A hasty shelter had been put up, however, to keep out the snow +and cold as much as possible. Our Colonel and the Adjutant-Major were +there also. We tore some wood off the fence to make a little fire +for the Marshal, at which we could all warm ourselves. We had hardly +settled down to cook a piece of horseflesh, when a man appeared, his +head tied up in a handkerchief, his hands swathed in rags, and his +clothes burnt. He cried out as he came up: + +'Ah, Colonel, how miserable I am! I am suffering terribly!' + +The Colonel turned round, asking him who he was, where he came from, +and what was the matter with him. + +'Ah, Colonel,' he said, 'I have lost everything, and I am frightfully +burnt.' + +The Colonel then recognised him, and said: + +'That was your own fault; you should have kept with the regiment. You +have disappeared for several days. What have you been doing? You ought +to have shown an example, and been ready, like us, to die at your post. +Do you understand, sir?' + +But the poor devil did not hear or understand, and this was not the +right time to lecture. The man was the officer we had saved from the +fire at the barn, and who was supposed to possess a great many gold +and precious things taken at Moscow. He had lost everything, however; +his horse and his belongings had all gone. The Marshal and the Colonel +began to talk of the fire, and of several officers who had perished +there with their servants. As they knew I had been present, they asked +me for details of the disaster, as the officer we had saved could say +nothing--he was too much overcome. + +It was perhaps nine o'clock, an intensely dark night, and many of us +were already asleep--a sleep continually broken by the cold and the +pain we suffered from fatigue and hunger. The fire also was constantly +going out. We thought of the next day, which should bring us to +Smolensk, where we had heard our misery would be over, as food could be +had there and we should take up our quarters. + +I had just finished my miserable supper of horse's liver, with snow for +drink; the Marshal had eaten some also, but he had besides a little +biscuit and a drop of brandy--not a very delicate repast for a Marshal +of France, but quite luxurious in our present unfortunate circumstances. + +As we were eating, the Marshal saw a man leaning on his musket at the +entrance to the barn, and asked him why he was there. The man replied +that he was on sentry duty. + +'For whom?' said the Marshal; 'and why should you do it? You cannot +keep out cold and hunger from us. Come in and sit down by the fire.' + +He then asked for some sort of pillow for his head. His servant brought +him a portmanteau, and, wrapping himself in his cloak, he went to +sleep. As I was following his example, in my bearskin, we were roused +by an extraordinary noise. This was the north wind travelling over the +forests, bringing with it heavy snow and twenty-seven degrees of frost, +so that it became quite impossible for the men to stay where they had +camped. We heard them shouting as they ran about towards any fire they +saw; but the heavy snow-storms caught them, and they could soon run +no more, or if they tried to do so, they fell and never rose again. +In this way many hundreds perished, and thousands died of those who +had stayed where they were camped. We were most fortunate in getting +shelter in our corner of the barn. Many men took refuge with us, and +thus saved their lives. + +I must relate an act of devotion called forth by this disastrous night, +when all the powers of hell seemed to be turned loose on us. + +The Prince Émile of Hesse-Cassel was with us, and his contingent, +composed of several regiments of cavalry and infantry. Like us, he +bivouacked on the left side of the road, with the remainder of his +unfortunate men, now reduced to five or six hundred. About a hundred +and fifty dragoons were left; but these were almost all on foot, their +horses being dead and eaten. These brave men, almost frozen with the +cold, sacrificed themselves in this awful night to save their young +Prince, not more than twenty years of age. They stood round him the +whole night wrapped in their great white cloaks, pressed tightly one +against the other, protecting him from the wind and cold. The next +morning three-quarters of them were dead and buried beneath the snow, +along with ten thousand others from different corps. + +At daylight, to regain the road, we were obliged to go down to the +ravine, where the evening before the artillerymen had made their +bivouac. Not one was left alive; men and horses were all covered with +snow--the men still round the fires, the horses harnessed to the guns, +which we were forced to leave there. + +It almost always happened that the weather became more endurable after +a storm and excessive cold. It seemed as if Nature had wearied herself +out in torturing us, and she must have breathing-space before she +struck us again. + +All who were still alive set out once more. To right and left of the +road men half dead crept out of wretched shelters formed by pine +branches, buried all night under the snow. Others came from further off +in the woods, dragging themselves painfully along. We halted a little, +waiting for them, talking to each other of the horrors of the night +and the incredible number of men we had lost, and looking mechanically +over that terrible field. Piles of arms were there in places, many +others overthrown, but no one to take them up. + +After collecting together as far as we could, we recommenced the march, +our regiment forming the rear-guard. This was a most painful and weary +day for us, as numbers of men could no longer walk, and we were obliged +to hold them up under the arms, dragging them with us, to save them if +possible by getting them to Smolensk. + +We had to cross a little wood before reaching the town; here we came up +with all the artillery collected together. The horses were a fearful +sight; the gun-carriages and waggons were crowded with sick men dying +from the cold. I remember that one of my old friends named Ficq, from +the same part of the country as myself, was in this condition. I asked +a Chasseur of the Guard of his regiment what had become of him, and he +told me only a few minutes ago he had fallen dead on the road. Just +at that place he said the road was narrow, and in a deep hollow, so +that they could not carry his body to the side. All the artillery, +therefore, had passed over him, as well as some others fallen in the +same place. + +I was walking now in a narrow footpath in the wood to the left of +the road, and with me was one of my friends, a sergeant in the same +regiment. We suddenly came upon a gunner of the Guard lying right +across the path. By him was another gunner stripping his clothes from +him. We could see that the man was not dead, as his legs moved, and +every now and then he struck the ground with his fists. Without saying +a word, my companion gave the wretched thief a blow in the back with +the butt of his musket. We immediately abused him violently for his +barbarous conduct. He answered that, although the other was not dead, +he very soon would have died, as he had been quite unconscious when +placed there to be out of the way of the artillery; and, besides, he +was his messmate, and if anyone had the clothes he was the right man. + +The same thing frequently happened to these wretched men who were +supposed to have money about them. There were many who remained by +those who had fallen: not to help them, but to behave as did the gunner. + +For the honour of humanity, perhaps, I ought not to describe all these +scenes of horror, but I have determined to write down all I saw. I +cannot do otherwise, and, besides, all these things have taken such +possession of my mind that I think if I write them down they will +cease to trouble me. And if in this disastrous campaign acts of infamy +were committed, there were noble actions, too, which do honour to our +humanity; amongst others, I have seen men carry a wounded officer on +their shoulders for many days. + +As we emerged from the wood, we met about a hundred lancers mounted +on good horses with new equipments. They came from Smolensk, where +they had been all the time. They were horrified on seeing the wretched +condition we were in, and we were no less surprised to see their +well-being. Many of our men ran after them like beggars, asking if they +had a bit of bread or biscuit to give them. + +We now made a halt to wait for those who were bringing the sick. It was +a most harrowing sight. Talk to them as we would of the hope of good +food and lodging, they seemed not to hear anything. They were like clay +figures, walking where they were led, standing still if they were left. +The strongest among them took turns in carrying the arms and knapsacks, +for these unfortunate men, who, besides having lost their strength and +a part of their reason, had also lost their fingers and toes. + +We now saw the Dnieper again on our left, and on the further bank +caught sight of the thousands of men who had crossed the river on +the ice. Foot soldiers and cavalry were there from different corps, +running as fast as they could towards a distant village to get food and +shelter for the night. We marched on painfully for another hour, and +in the evening reached the banks of the fatal Boristhène; we crossed +the river, and, worn out with fatigue and almost dying, we were at last +beneath the walls of the town. + +Thousands of men were there already, from every corps and of every +nation. They were there waiting at the gates and ramparts till they +could gain admission, and this had been refused them on the ground +that, marching as they were without officers or order, and already +dying of hunger, they might pillage the town for provisions. Many +hundreds of these men were already dead or dying. When we arrived there +with the rest of the Guard in an orderly fashion, and taking the utmost +precaution for our sick and wounded, the gates were opened, and we +entered. The greater number broke the ranks, and spread on all sides, +anxious to find some roof under which to spend the night, and eat the +food promised us. + +To obtain any sort of order, it was announced that men isolated from +the rest would get nothing; so after this the men were careful to +rejoin their regiments, and choose a head to represent them, as several +of the old regiments existed no longer. We of the Imperial Guard +crossed the town with extreme difficulty, worn out with fatigue as we +were. We had to climb the steep slope which separates the Boristhène +from the other gate; this was covered with ice, and at every step the +weakest of our men fell and had to be lifted up; others could not walk +at all. + +In this way we came to the side of the faubourg which had been burnt +at the bombardment last August. We settled down as well as we could, +in the ruins of those houses the fire had not quite destroyed. The +sick and wounded who had had strength and courage enough to come with +us were made as comfortable as possible. We were obliged to leave some +of them, however, in a hut in a wood, near the entrance of the town, +being much too ill to go any farther. Amongst them was a friend of +mine, in a dying condition. He had dragged himself so far, hoping to +find a hospital, for we had all hoped to stay in this town and the +neighbourhood until the spring. Our hopes were disappointed, however, +as most of the villages were burnt and in ruins, and the town of +Smolensk existed only in name. Nothing was to be seen but the walls of +houses built of stone; the greater part of the town had been built of +wood, and had disappeared. The town, in fact, was a mere skeleton. If +we went any distance in the dark, we came on pitfalls--that is, the +cellars belonging to the wooden houses, now completely gone. These +cellars were covered with snow, and if any man was so unfortunate as to +step on one, he disappeared, and we saw him no more. A great many men +were lost in this manner. Their bodies were dragged out again the next +day, not for burial, but for the sake of their clothes, or anything +else they might have about them. All those who died, whether on the +march or while we stopped, were treated in the same way. The living +men despoiled the dead, very often, in their turn, dying a few hours +afterwards, and being subjected to the same fate. + +Soon after our arrival, a little flour was given out to us, and about +an ounce of biscuit, more, indeed, than we could have hoped for. Those +of us who had a saucepan made hasty pudding; others made cakes, and +cooked them in the ashes, devouring them half raw. Several of the +men were dangerously ill afterwards, in consequence of the avidity +with which they devoured the food. I was lucky enough not to suffer, +although I had not tasted soup since November 1st, and the hasty +pudding made of rye flour was as heavy as lead. + +Many of the sick men who had made gigantic efforts to get here died, +and as they occupied the best positions in our miserable ruins, their +bodies were hastily removed, so that others could take their places. + +After resting a little, in spite of the cold and falling snow, I +went out to look for one of my comrades. He was my best and dearest +friend; we had been together for seven years, and we had everything in +common. His name was Grangier.[26] At Viasma he had gone forward with +a detachment, escorting a waggon belonging to Marshal Bessières, and I +had not seen him since. I heard that he had arrived two days ago, and +was quartered in one of the faubourgs. The hope of seeing him again, +and also of sharing his provisions and his quarters, decided me to go +at once. Without a word to anyone, I took my knapsack and re-entered +the town by the road we had taken, and after falling on the steep +and slippery slope several times, I reached the gate by which we had +entered. + +I stopped to see after the men we had left near the guard at the gate; +this guard was composed of men from Baden, who partly formed the +garrison. But my surprise was great on seeing the friend we had left +with the others, till we could fetch them away, lying at the door of +the hut, with nothing on but his trousers; everything had been taken +from him, even his boots. + +The Baden men told me that soldiers from the regiment had been to fetch +the others, and, finding that this man was dead, they had themselves +taken his clothes, and that afterwards they had carried away the two +sick men, going round the town by the ramparts, hoping to find an +easier road. While I was there several wretched men from different +regiments came also, leaning on their muskets, hardly able to drag +themselves along. Others, who were still on the farther side of the +Boristhène, had fallen down in the snow, crying and imploring help. +These German soldiers, however, either did not or would not understand. +Fortunately, a young officer in command spoke French, and I begged +him, in common humanity, to send help to these men over the bridge. +He replied that since our arrival more than half his guard had been +employed in that way, that there were hardly any men left, and that his +guard-room was filled with sick and wounded, till there was no room to +move. + +However, as I entreated, he sent three men, who came back soon +afterwards supporting an old Chasseur of the Cavalry of the Guard. They +said they had left many others who would have to be carried, and that +in the meantime they had put them near a large fire. The old Chasseur +had nearly all his toes frozen, and had wrapped them up in a sheepskin. +His beard, whiskers, and moustache were filled with icicles. They +led him near a fire, where he sat down, and then he began to curse +Alexander, the Emperor of Russia, the country, and the God of Russia. +Then he asked me if brandy had been given out. + +I said, 'No, not yet; there does not seem much chance of it.' + +'Then,' he said, 'I had better die.' + +The young German officer, on seeing the veteran suffer so terribly, +could resist no longer, and, drawing a bottle of brandy from his +pocket, he gave some to him. + +'Thanks,' he said; 'you have saved my life. If I ever have an +opportunity of saving your life at the cost of my own, you may be sure +I shall not hesitate a moment. Remember Roland, Chasseur of the Old +Guard, now on foot, or, to be exact, on no feet just at present. I had +to leave my horse three days ago, and blew out his brains to put an end +to his sufferings. I cut a piece off his leg afterwards, and I am going +to eat a little now.' + +Saying this, he unfastened the portmanteau he carried on his back, and, +taking out some horseflesh, he offered some first to the officer and +then to me. The officer gave him the bottle of brandy, and begged him +to keep it. The old chasseur was grateful beyond all words. He again +asked the officer not to forget him either in garrison or in the field, +and finally said: + +'The right sort never die.' But directly afterwards he reminded himself +what a foolish speech he had made. 'For,' he said, 'there were many as +good as me among the thousands who have died these last three days. +I have been in Egypt, and, by God! it was no comparison with this. I +hope to goodness we are at the end of our troubles; they say we are to +take up our quarters here and wait for the spring, when we can take our +revenge.' + +The poor old fellow, rendered so talkative by a few mouthfuls of +brandy, had no conception that we were only at the beginning of our +troubles! + +It was quite eleven o'clock, but I had not given up the search for +Grangier, even during the night. I asked the officer to direct me +to where he supposed Marshal Bessières was quartered; but either I +was misinformed or I did not understand, and I mistook the road. I +found myself with the rampart on my right, and the Boristhène flowing +beneath; on my left was a piece of waste ground, on the site of houses +burnt down. Here and there through the darkness I saw odd beams and +rafters standing out like shadows on the snow. The road I had taken +was such a bad one, and I was so tired, that, after stumbling on a +little way, I regretted having come alone. I began to retrace my steps, +and put off my search for Grangier till the next day, when I heard +someone behind me, and, turning, I recognised one of the Baden soldiers +carrying a little barrel looking like brandy on his shoulder. I called +to him, but he did not answer, and when I followed him, he doubled his +pace. I did the same. He then ran down a rapid slope, and I tried to +follow him; but my legs gave way beneath me, and I rolled from top to +bottom, getting to the door of a cellar as soon as he did. The weight +of my body against the door opened it, and I went in before the Baden +fellow, with my right shoulder badly bruised, however. + +I had scarcely time to collect my wits and look about me, when I was +startled by confused cries in different languages from a dozen people +lying on straw round a fire. They were French, German, and Italian, +and I saw at once they were a gang of thieves who banded themselves +together, travelled before the army, and arrived first at any houses +they found, or camped separately in the villages. As soon as the army +arrived at any place, the thieves came out of their hiding, prowled +round the bivouacs, stole as quietly as possible their horses and bags +from the officers, and set out again very early in the morning before +the army started. This was their plan every day. The gang was one of +those which had prowled about ever since the great cold began, and +multiplied as they went. + +I was stunned by my fall, and lay still for a minute, when one of the +thieves lit a bit of straw to see me better. It was impossible to +discover what regiment I belonged to on account of my bearskin. As +soon, however, as he caught sight of the Imperial eagle on my shako, +he called out in a jeering way, 'Ah! the Imperial Guard! Out with you! +out with you!' And the others repeated, 'Get out! Out with you!' + +I was stupefied and not at all alarmed by their shouting, and I got up +to beg them to let me stay till morning, as fate or luck had brought me +there. But the man who had spoken first, and seemed to be the chief, +replied that I must go at once, and they all chorused, 'Be off! Out +with you!' + +A German was laying his hands on me, when I gave him a blow in the +chest that sent him sprawling among the others, putting my hand on +the hilt of my sword at the same time (my musket had been left behind +in my roll down the hill). The chief applauded me for the blow I had +given, saying a German, a sauerkraut-eater, had no business to touch +a Frenchman. As I saw that the man was disposed to take my part, I +announced that I would not go away until the morning, and that I would +rather be killed than die of cold on the road. One of two women there +began to put in a word for me, but was immediately ordered, in curses +and filthy language, to be silent. The chief told me again to go, +asking me not to oblige him to use force, as, if he did, the question +would soon be settled, and I should be sent flying to rejoin my +regiment. + +I asked him why he and his companions were not there also, and he told +me it was none of my business, that he had nothing to do with me, that +he was master here, and that I could not spend the night with him, as +I should be in their way when they made their night excursions, taking +advantage of the disorder of the town. I then asked for permission +to stay and warm myself, and said that afterwards I would go. Not +receiving any answer, I asked a second time; the chief said he would +consent if I left in half an hour. He ordered a drummer, who seemed +to be second in command, to see that this was done. + +[Illustration: THE BRIDGE OVER THE KOLOTSCHA NEAR BORODINO, SEPTEMBER +17, 1812. + + _From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army._] + +As I wished to make the best of my opportunity, I asked if anyone had +any food or brandy to sell. 'If we had,' they said, 'we should keep it +ourselves.' + +However, the little cask I had seen on the Baden man's shoulders looked +very like brandy, and I understood when he said in his own language +that he had taken it from a _cantinière_ in his regiment, who had +hidden it when the army came into the town. I concluded from this that +the man was a new-comer, one of the garrison, and had only joined +the thieves the day before, choosing, as they had done, to leave his +regiment for the sake of plunder. + +The drummer who was to see me out talked mysteriously with the others, +and then asked me if I had any gold to buy brandy with. + +'No,' I said, 'but I have some five-franc pieces.' + +A woman near me, who had wished to take my part before, stooped down +and seemed to be searching for something on the ground near the door. +Coming close up to me, she said in a low voice: + +'Run away; believe me, they will kill you. I have been with them, +against my will, since Viasma. Come back with help, I implore you, +to-morrow morning, to save me!' + +I asked her who the other woman was, and she replied, 'A Jewess.' + +I was going to question her further, when a voice from the back of the +cellar told her to be quiet, and asked her what she had been saying. +She answered that she had been telling me to get brandy of a Jew in the +new market. + +'Hold your tongue!' he replied. + +She was silent, and went to a corner of the cellar. + +After what the woman had said, I saw there was no doubt that I was in a +regular den of thieves. So I did not wait till they turned me out, and, +pretending to look for a place to lie down in, I got near the door, +opened it, and went out. They called me back, saying I could stay all +night and sleep there. But I made no answer, and picking up my musket, +which lay near the entrance, I tried to find a way out of the hole. Not +succeeding, I was on the point of knocking at the cellar door to ask +the way, when the Baden soldier appeared, probably to see if it was +time to make an excursion. He asked me again if I would go back. I said +no, but I begged him to show me the way to the faubourg. He signed to +me to follow him, and crossing the ruins of several houses, he climbed +up by means of the staircase. I followed him, and when we were on the +ramparts he made several détours on the pretext of showing me the way, +but I could see that he wanted me to lose all trace of the way to the +cellar. However, I wished to remember it, as I intended to go back the +next day with several others to save the poor woman who had begged my +help, and also to get an explanation about several portmanteaus I had +seen at the back of their cursed cellar. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 26: Sergeant-vélite in the same regiment as myself, the +Fusilier-Grenadiers.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + A DISTURBED NIGHT--I FIND MY FRIENDS AGAIN--WE LEAVE SMOLENSK--A + NECESSARY CORRECTION--THE BATTLE OF KRASNOË--MELLÉ THE DRAGOON. + + +My guide disappeared suddenly, and I was at a total loss as to my +whereabouts. I was only sorry now that I had ever left the regiment. +However, I had to go in one direction or another, and, as the snow +had stopped falling, I began to search for my footmarks. And then I +remembered that I must keep the rampart on my right hand. After walking +for some minutes, I seemed to recognise the place where I met the Baden +soldier; but, to make quite sure, I marked two deep crosses in the snow +with the butt-end of my musket, before going further. + +It was now about midnight, and more than an hour since I had fallen +into the cellar, and during that time the cold had increased terribly. +I saw a great many fires on my left, but dared not go in that direction +for fear of falling into holes that the snow had hidden. I walked on, +feeling my way with my head down, looking out for safe places for my +feet. I now saw that the road sloped downwards, and further on I found +it was almost blocked up by gun-carriages, intended no doubt for the +rampart. When I had arrived at the bottom, it was so fearfully dark +that I lost all idea of direction, and I was obliged to sit down on a +gun-carriage to rest, and try to think which way I ought to take. + +In this dreadful predicament, as I sat with my head buried in my hands, +I was dropping off into a sleep from which I should not have awakened, +when I heard some extraordinary sounds. I got up, terrified to think of +the danger I had just escaped. I listened with all my ears, but heard +nothing more. So I think I must have been dreaming, or perhaps it was +a warning from Heaven to save me. So taking fresh courage, I began to +walk again, feeling my way, and striding over the numbers of obstacles +in the road. + +At last I left all the obstacles behind me, after nearly breaking +my leg several times, and I rested a moment to take breath and get +strength enough to climb a hill in front of me. Then I heard the same +sounds which had awakened me before, but this time I recognised them +for music. I heard the slow, prolonged notes of an organ some distance +off: they produced an indescribable impression on me, alone as I was +at such a place, and at such an hour. I set out, quickening my pace, +in the direction of the sounds--up the steep ascent. When I got to +the top, I took a few steps, and then stopped--just in time! another +step, and I should have been done for--I should have fallen from top +to bottom of the rampart, more than fifty feet, on to the banks of the +Boristhène. Horrified at my narrow escape, I drew back a few steps, +and stopped to listen, but I did not hear the sound again. I began +walking once more, and, turning to the left, fortunately found the +beaten track. Slowly and cautiously I advanced, holding my head well +up, my ears open for any sound, and at last I made up my mind the music +had been an hallucination. In our present dreadful circumstances, how +could such music have been possible--and, above all, at such an hour? + +Reflecting as I walked, my right foot, which already was half frozen, +and giving me some pain, struck against something hard. I cried out +with the pain, and fell all my length over a dead body, its face +touching mine, then raised myself with great difficulty, and saw that +it was the body of a dragoon, his helmet still strapped on, and his +cloak, on which he had fallen. He had probably not been there long. + +My cry of pain was heard by a man on my right, who called out to me to +go to him, he had been waiting for so long. I was surprised, and very +glad to find a human being when I thought I was quite alone, and I went +in the direction of the voice. The nearer I got to it, the better I +seemed to recognise it, and at last I cried: + +'Is it you, Béloque?'[27] + +'Yes,' he called back. + +He was as much surprised as I at our meeting at this time of night, in +such a desolate spot, and knowing no more than I did where we were. He +had at first taken me for a corporal who had gone to get men on extra +duty to help carry the sick who had been left at the gates. They had +been got so far, but then it had been necessary to send for more help. + +I told him how I had been lost, and of my adventure in the cellar, but +I dared not say anything of the music I had heard, fearing he should +say I was out of my mind. He begged me to stay with him, and I was glad +to do so. Then he asked me why I had cried out, and I told him of my +fall on to the dragoon, and how my face had touched his. + +'Were you very frightened, poor fellow?' + +'No,' I said; 'but I hurt myself horribly.' + +'It was lucky for you,' he said, 'that you were so badly hurt as to cry +out, as you might have passed on and never found me.' + +We stamped backwards and forwards to keep ourselves warm while we +waited for the men who were to carry away the sick. + +The poor fellows were lying on a sheepskin, propped up one against +another, and covered with the cloak and coat of a dead man. They seemed +in a terrible condition. + +'I am afraid,' Béloque said, 'that we shall not have the trouble of +taking them away.' + +We heard them murmur and breathe from time to time, but these were the +last efforts of dying men. + +While the fearful death-rattle was going on near us, the aerial music +began again, but this time much nearer. I called Béloque's attention to +it, and told him of the strange things which had happened to me when +I heard the sounds before. And then he said that at intervals he had +heard the music too, and could not make it out. Sometimes it made an +infernal racket, and if men were amusing themselves in that way, they +must have the devil inside them. Then, coming closer to me, he said in +a low voice: + +'My friend, these sounds are very like death-music. Death is all round +us; and I have a presentiment that in a few days I shall be dead too.' +Then he added, 'May God's will be done! But the suffering seems too +great. Look at those poor wretches!'--pointing to two men lying in the +snow. + +I said nothing, for I thought just as he did. + +He stopped speaking, and we listened attentively in a silence only +broken by the heavy breathing of a dying man. Suddenly my companion +said: + +'To my mind, the sounds seem to come from above.' + +As he said so, the sounds did certainly seem to come from just over our +heads. All at once the noise ceased, and an awful silence followed, +broken only by a mournful cry--the last breath of one of our men. + +Just then we heard footsteps, and a corporal came up with eight men, to +carry away the two who were dying; as there was now only one, he was +removed at once--covered with his dead companion's clothes--and we all +set out. + +It was now past one o'clock: the wind had dropped, and the cold in +consequence was not so great, but I was so worn out that I could walk +no longer; and besides, I was so terribly tired that several times +Béloque found me standing asleep in the road. He had told me where to +find Grangier; the men of his company in charge of the only cart the +Marshal had left remaining had seen their comrades, and had recognised +the cart placed at the Marshal's door. When we got to the place where +we left the rampart, I parted from the funeral cortège, and decided to +follow the new way pointed out to me. + +I had not been alone a minute, when the cursed music started again. I +stopped, and, raising my head to listen better, I saw a light in front +of me. As I walked on towards the light, the road descended rapidly and +the light disappeared. In spite of this, I continued, but was stopped +almost directly by a wall in front of me, and was forced to retrace my +steps. I turned first to the right, then to the left, and found myself +in a street of ruined houses. I strode on quickly, still guided by +the music. At the end of the street there was a building lighted up, +from which the sounds evidently came. There I was stopped by a wall +surrounding the building, which I now saw was a church. + +Tired as I was, I wished to avoid going all round the wall to find an +opening, and decided to climb over it, feeling the depth on the other +side with my musket. As it was not more than three or four feet, I +climbed to the top and jumped down, and striking some round object with +my feet, I fell. I was not hurt, however, but on walking a few steps I +felt the ground uneven under my feet, and had to steady myself with my +musket. I then became aware of the fact that more than 200 dead bodies +lay on the ground, barely covered with snow. As I stumbled along, +picking my way among the legs and arms of the bodies, a melancholy +chant arose--like the Office for the Dead. Béloque's words came back to +me, and I broke out into a cold sweat, not knowing where I was and what +I was about. I found myself at last leaning against the church wall. + +I came to myself in a bit, in spite of the diabolical noise, and walked +on with one hand against the wall, at length finding an open door +through which came a thick smoke. I went in, and saw a great number +of people, who in the dense smoke looked like shadows. Some of them +were singing, and others playing on the organ. All at once a great +flame burst forth and the smoke disappeared. I looked round to see +where I was; one of the singers came up to me and cried out: 'It's our +sergeant!' He had recognised my bearskin, and I saw, to my immense +surprise, all the men of my company! I was on the point of questioning +them, when one of them offered me a silver cup full of brandy. They +were all fearfully drunk! + +One, rather less drunk than the others, said that they had been on +extra duty when first they came, and that they had seen two men with +a lantern coming out of a cellar; that they had banded together to go +there after the distribution of rations, to see if they could find +something to eat, and then spend the night in this church. In the +cellar they had found a small cask of brandy, a bag of rice, and a +little biscuit, besides ten capes trimmed with fur, and some Rabbi's +fur caps. + +With the men of the company were several musicians of the regiment, who +had started playing the organ--being half seas over, as they say. This +explained the harmony which had puzzled me so much. + +They gave me some rice, a few pieces of biscuit, and a Rabbi's cap, +trimmed with magnificent black fox fur. I put the rice carefully away +in my knapsack. The cap I placed on my head, and pulling a plank in +front of the fire, I lay down on it. I had scarcely laid my head on my +knapsack when I heard shouts and curses from the door, so we hastened +to see what was the matter. Six men were driving a cart drawn by a +worn-out horse. The cart was filled with dead bodies to be left behind +the church, with the others I had seen there. The ground was much too +hard to dig graves, and the cold preserved the bodies in the meanwhile. +These men told us that, if this sort of thing went on, there would +soon be no room anywhere for the bodies; all the churches were used +as hospitals, and were filled with the sick, whom it was impossible +to help. This was the only church not full of them, and the dead had +been laid here for the last few days. From the time that the column of +the Grand Army had made its appearance, they had been unable to supply +transport for the men who died as soon as they arrived. After hearing +all this I lay down again. These ambulance men asked us if they might +spend the rest of the night with us; they unharnessed their horse and +brought him into the church. + +I slept pretty well for the remainder of the night, but was awakened +before daylight by the shrieks of an unfortunate musician, who had +just broken his leg in coming down from the organ-loft, where he had +slept. The men below had taken away some of the steps during the night +to make a fire. The poor devil had a terrible fall, it was impossible +for him to walk; most probably he never left the church. When I got up, +nearly all the men were roasting meat on the points of their swords. I +asked them where the meat came from, and they replied it was the horse +who had drawn the dead-cart, and that they had killed him while the +ambulance men were asleep. I don't blame them for doing it: one must +live somehow. An hour afterwards, when a good quarter of the horse had +disappeared, one of the undertakers told his companions what we had +done. They were furious, and threatened to inform the chief director of +the hospitals. We went on eating calmly, saying it was a pity he was so +thin, and that half a dozen like him would be wanted for rations for +the regiment. They went off threatening us, and in revenge they threw +the seven corpses they had in their cart right in the doorway, so that +we were obliged to climb over them to get out. + +These ambulance men had not been through the campaign, or felt the want +of anything, and they did not know that for the last few days we had +lived on any horses we could find. + +When I got ready to go back to my regiment it was seven o'clock. I +told the fourteen men that were there that they must collect together +and arrive in good order. We first had some very good _purée de cheval +au riz_. After that, giving them the bag containing the Jew's fur +capes to carry, we left the church, which was already filling with +new-comers--some miserable wretches who had spent the night where they +could, and many others who had left their regiments, hoping to find +something better. They prowled about in all the corners, looking for +food. They did not seem to notice the dead bodies in the doorway, but +walked over them as if they had been wood, so stiff were they frozen. + +When we reached the road I told my men of my adventure in the cellar, +and proposed to go there, and they agreed. We found the way quite +easily, for we had as sign-posts first the man whom Béloque had left +dead, and then the dragoon over whom I had fallen, and who, I now saw, +was without his cloak and his boots. After passing the gun-carriages +where I nearly fell fatally asleep, we reached the cross I had made in +the snow. After descending the slope in rather slower fashion than I +had done the day before, we stood before the door, which was shut. We +knocked, but no one answered; we burst the door in, but the birds had +flown. We only found one man, so drunk he could not speak. I recognised +him as the German who wished to turn me out. He was wrapped in a great +sheepskin cape, which was taken from him by one of our musicians, +in spite of his resistance. We found several portmanteaus and a +trunk--stolen during the night--but all were empty, and also the cask +brought by the Baden man, which had contained gin. + +Before going on to the camp I noticed our position and was surprised to +find that, although I had walked so much during the night, I had been +no distance. I had simply walked round and round the church. + +We then went back to the camp. As we went I met several men of our +regiment, whom I joined to those already with me. Just afterwards I saw +a non-commissioned officer in the distance, whom by his white knapsack +I recognised at once as the very man I was looking for--Grangier. I had +embraced him before he knew who I was, I had altered so much. We were +mutually looking for each other, and if I had had the patience to wait, +he said he would have taken me to his quarters and given me good soup, +and straw to sleep on, for he had searched for me at this very place +the evening before. He went with us to the camp, whither I brought my +nineteen men in good order. Grangier then made me a sign, and opening +his knapsack, he took out a piece of beef, ready cooked, which he said +he had kept for me, and also a piece of bread. + +I simply devoured the food, for it was twenty-three days since I had +tasted anything like it. Then he asked me for news of a friend of his, +whom he supposed dangerously ill. I could only tell him that he was in +the town, but as we did not know the whereabouts of his regiment, he +would be obliged to go through the gate by which we had entered, as +many of the sick, unable to go further, had remained there. So we set +off at once. + +We soon reached the place where the poor dragoon lay. This time we +found him almost stripped; he had been searched, no doubt, in the hope +of finding a belt containing money. I showed Grangier the cellar, and +then we arrived at the gate. The number of dead there was appalling; +near the Baden sentry were four men of the Guard, who had died during +the night. The officer on duty had forbidden the men to strip them, +and he told us of two more he had in his guard-room. We went in to see +them; they were both unconscious. The first was a Chasseur; the second, +his face hidden in a handkerchief, was in our regiment. Grangier +uncovered his face, and recognised the man he was in search of. We did +all we possibly could to bring him round, relieving him of his sword +and powder-flask and his collar, and trying to force a few drops of +brandy between his lips. He opened his eyes without seeming to see us, +and directly afterwards died in my arms. We emptied his knapsack, and +found a watch and several little knick-knacks, which Grangier took +charge of, to send as keepsakes to his family, if ever he were lucky +enough to get back to France. We placed the Chasseur as comfortably as +possible, and then left him to his melancholy fate; what else could we +do? + +Grangier then took me to his post, and when, soon afterwards, he was +relieved by some Chasseurs, we asked them to look after the man we had +just left. The sergeant immediately sent four men to fetch him. + +We returned to the regiment, and the rest of the day we spent in +getting our firearms into good order, in warming ourselves and talking. +We killed several horses during the day, and divided them. Rations of +rye and oatmeal were given out, consisting chiefly of straw with a +little rye mixed. + +At four o'clock the next morning we were ordered under arms and sent +a quarter of a league from the town, where, in spite of the cold, we +remained in order of battle until daylight. The same thing was repeated +the few following days, as the Russian army was manoeuvring on our left. + +We had been three days already at Smolensk, and we did not know if we +had to remain in this position or continue the retreat. To stay, they +said, was impossible. Why, then, did we not leave a town where there +were no houses to shelter us, and no provisions to feed us? On the +fourth day, as we returned from our position of the morning, I saw an +officer of a line regiment lying in front of a fire. We looked for +some time at each other, trying to recall each other's appearance and +features under the rags and dirt with which we were covered. I stopped; +he got up, and, coming nearer to me, he said: + +'I thought I was not mistaken.' + +'No,' I said. + +We had recognised and embraced each other without pronouncing a +name. It was Beaulieu,[28] my messmate in the Vélites when we were at +Fontainebleau. + +How much we had both altered, and how wretched our condition now! I had +not seen him since the Battle of Wagram, when he had left the Guard, to +pass as an officer into the line, with other Vélites. + +I asked him after his regiment; for answer he pointed out the eagle to +me in the middle of a pile of arms. There were thirty-three of them +left. He and the Surgeon-Major were the only officers; of the others, +a great many had been killed in battle, but more than half had died of +cold and hunger; a few had been lost on the road. + +Beaulieu was Captain, and he had received orders to follow the Guard. I +stayed with him for some time, and, as he had nothing to eat, we shared +the rice the men in the church had given me. In those days, when food +was not to be had for gold, this was the greatest proof of friendship +one could possibly give. + +On the morning of the 14th, the Emperor left Smolensk with the +Grenadiers and Chasseurs; we followed a short time after as rear-guard, +leaving behind us the corps belonging to Prince Eugène, Davoust, and +Ney, reduced to lamentably small numbers. On first leaving the town +we crossed the Sacred Field, so called by the Russians. A little past +Korouitnia[29] we came upon a deep ravine; here we had to wait while +the artillery crossed it. I went in search of Grangier, and proposed +that we should cross first, as we were getting frozen while standing +still. When we were at the other side, I saw three men round a dead +horse; two of them staggered about as if they were drunk. The third, a +German, lay on the horse; the poor wretch was dying of hunger, and, not +being able to cut the flesh, was trying to bite it. He soon afterwards +died where he was of cold and hunger. The two others, Hussars, were +covered with blood about the hands and mouth. We spoke to them, but +they did not answer; they looked at us, laughing in a horrible way, and +then sat down close to the dead man, where they no doubt fell into the +last fatal sleep. + +We went on then, walking by the side of the highroad to come up with +the right of the column, and then wait for our regiment near a fire, +if we were lucky enough to find one. We met a Hussar--I think of the +8th Regiment; the poor fellow was struggling against death, continually +rising and falling down again. We ran up to give him what help we +could; but he fell once more, not to rise again. Thus, all along our +way we were forced to step over the dead and dying. As we advanced with +great difficulty, keeping to the right of the road to get past the +convoys, we saw a man of the line sitting against a tree near a little +fire; he was busy melting snow in a saucepan to cook the liver and +heart of a horse he had just killed with his bayonet. + +As we had rice and oatmeal with us, we asked him to lend us the +saucepan to cook them, so that we could all eat together. He was +delighted; so with the rice and straw-oatmeal we made some soup, +seasoning it with a little sugar Grangier had in his knapsack, as we +had no salt. While our soup was cooking, we roasted some bits of liver +and kidneys from a horse, and enjoyed it greatly. We devoured our rice +only half cooked, and hastened to join our regiment, which had passed +us. That night the Emperor slept at Korouitnia, and we in a wood a +short distance off. The next day we set out very early, so as to reach +Krasnoë; but before we could get so far, the front of the Imperial +columns was stopped by 25,000 Russians occupying the road. Stragglers +at the front caught sight of them first, and immediately turned back to +join the first regiments advancing; the greater part of them, however, +united and faced the enemy. A few men, too careless or too wretched to +care what they did, fell into the enemy's hands. + +The Grenadiers and Chasseurs, formed into close columns, advanced +against the mass of Russians, who, not daring to wait for them, retired +and left the passage free; they took up a position on the hills to the +left of the road, and turned their artillery on us. When we heard the +cannon, we doubled our pace, as we were behind, and arrived just as our +gunners were answering them. The Russians disappeared behind the hills +as our fire began, and we continued our way. + +An incident occurred at this time about which I cannot keep silence, +and I have heard the same incident entirely differently related. What +they say is this: That when, on first catching sight of the Russians, +the first regiments of the Guard were grouped round the Emperor, +marching as if no enemy were before them, the band played the air 'Où +peut-on être mieux qu'au sein de sa famille?' and that the Emperor +stopped the music, ordering to be played instead 'Veillons au salut de +l'Empire!' + +The incident did happen, but in quite a different fashion, as it +was at Smolensk, on the day of our departure. The Prince Neuchâtel, +then Minister of War, seeing that no orders for departure came from +the Emperor, and that the whole army was in despair at being kept in +such a wretched position, collected some men from the bands under the +Emperor's window, and told them to play the air 'Où peut-on être mieux +qu'au sein de sa famille?' They had scarcely begun, when the Emperor +appeared on the balcony, and ordered them to play 'Veillons au salut de +l'Empire!' The men were forced to play it as best they could, in spite +of their pain, and immediately afterwards the order for departure on +the next morning was given. How could it have been possible for the +wretched men, even had they been to the right of the regiment, to have +blown down their instruments, or used their poor frost-bitten fingers? +This, on the other hand, was quite a possibility at Smolensk, as there +were fires where they could get warm. + +In two hours after the encounter with the Russians, the Emperor +reached Krasnoë with the first regiments of the Guard--ours and the +Fusiliers-Chasseurs. We camped behind the town. I was on guard with +fifteen men at General Roguet's quarters: a miserable house in the +town, thatched with straw. I put my men in a stable, thinking myself +in luck to be under cover, and near a fire we had just lighted, but it +turned out quite otherwise. + +While we were in Krasnoë and the immediate neighbourhood, the Russians, +90,000 strong, surrounded us--to right, to left, in front, and behind, +nothing but Russians--thinking, no doubt, they could soon finish us +off. But the Emperor wished to show them it was not quite so easy a +thing as they imagined; for although we were most wretched, and dying +of cold and hunger, we still possessed two things--courage and honour. +The Emperor, therefore, annoyed at seeing himself followed by this +horde of barbarians and savages, decided to rid himself of them. + +On the evening of our arrival, General Roguet received orders to +attack during the night, taking with him part of the Guard, the +Fusiliers-Chasseurs, the Grenadiers, the light companies, and +skirmishers. At eleven o'clock a few detachments were sent on first to +reconnoitre, and find out exactly where the Russians lay; we could +see their camp-fires in the two villages they held. They seem to have +expected us, for some were already prepared to receive us. + +At about one o'clock in the morning, the General came to me, and said, +with his Gascon accent: + +'Sergeant, leave a corporal and four men here in charge of my quarters, +and the few things I have left. Go back to the camp yourself, and +rejoin the regiment with your guard. We shall have our work cut out for +us presently.' + +To tell the truth, I was very much disgusted at this order. I do not +mean that I was afraid of fighting, but I grudged the time lost for +sleep terribly. + +When we got to the camp, preparations were already going on; evidently +serious things were expected. I heard several men say that they hoped +an end would at last be put to their sufferings, as they could struggle +no longer. + +At two o'clock we began to move forward. We formed into three +columns--the Fusiliers-Grenadiers (I was amongst them) and the +Fusiliers-Chasseurs in the centre, the skirmishers and light companies +on the right and left. The cold was as intense as ever. We had the +greatest difficulty in walking across the fields, as the snow was up to +our knees. After half an hour of this, we found ourselves in the midst +of the Russians. On our right was a long line of infantry, opening +a murderous fire on us, their heavy cavalry on our left made up of +Cuirassiers in white uniform with black cuirasses. They howled like +wolves to excite each other, but did not dare to attack. The artillery +was in the centre, pouring grape-shot on us. All this did not stop our +career in the least. In spite of the firing, and the number of our men +who fell, we charged on into their camp, where we made frightful havoc +with our bayonets. + +The men who were stationed further off had now had time to arm +themselves, and come to their comrades' help. This they did by setting +fire to their camp and the two villages near. We fought by the light of +the fires. The columns on the right and left had passed us, and entered +the enemy's camp at the two ends, whereas our column had taken the +middle. + +I have omitted to say that, as the head of our column charged into +the Russian camp, we passed several hundred Russians stretched on the +snow; we believed them to be dead or dangerously wounded. These men +now jumped up and fired on us from behind, so that we had to make a +demi-tour to defend ourselves. Unluckily for them, a battalion in the +rear came up behind, so that they were taken between two fires, and in +five minutes not one was left alive. This was a stratagem the Russians +often employed, but this time it was not successful. + +Poor Béloque was the first man we lost; he had foretold his death at +Smolensk. A ball struck his head, and killed him on the spot. He was a +great favourite with us all, and, in spite of the indifference we now +felt about everything, we were really sorry to lose him. + +We went through the Russian camp, and reached the village. We forced +the enemy to throw a part of their artillery into a lake there, and +then found that a great number of foot soldiers had filled the houses, +which were partly in flames. We now fought desperately hand-to-hand. +The slaughter was terrible, and each man fought by himself for himself. +I found myself near our Colonel, the oldest in France, who had been +through the campaign in Egypt. A sapper was holding him up by the +arm, and the Adjutant-Major Roustan was there too. We were close to a +farmyard filled with Russians, and blockaded by our men; they could +retreat only by an entrance into a large courtyard close by a barrier. + +While this desultory fighting was going on, I saw a Russian officer +on a white horse striking with the flat of his sword any of his men +who tried to get away by jumping over the barrier, and so effectually +preventing his escape. He got possession of the passage, but just as +he was preparing to jump to the other side, his horse fell under him, +struck by a ball. The men were forced to defend themselves, and the +fighting now grew desperate. By the lurid light of the fire it was a +dreadful scene of butchery, Russians and Frenchmen in utter confusion, +shooting each other muzzle to muzzle. + +I tried to get at the Russian officer, who had now extricated himself +from his horse, and was trying to save himself by getting over the +barrier, but a Russian soldier got in the way and fired at me. Probably +only the priming caught fire, otherwise there would have been an end of +me; but the man who had fired reloaded his musket calmly, thinking, no +doubt, that I was dangerously wounded. The Adjutant-Major, Roustan, ran +to me and, seizing me by the arm, said: + +'My poor Bourgogne, are you wounded?' + +'No,' I answered. + +'Then,' he said, 'don't miss him.' + +That was what I meant also, and before the Russian had time to reload, +I shot him through. Mortally wounded, he did not, however, fall at +once, but reeled back, and, glaring at me, fell over the officer's +horse at the barrier. The Adjutant-Major gave him a thrust with his +sword. Just then I found myself near the Colonel, who was completely +worn out and fit for nothing more. He was alone except for his sapper. +The Adjutant-Major came up, his sword covered with blood, saying that, +to get back to the Colonel, he had been forced to cut his way with the +sword, and that he had a bayonet wound in his thigh. As he spoke, the +sapper, who was supporting the Colonel, was struck in the chest by a +ball. The Colonel instantly said: + +'Sapper, you are wounded?' + +'Yes, sir,' said the sapper, and, taking the Colonel's hand, he made +him feel the hole the ball had made. + +'Then go back.' + +The sapper replied that he was strong enough to stay and die with him +if necessary. + +'And, after all,' said the Adjutant-Major, 'where could he go, in the +midst of the enemy? We do not know where we are, and I can see that we +shall have to wait here, fighting, till daylight.' + +We had indeed lost all idea of our locality, blinded by the glare from +the fires. + +Five minutes after the sapper had been wounded, the Russians, whom +we had held blockaded in the farm, seeing that they ran a chance of +being burnt alive, offered to surrender. They sent a non-commissioned +officer through a perfect storm of balls to make the proposal. The +Adjutant-Major therefore sent me with the order to stop firing. + +'Stop firing!' said one of our wounded men; 'the others may stop if +they please, but as I am wounded, and very likely dying, I shall go on +as long as I have cartridges to fire with.' + +He went on, therefore, sitting in the snow all stained with his blood, +and even asked for more cartridges when he had fired his own. The +Adjutant-Major, seeing that his orders were disregarded, came himself +with a message from the Colonel. But our men, now perfectly desperate, +took no notice, and still continued to fire. The Russians, seeing that +there was no hope for them, and probably having no more ammunition, +tried to rush out all together from the building, where they were +fast getting roasted; but our men forced them back. They made a second +attempt, not being able to endure their position, but scarcely had a +few of their number reached the yard, when the building collapsed on +the rest, more than forty of them perishing in the flames, and those in +the yard being crushed as well. + +When this was over, we collected our wounded together, and gathered +round the Colonel with loaded weapons, waiting for daybreak. All this +time the rattle of musket-shots was going on continually round us, +mingled with the groans of the wounded and the dying. There is nothing +more terrible than a battle at night, when often fatal mistakes take +place. + +In this way we waited for the light. As soon as it appeared, we looked +about us, and could see the result of the night's fighting. The whole +ground we had been over was strewn with the wounded and dying. I saw +the man who had tried to kill me, and who was not yet dead, so I placed +him more comfortably away from the white horse near which he had +fallen. All the houses in the village (either Kircova or Malierva) and +the whole of the Russian camp were covered with half-burnt corpses. M. +Gilet had his leg broken by a ball, and died a few days afterwards. The +sharp-shooters (skirmishers) and the light companies lost more men than +we. + +During the morning I met Captain Débonnez, who came from my country and +commanded a company in the Guards. He was looking for me to see if I +were all safe. He said he had lost the third of his company, besides a +Sub-Lieutenant and his Sergeant-Major. + +After this bloody contest the Russians abandoned their positions +without going very far off, and we remained on the battlefield during +the day and night of the 16th and 17th, keeping on the qui-vive, +however, all the time, neither being able to rest a moment nor even to +warm ourselves. + +During the day, while we were all talking together of our miserable +discomfort and of the night's battle, the Adjutant-Major, Delaître, +came up. He was the worst man I have ever known and the cruellest, +doing wrong for the mere pleasure of doing it. He began to talk, and, +greatly to our surprise, seemed much troubled by Béloque's tragic death. + +'Poor Béloque!' he said; 'I am very sorry I ever behaved badly to him.' + +Just then a voice in my ear (what voice I never knew) said: + +'He will die very soon.' + +Others heard it also. He seemed sincerely sorry for all his bad +behaviour to those under him, especially to us non-commissioned +officers. I do not think there was a man in the regiment who would not +have rejoiced to see him carried off by a bullet. We called him Peter +the Cruel. + +On the morning of the 17th, almost before it was light, we took up our +firearms, and forming into columns, set out to take up our position +by the side of the road, opposite to the field of battle. When we got +there we saw a part of the Russian army on a little hill in front of +us, near a wood, and therefore deployed in a line fronting them. On our +left and behind us was a ravine which crossed the road. This hollow +sheltered all those near it. On our right were the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, +with the head of their regiment a gun-shot from the town. In front of +us, 250 yards off, was a regiment of the Young Guard, commanded by +General Luron. Further still on the right were the old Grenadiers and +Chasseurs. The whole was commanded by the Emperor himself, on foot. +Walking with firm steps, as if on a grand parade day, he placed himself +in the midst of the field of battle, opposite the enemy's batteries. + +I was with two of my friends, Grangier and Leboude, behind +Adjutant-Major Delaître. We were within half-range of the Russian +artillery, and directly they caught sight of us they opened fire. +Adjutant-Major Delaître was the first man to fall; a ball had taken +off his legs, just above his knees and his long riding-boots. He fell +without a cry, nor did he utter one at all. He was leading his horse, +the bridle on his right arm. We stopped, as he filled up the path we +walked on; we were forced to stride over him to get on at all, and as I +was next after him I did so the first. I looked at him as I passed. His +eyes were opened, and his teeth chattered convulsively. I went nearer +to listen. He raised his voice and said: + +'For God's sake take my pistols and blow my brains out!' + +No one dared do this service for him, and without answering we went on +our way--most luckily as it happened, for before we had gone six yards +a second discharge carried off three of our men behind us, killing the +Adjutant-Major. + +Directly afterwards the Emperor arrived, and we began fighting. The +enemy made terrible havoc in our ranks with their artillery. We had +only a few pieces to reply with, and some of them were soon dismounted. +Our men died without moving, and until two o'clock in the afternoon we +maintained this dreadful position. + +The Russians sent a part of their army to take up a position on the +road beyond Krasnoë, and to cut off our retreat; but the Emperor +anticipated them by sending a battalion of the Old Guard there. + +While we stood thus exposed to the enemy's fire, our numbers +continually diminishing, we saw to our left the remainder of Marshal +Davoust's army in the midst of a swarm of Cossacks calmly marching +towards us. With them was the canteen man's cart containing his wife +and children. A ball intended for us struck them, and we heard the +woman's shrieks, but we could not tell whether one of them was killed +or only wounded. + +Just then the Dutch Grenadiers of the Guard abandoned an important +position, which the Russians instantly filled with their artillery, and +directed their fire against us. Our position after this was untenable. +A regiment sent to recover the ground was forced to retire; another +moved forward as far as the foot of the batteries, but was stopped by +a body of Cuirassiers. It then retired to the left of the battery, +forming into a square. The enemy's cavalry came on to the attack again, +but were received by a heavy fire, which killed a great many. A second +charge was made, and met with the same reception. A third charge, +supported by grape-shot, was successful. The regiment was overwhelmed. +The enemy broke into the square and finished off the remainder with +their swords. These poor fellows, nearly all very young, having their +hands and feet mostly frost-bitten, had no power to defend themselves, +and were absolutely massacred. + +We witnessed this scene without being able to help our comrades. +Eleven men only returned; the rest were all killed, wounded, or taken +prisoners, driven by sword-thrusts into a little wood opposite. The +Colonel himself,[30] covered with wounds, was made prisoner, with +several other officers. + +I must not omit to say that as we were getting into order of battle, +the Colonel had given the word of command: 'Drapeaux, guides généraux +sur la ligne!' + +I was therefore _guide général_ on the right of our regiment. But they +omitted to give the order for our return, and as I made it a point of +honour to remain at my post, there I stayed for more than an hour, +holding the butt-end of my musket in the air, and in spite of the +bullets flying round me, I did not move. + +By two o'clock we had lost a third of our men, but the +Fusiliers-Chasseurs were the worst off of all, as, being nearer to the +town, they were exposed to a more deadly fire. For the last half-hour +the Emperor had drawn back with the first regiments of the Guard to +the highroad. We remained on the field alone with a very few men +from different corps, facing more than 50,000 of the enemy. Marshal +Mortier then ordered us to retreat, and we began to move, drawing +off at walking pace as if we were on parade, the Russian artillery +overwhelming us with grape-shot all the while. We took with us the +least dangerously wounded of our men. + +It was a terrible scene as we left the field, for when our poor wounded +men saw that they were being abandoned, surrounded by the enemy, many +of them dragged themselves painfully on their knees after us, staining +the snow with their blood, and raising their hands to heaven with +heart-rending cries, imploring us to help them. But what could we do? +The same fate was in store for us, for at every moment men fell from +our ranks, and were in their turn abandoned. + +I saw, as I passed the position occupied by the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, +several of my friends stretched dead on the snow, horribly mutilated by +grape-shot. A man named Capon, from Bapaume, was one of my best friends. + +After passing the Fusiliers-Chasseurs, as we entered the town, we saw +on our left some pieces of artillery, firing at the Russians for our +protection; they were served and supported by about forty men, gunners +and Light Infantry--all that was left of General Longchamp's brigade. +He was there himself with the remnant of his men, determined to save +them or die with them. + +As soon as he caught sight of our Colonel, he came to him with open +arms. They embraced as two friends who had not met for long, and who +perhaps were never to meet again. The General, with his eyes full of +tears, showed the two guns and the few remaining men to our Colonel. + +'Look,' he said; 'that is all I have left!' + +They had been through the Egyptian campaign together. + +After this battle, Kutusow, the General-in-Chief of the Russian army, +was heard to say that the French, so far from being disheartened by +their cruel sufferings, only rushed more madly on the guns which +destroyed them. Wilson,[31] the English General who was present at this +battle, called it the Heroes' Battle. The word ought to be applied to +us, and to us only, who, with a few thousand men, fought against the +whole Russian force of 90,000. + +General Longchamps, with his poor remainder, was forced to leave his +guns, all the horses being killed, and follow our retreat, taking +advantage of what shelter he could find behind houses or banks as he +went. + +We were scarcely within the town of Krasnoë when the Russians, their +guns mounted on sledges, took up a position near the outlying houses, +and opened a fire of grape-shot on us. Three men of our company were +wounded. A ball, which grazed my musket and split the stock, struck +a young drummer on the head and killed him on the spot. The town of +Krasnoë is divided in two by a deep hollow, which must be crossed. +Arrived there, we saw at the bottom a herd of oxen dead of cold and +hunger. So stiff were they frozen, that our sappers could scarcely cut +them up with hatchets. Only their heads were visible, their eyes still +open; their bodies were covered with snow. These bullocks belonged to +the army, and had not been able to reach us: the extreme cold and want +of fodder had killed them. + +A large convent in this wretched town and all the houses were filled +with wounded, who shrieked in despair when they heard they were to be +left to the Russians. We were forced to leave them thus to a savage and +brutal enemy, who stripped and robbed these unfortunate men without +pity for their wounds or their condition. + +The Russians still followed us, but slowly, and they were unable to +do us much harm. Our road was through a deep cutting, and the bullets +passed over our heads; the cavalry on our right also prevented the +enemy coming to close quarters. + +At a quarter of a league's distance from the town things grew quieter. +We walked on sadly and silently, thinking of our dreadful situation, +and of our unfortunate comrades left in the hands of the enemy. I +seemed still to hear them begging for help; and looking back, we could +see some of the slightly wounded already stripped almost naked by the +Russians, and left in that condition. We were luckily able to save the +poor fellows--at least, for the time, and we spared all we could to +cover them. + +That night the Emperor slept at Liadouï, a village built of wood. Our +regiment camped a little further off. As I passed through the village I +stopped near a wretched hovel to warm myself at a fire. There I had the +good fortune to meet Sergeant Guignard again--from my own village--and +his Hungarian _cantinière_. They gave me a little oatmeal broth and +some horseflesh. I was badly in want of the food, as I was shockingly +weak, having eaten hardly anything for two days. The sergeant told me +that their regiment had suffered considerably in the battle, and their +numbers were much diminished, but not nearly as greatly as ours; that +he had thought much of me, and was heartily glad to see me again with +a whole skin. He asked me after Captain Débonnez, but I had not seen +him since the 16th. I left him to go back to my regiment, encamped near +the highroad. We spent a dreadful night; there was a high wind, and +half-melted snow was falling, which wetted us through, and we had very +little fire. All this, however, was nothing compared to what we went +through afterwards. + +During this dreadful night many of the sharp-shooters came to warm +themselves at our fire. I asked them for news of several of my friends, +especially of two from my part who were in the Vélites with me. One was +M. Alexandre Legrand, of the Quatre fils Aymon at Valenciennes; and +the other, M. Laporte, from Cassel, near Lille, had been killed by a +grape-shot. + +At midnight one of our sentinels told me he could see a man on +horseback appearing to come from our side. I ran at once with two +of our men to see who it could be. I could distinguish the horseman +perfectly, and in front of him a foot soldier, whom he was apparently +forcing on before him. When they got near us I recognised a Dragoon +of the Guard, who had made his way into the Russian camp to get food +for himself and his horse. He had disguised himself by means of the +helmet of a Russian Cuirassier whom he had killed the day before. He +had brought away from the enemy's camp a bundle of straw and a little +flour, and had wounded one sentinel and knocked down another, whom he +made prisoner and brought along with him. This brave fellow was called +Mellé, and he came from Condé. He stayed with us for the rest of the +night. He said that he had run this risk for his horse, called Cadet, +and not for himself; at any cost he had determined to get the animal +some food. 'If I save my horse, he will save me afterwards.' This +was the second time he had got inside the Russian camp since leaving +Smolensk. On the first occasion he had brought back a horse already +harnessed. + +He was fortunate enough to return to France with his horse. They had +already been through the Prussian and Polish campaigns of 1806-7 +together, in Spain in 1808, in Germany in 1809, in Spain again 1810-11, +and in Russia 1812; afterwards in Saxony in 1813, and France 1814. The +poor horse was finally killed at Waterloo, after being through more +than twelve great battles commanded by the Emperor, and over thirty +smaller engagements. I met Mellé again during this wretched campaign +on a lake breaking a hole in the ice with a hatchet to get water for +his horse; and another time I saw him at the top of a burning barn, in +peril of his life, getting straw from the roof for him, for the horses +were as badly off as we were. The poor animals had to gnaw at the trees +to feed themselves, until in their turn they fed us. + +After this others followed Mellé's example and got into the Russian +camp for provisions. Many of them were seized, and died afterwards. +Our destitution was now so great that our men left their regiments +at the least sign of a road in the faint hope of its leading to some +village--if one can give that name to the collection of wretched hovels +made out of tree-trunks, and containing absolutely nothing. I could +never discover what these peasants lived on. Our men would come back +sometimes bringing bits of bread as black as coal, and filled with +long pieces of straw and grains of barley, so terribly hard that no +teeth could bite into them; and, besides, our lips were all split and +cracked by frost. During all this miserable campaign I never saw a man +bring so much as a cow or a sheep with him. What these savages live on +no one can tell. They have no beasts, that is certain, or we should +have seen some. It is the devil's own country, for it is hell all +through. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 27: Béloque was one of my friends, a sergeant-vélite like +me.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 28: Beaulieu was from Condé, in Valenciennes, my native +country. When I came out of prison in 1814, his sister, Mme. Vasté, +told me that her unfortunate brother had been killed by a bullet at +Dresden.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 29: Korouitnia, a small village.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 30: Colonel Luron.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 31: He was serving in the Russian army.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + THE RETREAT GOES ON--I TAKE A WIFE--DISCOURAGEMENT--I LOSE SIGHT OF + MY COMRADES--DRAMATIC SCENE--MEETING WITH PICARD. + + +On November 18, the day after the Battle of Krasnoë, we set out very +early from our bivouac. The march was a sad and weary one, and terribly +tiring. There was a thaw; our feet were wet through; and all day the +fog was so thick we could see nothing. Our men were still in some +sort of order, but the fighting of the preceding days and the forced +abandonment of their imploring comrades had demoralized them; the same +fate, no doubt, they thought was in store for them. + +I was terribly tired that day. One of the men in our company named +Labbé, seeing that I could scarcely walk, offered to carry my knapsack +for me, as he had lost his own the day before. I gave it to him, as I +knew he was honest; but it was like trusting my life in his hands, as +the knapsack contained more than a pound of rice and oatmeal, picked +up by chance at Smolensk, and kept by me for some desperate emergency, +when there would be no more horses to eat. On that day the Emperor went +on foot, carrying a stick. + +At night it froze again, and the roads became so slippery that we +fell down continually, and many were seriously hurt. I walked last +of the company, keeping an eye, as far as possible, on the man with +my knapsack, and sometimes regretting that I had given it up, and +resolving to get it back when we stopped for the night. When night +came, it was so dark that it was impossible to see anything. I called +out 'Labbé! Labbé!' and I heard him answer, 'Here, sergeant!' but when +I called again later, one of our men told me that he had just fallen +down, and was probably following the regiment. I did not worry myself +about it, as in a short time we should be obliged to come to a halt, +and take up a position for the night. When we did so, the whole army +was collected, except Marshal Ney's _corps d'armée_, which had dropped +behind, and which we feared was lost. + +Everyone did as best he could during this wretched night. Several of +us non-commissioned officers joined together, and took possession of +a barn (we were close to a village without being aware of it). Many +of the men had entered with us, but those who came too late for that +mounted on the roof. Just then we were told that further on there was +a church (Greek) intended for our regiment's shelter, but that now it +was filled with men from different regiments, who would let no one else +enter. + +On learning exactly where the church was, a dozen of us set out to find +it. When we arrived, the men inside tried to prevent our entering. They +were Germans, Italians, and a few Frenchmen, who tried to frighten us +by presenting the points of their bayonets at us. We answered them in +the same fashion, and forced an entrance. They drew back a little, and +an Italian called out: + +'Do as I do--load!' + +'Ours are loaded--ready!' said one of our sergeant-majors, and we were +on the point of a fierce encounter, when reinforcements arrived for us +in the shape of some men from our regiment; so seeing they had nothing +to gain by fighting, and that we were not disposed to let them stay +with us, the men in the church decided to leave. + +Unfortunately for them, the night grew much colder, with a high wind +and a fall of snow, and the next morning on going out we found many +of the poor wretches dead by the side of the road. Others had dropped +down further on, while trying to find a place of shelter. We passed by +these dead bodies in silence. We ought, no doubt, to have felt guilty +and miserable at this sad spectacle, of which we were partly the cause; +but we had arrived at the point of complete indifference to everything, +even the most tragic events, saying to each other that soon we should +be eating dead men, as there would be no more horses left. + +An hour afterwards we got to Doubrowna, a little town partly inhabited +by Jews, where all the houses were built of wood. Here the Emperor had +passed the night with the Grenadiers and Chasseurs, and part of the +artillery. They had been kept under arms all night by a false alarm. We +crossed this town on our way to Orcha. After an hour's march, we had +to pass over a deep ravine, which the baggage had enormous difficulty +in crossing, and several horses died. At last, during the afternoon, +we arrived at this little fortified town, garrisoned by men from +different regiments. These were men who had stayed behind, and had come +up in detachments to rejoin the Grand Army. There were amongst them +some gendarmes and a few Poles. They were horror-struck at seeing our +miserable condition, and at the enormous number of stragglers in such +disorganization. Part of the Guard were kept in the town to establish +a little order, and a small distribution of flour and brandy was made +from some stores found there. We found a pontoon train, and a great +deal of artillery, horses and harness; and by an extraordinary fatality +we burned the boats forming the bridges, in order to make use of the +horses to draw the guns. We little knew what was in store for us at the +Bérézina, where the bridge would have been of untold service to us. + +We were now only seven or eight thousand men in the Guard, the remnant +of 35,000. Although most of us marched in order, a good many straggled +painfully behind. As I have already said, the Emperor and part of the +Guard stayed in the town, and the rest of the army camped outside. +During the night Marshal Ney arrived with the remainder of his _corps +d'armée_. + +Two or three thousand remained to him out of 7,000. The Emperor's joy +was unbounded when he heard that the Marshal was safe. + +We stayed here over the 20th, and I spent the time looking for my +friend with my knapsack, but in vain. On the 21st we set out without my +having found him, and I began to despair, although I heard from many +that he had been seen. + +At a short distance from Orcha we heard musket-shots, and stopping for +a moment, we saw some sledges intercepted by Cossacks. These men joined +our ranks and we went forward again. I searched for my man and the +knapsack among the sledges, but again fruitlessly. We stayed that night +in a village called Kokanow, of which nothing remained but a barn and +two or three houses. + +On the 22nd, after a wretched night, we set out very early, walking +with great difficulty over a thawed, muddy road. At mid-day we reached +Toloczin, where the Emperor had slept. We halted at the other side of +the town, and drew up by the side of the road. While we were there M. +Césarisse, an officer in our company, told me that he had seen Labbé +near a fire busy frying biscuits, and that he had ordered him to join +his regiment. He answered that he was coming directly, but a horde of +Cossacks came and took possession of the sledges, and most probably he +had been taken also. So good-bye to my knapsack and its contents, which +I had so set my heart on taking back to France! How proud I should have +been to say, 'I brought this from Moscow!' + +However, to make quite sure, I thought I would see for myself, and +I turned back to the end of the village, which was full of men from +all regiments, walking about independently and obeying no orders but +their own. I saw the Cossacks in the distance carrying off their +prisoners--and no doubt my poor knapsack also. + +I was looking about me to right and left, when I caught sight of a +woman, dressed in a soldier's cloak, looking curiously at me, and I +could not help thinking I had seen her before. She recognised me by +my bearskin, and being the first to speak, she said she had seen me +at Smolensk. I remembered her as the woman in the cellar. She told me +that the brigands had been taken at Krasnoë, before we got there; that +they were in a house where they had beaten her, because she would not +wash their shirts, and she had gone out to get water. She had seen +some Russians and had run away. As for the brigands, they had fought +desperately, trying to save their money, for they had much, she said, +gold and jewels above all; but it had ended by their being killed, +wounded, and plundered. She herself had been saved when the Imperial +Guard arrived. + +She would have told me much more if I had had time to listen to her. +I asked her who was with her, and she said no one; that since the day +her husband was killed she had been with the brigands; that she was now +alone, but that, if I would take her under my protection, she would +take good care of me, and I should be doing her a very great service. +I consented at once, never thinking of the figure I should cut in the +regiment when I arrived there with a woman. + +As she went she asked me what had become of my knapsack. So I told her +its history, and how I had lost it. She told me not to worry about it, +as she had a well-filled bag herself. She also carried a basket on her +arm, and she added that if I could find a house or a stable to change +in, she could give me some fresh linen. I accepted this joyfully, but +as we were looking for a suitable place we heard the call to arms, and +I heard the drums beating. I told the woman to follow me, and wait for +me on the road. + +When I joined my company, the sergeant-major asked me if I had found +Labbé and the knapsack. I said no, and that I had given up all idea of +finding them, but that instead I had found a woman. + +'A woman!' he exclaimed; 'what is the good of that? She can't wash your +linen for you, as you have not got any.' + +'She will give me some.' + +'Ah,' he said, 'that's a different thing. And what about feeding her?' + +'She will do as I do.' + +Just then the Emperor came past with King Murat and Prince Eugène. The +Emperor then placed himself amongst the Grenadiers and Chasseurs and +made them an address, telling them that the Russians were waiting for +us at the crossing of the Bérézina, and had sworn that not one of us +should pass over. Then, drawing his sword and raising his voice, he +cried: + +'Let us all swear to die fighting rather than not see our country +again!' + +The oath was taken. Bearskins and caps were waved at the points of +bayonets, and shouts were heard of 'Vive l'Empereur!' Marshal Mortier +made us a similar address, and was received with the same enthusiasm, +and so on with all the regiments. + +It was a splendid moment, and for the time made us forget our miseries. +If the Russians had only been within our reach then, we should have +made short work of them, even had their numbers been six times greater +than ours. We remained in this position till the right wing of the +column began to move. + +I had not forgotten my 'wife,' and while waiting for the regiment to +start I went in search of her, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had +been engulfed in the torrent of Prince Eugène's thousands. They and the +corps belonging to Marshals Ney and Davoust were in complete disorder; +three-quarters of them were sick and wounded, and the rest utterly +demoralized and indifferent to everything. + +I found myself at this moment near Marshal Lefebvre. He was alone and +on foot in the middle of the road, shouting in his German accent, +'Come, my men, let us get together! Better large battalions than a pack +of brigands and cowards.' He spoke to the men who were continually +straggling away without apparent reason from their corps, sometimes in +front, sometimes behind. + +I made several inquiries about my 'wife,' as I so badly wanted the +change of linen she had promised me, but I never saw her again, and so +I found myself bereft both of her and of my knapsack. + +Walking thus with the rabble, I had got far in advance of my regiment, +and I stopped to rest by a fire left from a bivouac. + +Up to the Battle of Krasnoë, I had managed to keep up my spirits, in +spite of all the miseries I had to endure. I felt that the greater +the danger and suffering, the greater the glory and honour, and my +patience had astonished my comrades. But since the terrible encounters +at Krasnoë, and, above all, since the news that two of my friends +(besides Béloque and Capon) had been, one killed and the other mortally +wounded--(_sic_). + +To complete my misery, a sledge came up and stopped close to me. I +asked who the wounded man was, and they told me it was an officer of +their regiment. It turned out to be poor Legrand, who related to me the +way he had been wounded. His comrade, Laporte, from Cassel, near Lille, +had stayed behind invalided at Krasnoë; but hearing that his regiment +was fighting, he set out to join it. Hardly, however, had he taken his +place in the ranks, when he had both his legs broken. Legrand, seeing +Laporte arrive, came to speak to him, and the same shot wounded him in +the right leg. Laporte remained dead on the battlefield, and Legrand +was taken to the town; he was placed in a wretched Russian cart drawn +by a miserable horse, but the cart broke up the first day. Fortunately +for him, close by was a sledge, into which he was moved; four men of +his regiment were with him, and he had travelled in this manner for six +days. I bade farewell to the unfortunate Legrand, and wished him a safe +journey; he answered that he trusted himself to the care of God and the +friendship of his brave comrades. One of the men then took the horse by +the bridle, another gave it a blow, and two pushed from behind; with +great difficulty the sledge was thus set in motion. As I saw it off, I +thought with such equipment it could hardly go much further. + +After this I never felt the same; I was depressed, and a prey to gloomy +forebodings. My head ached and burned; I was in a fever. No doubt it +was greatly owing to fatigue, as we were now obliged to start very +early in the morning, and walk till very late. The days were so short; +it was not light till eight o'clock, and it was dark by four in the +afternoon. This was the reason of so many unfortunate men losing their +way, for it was always night when we arrived at the bivouac, and all +the remains of the different corps were in terrible confusion. At all +hours of the night we heard the weak, worn-out voices of new arrivals +calling out 'Fourth Corps!' 'First Corps!' 'Third Corps!' 'Imperial +Guard!' and then the voices of others lying down with no strength left, +forcing themselves to answer, 'Here, comrades!' They were not trying +any longer to find their regiments, but simply the _corps d'armée_ to +which they had belonged, and which now included the strength of two +regiments at most, where a fortnight earlier there had been thirty. + +No one now knew anything about himself, or could mention which regiment +he belonged to. Many, after walking the whole day, were forced to +wander about half the night to find their particular corps. They hardly +ever succeeded; then, not being aware of the hour of departure in the +morning, they slept too late, and on waking found the Russians upon +them. Thousands of men were taken prisoners, and perished in this way. + +I kept near the fire, standing and trembling all over, and leaning +on my musket. Three men were sitting round the fire in silence, +mechanically watching people passing in the road, seeming disposed to +stay where they were, simply for want of strength to move. I began to +be uneasy at not seeing my regiment pass, when I felt someone pull at +my bearskin cloak. It was Grangier come to tell me that the regiment +was passing; but my eyes were so worn out that I could not see him, +even looking straight at him. + +[Illustration: ON THE HIGH ROAD FROM MOJAISKA TO KRYMSKOÏE, SEPTEMBER +18, 1812. + + _From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army._] + +'And the woman?' he said. + +'Who told you anything about her?' + +'The sergeant-major. But where is she?' + +'I don't know; but I do know that she has a knapsack full of linen, +which I want badly, and if ever you meet her you might tell me. She is +dressed in a soldier's gray cloak, with a sheepskin cap on her head. +She wears black gaiters, and she carries a basket on her arm.' + +Grangier thought (as he afterwards told me) that I was light-headed, +and, taking me by the arm, he led me down the road, saying: + +'We must get on, or we shall not catch up with the regiment.' + +We came up with it, however, after passing the thousands of men from +all kinds of regiments who walked confusedly, hardly able to drag +themselves along. We foresaw, on looking at them, that the journey, if +long, would be a fatal one to most of us. + +The march was indeed a long one; we passed a place where the Emperor +was supposed to sleep, although he had got far in advance of it. A +great number of men stopped here, for it was very late, and we heard +that two leagues separated us yet from our bivouac in a large forest. + +The road here was very wide, and bordered on each side by +birch-trees.[32] There was plenty of room for us and the carts and +waggons; but when evening came on there was nothing to be seen all the +length of the road but dead horses, and the further we advanced, the +more the road became blocked with carts and dying horses: whole teams +succumbed at once from fatigue. The men who could go no further stopped +and made bivouacs underneath large trees; here they said they had wood +at hand to make fires from the broken carts, and horseflesh to eat, +and these they would not find further on. + +For a long time I had walked alone in the midst of a miscellaneous +rabble, forcing myself on to reach the camping-place arranged. The road +became more difficult at every step, as it had begun to freeze again on +the top of the half melted snow, and I fell continually. In the midst +of these miseries the night suddenly fell. + +The north wind had redoubled its fury. I had lost sight of my comrades; +several men, lost like myself, strangers to me, who did not belong to +my regiment, by superhuman efforts dragged themselves along to come up +with their own regiments. They did not answer when I spoke to them; +they were too weak even for that. Others fell down dying, never to rise +again. Soon I was alone, with only dead bodies along the road to guide +me. The trees had quite disappeared; it was perhaps seven o'clock. The +snow, now falling heavily, prevented my seeing the direction in which I +was going, and the violent wind had already filled up the traces of the +advancing column. + +Up till that time I had worn my bearskin cloak with the fur outside, +but now, seeing what an awful night was in store for me, I stopped a +moment, and turned the fur inside. Owing to this I was able luckily +to withstand the cold of this disastrous night, falling to twenty-two +degrees of frost. I arranged the cloak over my right shoulder in the +direction of the wind, and I walked thus for an hour, during which I +am certain I only went a quarter of a league; for, often seized by a +blinding storm of snow, I had to turn round and thus retrace my steps +without being aware of it. It was only the sight of the dead bodies of +men and horses, and the mass of broken vehicles I had passed before, +that convinced me I was in the wrong direction. I had then to take my +bearings again. + +Either the moon or a faint Northern Light appeared in the sky at +intervals. Black clouds shot swiftly across this light, but when it +was clear it enabled me to distinguish one object from another. I saw +far off a black mass which I imagined to be the immense forest we had +to cross before reaching the Bérézina, for now we were in Lithuania. I +made a guess that this forest was perhaps a league off. + +Unfortunately a terrible sleepiness, the certain forerunner of death, +began to come over me. I felt quite exhausted; my legs refused to carry +me further. I had fallen down half asleep several times, and had I not +been roused each time by the cold, all would have been over with me. + +The road was here completely blockaded by dead men and horses, +preventing me from dragging myself along, for I had no longer the +strength to lift my feet from the ground. Whenever I fell it seemed +as if I were dragged down by the unfortunate men stretched on the +snow. Often these men would try to catch hold of the legs of those who +passed, imploring their help, and many, in stooping to give help, fell +themselves, not to rise again. + +I walked on aimlessly for about ten minutes. I staggered as if I were +drunk; my knees trembled under my weight. I thought my last hour had +come at last, when all at once I stumbled over a sword on the ground, +and fell all my length, stupefied, my chin having struck the butt-end +of my musket. Coming to myself a little and getting on my knees, I +picked up my musket, and was preparing to stand, when I saw a stream of +blood coming from my mouth, and with a cry of despair, trembling with +terror, I fell back again. + +I had been heard by a miserable man lying a few yards off, and in a +feeble voice he begged me to help him--I! so much in need myself. +'Stop! help us!' + +The voice ceased; but I remained, still trying to find out who had +spoken. Hearing nothing more, I began to think my senses had deceived +me, and I called out as loud as I possibly could: + +'Where are you?' adding to myself, 'If I only had a companion, we could +walk on for the rest of the night encouraging each other.' + +Then I heard the voice again, sadder and feebler this time: + +'Come here and help.' + +At that moment the moon came out, and I saw two men about ten yards +off--one stretched at full length, and the other sitting near him. +With great difficulty I struggled over a ditch filled with snow, and +got near them. The man sitting laughed like a madman when I spoke to +him, and said, 'Don't you know--you mustn't forget!' and began laughing +again. + +I recognised the terrible laughter of death. The other man was still +living; turning his head a little, he said these last words to me: + +'Save my uncle--help him. I am dying!' + +I spoke to him, but he said no more. Then I turned to the other, and +encouraged him to rise and come with me. He looked at me without +speaking, and I saw that he was wrapped in a great fur-lined cloak +which he tried to throw off. I endeavoured, without success, to help +him to rise; but on taking hold of his arm I noticed that he wore +officer's epaulettes. He began talking incoherently about reviews and +parades, and ended by falling on one side with his face in the snow. +I was obliged to leave him; if I had remained I must myself have +succumbed to the same fate. Before I left I picked up a pouch lying on +the ground, in the hope of finding something inside, but it was full +of rubbish and papers only. Having regained the road, I walked slowly +along, listening as I went, as now I constantly seemed to hear cries of +distress. + +Soon I began to walk faster, in the hope of coming to some bivouac, and +at last I got to a point in the road completely blocked up with dead +horses and broken carts. The bodies of men from various regiments were +scattered round. Several belonged to the Young Guard, recognisable by +their shakos. In this immense cemetery and this awful silence I was +alone, a prey to the most gloomy thoughts--of my comrades from whom +I was separated, my country, my relations--and I began to cry like a +child. The tears relieved me, and gradually my courage came back. + +Close to me I found a small hatchet, such as every company carries in +a campaign. I tried to cut off a piece from one of the horses, but the +flesh was frozen so hard that this was impossible. I had spent the +remainder of my strength, and I fell exhausted, but the exertion had +warmed me a little. I had picked up with the hatchet a few pieces of +ice, which I now found to be blood from the horse. I ate a little of +it, and put the rest carefully in my knapsack; and feeling stronger, I +set out again, trusting to God's mercy; taking care to avoid the dead +bodies, I went on, stopping and feeling my way whenever a cloud passed +over the moon. + +After walking for some time, I noticed at a short distance off +something I took for a waggon. When I got nearer I saw it was a canteen +cart belonging to a regiment of the Young Guard. The horses which had +drawn it were not only dead, but partly cut in pieces for eating. +Around the cart were seven dead bodies almost naked and half covered +with snow; one of them was still covered with a cloak and a sheepskin. +On stooping to look at the body, I saw that it was a woman. The +instinct of self-preservation was at this time the first with me, and, +forgetting that I had ineffectually tried the same thing a short time +before, I set to work to hack off a piece of one of the horses. I found +that this time again I was utterly unable to do it, and so I decided +to spend the night in the cart, which was covered. I approached the +dead woman to take the sheepskin for a covering, but it was impossible +to move it. Noticing, however, that she wore a leather strap round her +body, buckled on the other side, and that the strap must be unfastened, +I put my musket under her body to act as a lever; but I had hardly done +so, when a piercing cry came from the cart. 'Marie,' it said, 'Marie, +give me something to drink! I am dying!' + +I was stupefied. The same voice repeated directly afterwards, 'Ah, my +God!' + +Mounting on the body of the horse in the shafts, I steadied myself +by the top of the cart. I asked what was the matter. A feeble voice +answered with some difficulty, 'Something to drink.' + +I thought at once of the frozen blood in the pouch, and tried to get +down to fetch it; but the moon suddenly disappeared behind a great +black cloud, and I as suddenly fell on the top of three dead bodies. +My head was down lower than my legs, and my face resting on one of +the dead hands. I had been accustomed for long enough to this sort of +company, but now--I suppose because I was alone--an awful feeling of +terror came over me. It was like a nightmare. I could not move, and I +began screaming like a madman, as if something were holding me. But, in +spite of all my efforts, I could not move. I tried to help myself up by +my arm, but I found my hand on a face, and my thumb went into its mouth! + +At that moment the moon came out and showed me all my dreadful +surroundings. I shuddered all over, left hold of my support, and fell +back again immediately. But a change came over me now; I felt ashamed +of my weakness, and a wild sort of frenzy, instead of terror, took +possession of me. I got up, raving and swearing, and trod on anything +that came near me--faces, arms, and legs, not caring which; and I +cursed the sky above me, defying it, and taking my musket, I struck at +the cart--very likely I struck also at the poor devils under my feet. + +When I felt calmer, I decided to spend the night in the cart, as some +sort of shelter from the cold; and taking a piece of the frozen blood +from the pouch, I climbed inside, feeling for the man who had asked me +for drink, and who had ever since uttered feeble cries. When I got near +him, I saw that his left leg was amputated. + +I asked him the name of his regiment, but he did not answer. So, +finding his head, I put a bit of the ice into his mouth. The man next +him was as cold and hard as marble. I tried to move him, so as to take +his place, and be able to leave the next day with those who were still +behind, but I could not do it. I now saw that he had only a few moments +to live, so I covered him with two cloaks belonging to the dead man, +and searched in the cart for anything I might find useful. Finding +nothing, I turned round to speak to the man again. I got no reply, and, +passing my hand over his face, I found it quite cold, and the piece of +ice I had given him still between his lips. His sufferings were over. + +I now prepared to leave, but waited to take another look at the dead +woman, thinking it might be Marie the _cantinière_, whom I knew well as +coming from my native country. I looked at her carefully by the light +of the moon, and satisfied myself that it was not she. + +With my musket under the right arm like a hunter, two pouches, one of +red leather and the other of gray canvas, which I had just found, +slung across me, a piece of the frozen blood in my mouth, and my hands +in my pockets, I started off. It was perhaps nine o'clock; the snow had +stopped falling, the wind had abated in strength, and the cold was not +quite so intense. I continued to walk in the direction of the wood. + +At the end of half an hour the moon disappeared again. This was +terrible for me. I stopped for a few minutes, stamping my feet on the +ground, to prevent their being frozen, and waiting for the light to +come out again; but I was disappointed in this, as the moon appeared no +more. + +My eyes, however, became accustomed to the dark, and I could soon see +well enough to go on, but all at once I discovered I was not on the +same road. In naturally trying to avoid the north wind, I had turned my +back to it. My opinion was confirmed by my not seeing any of the army +débris on the road. + +I cannot say for how long I had been walking in this new direction, +when I saw that I had got to the edge of a precipice. I made the +discovery too late, however, to save myself, and I rolled down for at +least forty feet, although my fall was broken by bushes on the way. +This time I thought that I was quite done for, and, closing my eyes, +I resigned myself to God's will. When I reached the bottom I was +stunned for a time, but, after all my adventures, I had ceased being +astonished at anything, and I soon got up and began to search for my +musket, which I had lost in my fall; however, I decided to leave it and +wait for daylight. As I drew my sword from its sheath and felt my way, +I now became aware of a waggon close to where I had fallen, and the +bodies of two dead horses; and feeling something warm under my feet, +I found I was standing on the ashes of a half-extinct fire. So I lay +down, and bathing my hands in the ashes to warm them, I luckily found +a few pieces of coal, and was able by blowing to revive a few sparks. +But where could I get wood to relight the fire? I dared not leave the +ashes, for fear my sparks might be extinguished for good. I tore off a +piece of my shirt, already in rags, made a match of it and lighted it. +Then, feeling all round me, I fortunately came upon some tiny fragments +of wood, and with much difficulty got them alight. Very soon flames +crackled up, and in a minute or two I had quite a large fire. + +I could now see for several yards round me, and I caught sight of +some large letters on the waggon, 'Garde Impériale. État Major.' Over +the inscription was the eagle. As far as I could see, the ground was +covered with helmets, shakos, swords, cuirasses, broken chests, empty +portmanteaus, bits of torn clothing, saddles, costly schabraques, and +quantities of other things. But hardly had I glanced round me, when I +became possessed with the idea that this place might be near a Cossack +bivouac, and I felt terribly frightened, and dared not keep my fire up +any longer. If Frenchmen had been anywhere near, I should have seen +some bivouac fires. This place, above all others, sheltered as it was +from the wind, would have been chosen for a bivouac. I was at a loss +whether to stay or go. + +While I reflected my fire had diminished, and I dared not put on more +kindling. But at last the desire for warmth and rest overbore the +feelings of fear. I picked up as much wood as I could find and piled +it up near me. I also collected a number of schabraques to sit on, and +wrapping myself in my bearskin cape, with my back against the waggon, I +arranged myself for the night. + +In putting wood on the fire I had found some horseflesh--enough to +stay the hunger which now devoured me. Although covered with snow and +ashes, it was more than I had dared to hope for. Since the evening +before, I had eaten nothing but half a dead raven I had found, and a +few spoonfuls of gruel mixed with grains of oats and rye, and salted +with powder. + +I hardly waited for my cutlet to be warmed through before I bit into +it, in spite of the ash which covered it. In this way I made my +miserable dinner, looking round me from time to time, to make sure that +things were safe. + +My situation was slightly better than before. I was not obliged to keep +on walking, I was sheltered from the wind and cold, I had a fire for +warmth, and food; but I was so terribly tired that I fell asleep while +I was eating--sleep broken, however, by fear, and by dreadful pains in +my legs. I felt as if I had been beaten all over. I do not know how +long I slept, but on awaking there was still no appearance of daylight. +In Russia the nights now are so long, and in summer there is scarcely +any night at all. + +I had fallen asleep with my feet in the ashes, and when I woke they +still felt warm. I had learnt by experience that warmth refreshes tired +limbs, and soothes pain, so I picked up and collected all the wood I +could find, put it on my fire, and relit it. + +I could now see round me again, and on my left caught sight of some +object I took for an animal. As there are so many bears in Russia, I +felt sure this must be one, especially as it walked on all fours. When +it got to a distance of five or six yards off, I saw that it was a man. +To guard against a surprise, I drew my sword, and, advancing towards +the man, I cried, 'Who are you?' at the same moment placing the point +of my sword against his back, as I saw him to be a Russian, a real +Cossack with a long beard. + +He raised his head and threw himself down like a slave, trying to kiss +my feet, and saying, 'Dobray Frantsouz,'[33] and other words which I +understood to mean that he was frightened. If he had only known it, I +was as much frightened as he. He knelt upright to show me a sword-cut +he had had on his face. I noticed then, even in this position, his head +reached to my shoulders, so that his full height would be over six +feet. I signed to him to come near the fire; then he made me understand +that he had another wound--a ball had struck him in the stomach. The +sword-cut on his face was frightful. It began at the top of the head, +and cut open his face to the chin, losing itself in the beard. He lay +down on his back to show me the bullet wound, and I could see in this +position that he was unarmed. Then, without saying anything more, he +turned on to his side. I sat opposite to him to watch him. I did not +wish to sleep again, as I intended before daylight appeared to set fire +to the waggon and leave at once; but suddenly the terrible thought +struck me that the waggon might be full of powder! + +I jumped up, tired as I was, cleared at one bound the fire and the +poor devil lying beside it, and set off running, but stumbling over a +cuirass in the way, I fell all my length on the ground. I was fortunate +enough not to hurt myself; I might well have done so with all the +firearms lying about. I got up and walked backwards, my eyes fixed +on the waggon, as if I expected an explosion every instant. At last +I recovered from my terror, and came back to the place I had left so +foolishly, for I was quite as safe there as twenty yards off. + +I took off the pieces of burning wood and carefully carried them to the +place where I had fallen; then I took the cuirass to gather snow in and +put out the fire. But I had hardly begun this work, when I heard a +flourish of trumpets, and after listening attentively, I recognised it +for the Russian cavalry, announcing that they were not far off. I saw +the Cossack raise his head at the sound. I tried to read his thoughts +by his expression, for the fire was now bright enough for me to see +his features, which were truly hideous. He squinted, and his eyes were +deeply set beneath a low, prominent forehead; his hair and beard were +red and thick like a mane, giving him a wild and savage appearance. +His shoulders were of Herculean proportions. He was probably suffering +terribly from his wound, for he writhed as he lay, and from time to +time ground his teeth. I was listening to the sound of the trumpets +in a dazed sort of way, when all at once I heard another noise just +behind me. I turned round, and, to my horror, saw the waggon opening +like a tomb, and coming out of it an enormous individual, white as +snow from head to foot, like the commander's ghost in the 'Festin de +Pierre,' holding up the top of the waggon with one hand, and having a +drawn sword in the other. I looked silently at this spectre, walking a +few steps backward, and drawing my sword while waiting for it to speak +first. It was trying, without success, to unfasten the great white +cloak it wore with the hand which held the sword, as the other was +engaged in holding up the top of the waggon. + +At last, breaking the silence, I asked in rather a trembling voice: + +'Are you a Frenchman?' + +'Yes, of course I am French! What a d----d silly question! There you +stand like a church candle! You see what a fix I am in, and you don't +attempt to help me out of this coffin. I seem to have frightened you, +my good fellow.' + +'Yes, you did frighten me; but I thought you might be another of these +beauties'--pointing to the man at the fire. + +I helped him out as I spoke, and he threw off his cloak. Imagine my +surprise and delight when I recognised one of my old friends of the +Grenadiers of the Old Guard, a comrade called Picart--Picart by name +and _Picard_ by nation--whom I had not seen since the Emperor's review +at the Kremlin! He and I had made our first campaign together; we had +been at the battles of Jena, Pultusk, Eylau, Tilsit, and later, in +1809, at Mora, on the Spanish frontier, and other campaigns since then, +although not in the same regiment. Picart scarcely knew me again, I +had altered so much and looked so miserable. We gazed at each other in +amazement--I to see him looking so clean and well, and he to find me so +thin, and looking, as he said, like Robinson Crusoe. At last he said: + +'Tell me, sergeant, my old friend, by what luck or misfortune do I find +you here, alone and at night, with that villainous Cossack. Just look +at him! See his eyes! He has been here since five o'clock yesterday, +and then he disappeared. I can't think why he has come back. And you? +What brought you here in the middle of the night?' + +'Before I tell you, have you a bit of something to eat about you?' + +'Yes, sergeant, a little biscuit.' + +And he opened his knapsack and drew out a piece of biscuit the size +of his hand, which I devoured at once. I had not tasted bread since +October 27.[34] As I ate I said: + +'Picart, have you any brandy?' + +'No, _mon pays_!' + +'I thought I smelt something like it.' + +'You are right,' he said. 'Yesterday, when the waggon was pillaged, +there was a bottle of brandy; but they quarrelled over it, and it was +broken and the brandy spilt.' + +I said I should like to see the place where it happened, and when he +showed me I gathered up some snow _à l'eau de vie_, just as before I +had collected horse's blood _à la glace_. + +'That's good,' said Picart. 'I never thought of doing that. I think we +can manage to get drunk, as there were several bottles in the waggon.' + +The biscuit and brandied snow had done me a great deal of good, so I +related to Picart all that had happened to me since the evening before. +He could scarcely believe me; but when I told him of the misery the +entire army was suffering, including his regiment and all the Imperial +Guard, he was distressed beyond words. The readers of this diary will +be surprised that Picart knew nothing of what had been going on. I will +tell them the reason of this. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 32: Birches in Russia grow to a great height.--_Author's +Note._] + +[Footnote 33: 'Bon Français.'--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 34: Except a little bit given me by Grangier at Smolensk, on +November 12.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + I TRAVEL WITH PICART--THE COSSACKS--PICART IS WOUNDED--A CONVOY + OF FRENCH PRISONERS--A HALT IN A FOREST--POLISH HOSPITALITY--AN + ATTACK OF INSANITY--WE REJOIN THE ARMY--THE EMPEROR AND THE SACRED + BATTALION--THE CROSSING OF THE BÉRÉZINA. + + +Since the Battle of Malo-Jaroslawetz, Picart had been separated from +his regiment, as he had been sent in the escort of a convoy composed of +part of the Imperial equipage. This detachment was always two or three +days' march in advance of the army, and in consequence had not suffered +anything like the same privations as the rest. As there were only 400 +of them, they had often been able to find provisions, and, besides, +had means of transport. At Smolensk they had found enough flour and +biscuits to last for several days. At Krasnoë they had the good luck to +arrive and get away twenty-four hours before the Russians got there. +At Orcha again they had found flour. In any village they came to there +were always houses enough available for shelter, if only post-houses +at some distance from each other. We, on the other hand, had to march +150,000 strong to begin with, afterwards only half that number, and had +had only forests and marshes to sleep in, only horseflesh to eat--and +very little of it--water to drink, and sometimes not even that. My old +comrade's sufferings only began when he joined me. + +Picart told me that the man lying by our fire had been wounded by some +Polish Lancers in an attack during the afternoon. This is the account +he gave of it: + +'More than 600 Cossacks and other cavalry attacked our convoy. We were +sheltered, however, by our carts, formed into a square, and letting +the enemy come quite close to us, at our first discharge we stretched +eleven of them on the snow; a greater number still were wounded and +carried off by their horses. They fled, but met some Polish Lancers of +General Dombrouski's corps,[35] who put them to utter rout. The man by +the fire was brought back a prisoner, and several others with him, but +I don't know why they left him. After the affair I told you of, there +was a good deal of confusion. Those in charge of the waggons tried to +get through the defile near the forest before each other, so that the +shelter of the trees might guard them against a surprise. Some of them, +hoping to find a crossing higher up, were deceived by the aspect of the +snow, and fell into a deep crevasse--the first waggon turned completely +over with the two _cognias_.[36] + +'The other waggons avoided the same fate by turning to the left, but I +do not know if they arrived safely or not. They left me here to take +care of this d----d waggon, and two Chasseurs with me, saying that they +would send some men and horses to fetch it or its contents away. An +hour afterwards, however, as it was getting dark, nine men, stragglers +from different regiments, passed by. + +Seeing the overturned waggon, and only three men to guard it, they +broke into it, on the pretext of finding food, in spite of everything +we said to the contrary. + +'Seeing that all our efforts were unavailing, we followed their +example, taking and putting aside anything we could find. But it was +now too late, as all the best things had been taken, and the horses +were cut up into twenty pieces. I managed to secure this white cloak +for myself. I cannot understand how the Chasseurs with me contrived to +get away without my seeing them.' + +I told Picart that the men who had pillaged the waggon belonged to the +Grand Army, and if he had only asked them for news they could have told +him as much, or more, than I. + +'After all, Picart, it was just as well that they took what they did, +for the Russians will be here very soon.' + +'You are right,' said Picart; 'and we had better put our arms in order.' + +'First of all, I must find my musket,' I said. 'I have never lost it +before. I have carried it for six years, and I am so familiar with it +that at any hour of the night, in the middle of a pile of others, I +know it by touching it--even by the noise it makes in falling.' + +As no fresh snow had fallen, I fortunately was able to find it. Picart +helped me by lighting my way with a piece of resinous wood. + +After having looked to our boots--an important consideration--we +cooked a piece of horseflesh, of which Picart had a good store. After +eating, and drinking a little brandied snow, we put some meat into +our knapsacks, and, standing to warm ourselves before the fire, we +considered the next step to be taken. + +'Well,' said the good fellow, 'which way now for us?' + +'That infernal music's in my ears still,' I said. + +'Perhaps we are making a mistake. Very likely it's the first bugle, or +our Horse-Grenadiers' reveille--you know the air: + + 'Fillettes, auprès des amoureux + Tenez bien votre serieux,' etc. + +I interrupted Picart by telling him that there had been no first bugle +or reveille for the last fortnight; that we had no more cavalry; that +with the few that still remained a squadron called the Doomed Squadron +had been formed, commanded by the oldest Marshal in France, that the +Generals were Captains, and the Colonels and other officers served as +private soldiers; that just the same thing had happened to a battalion +now called the Doomed Battalion; that, in short, of 40,000 men in the +cavalry, only 1,000 remained. + +Without leaving him time to reply, I told him that what we had heard +was the signal of departure for the Russian cavalry, and it was that +which brought him out of the waggon. + +'Oh, _mon pays_, it wasn't only that which made me clear out: I had +been watching you some time trying to set me on fire!' + +Picart had hardly finished speaking, when he seized me by the arm +suddenly, saying, 'Silence! Lie down!' I threw myself on the ground at +once. He followed my example, and covered the fire with a cuirass. I +looked up, and saw the Russian cavalry defile above us in the utmost +silence. This lasted for quite a quarter of an hour. + +As soon as they had gone, Picart said, 'Follow me,' and, linking arms, +we started walking in the direction they had come from. + +After going for some time, Picart stopped, saying quite softly: + +'Now we can breathe; we are safe, at least, for a time. We've been +lucky, for if that wounded bear' (the Cossack) 'had seen his people, +he would have bellowed like a bull to attract them, and God knows +what would have happened then! But that reminds me: I have forgotten +something most important--a saucepan at the back of the waggon--more +useful for us than anything else. We must go back for it.' As he saw I +was unwilling, he said: 'Come quick, or we may die of hunger!' + +We got back to our bivouac. We found the fire almost extinct, and the +poor devil of a Cossack rolling about in the snow in the most terrible +sufferings, with his head almost in the fire. We could do nothing to +relieve him, but we laid him on some sheepskin schabraques, so that he +might die more comfortably. + +'He will not die just yet,' said Picart. 'Look at his eyes: they shine +like two candles.' + +We had placed him sitting up, holding him by his arms, but as soon as +we let him go he fell down again, his face in the fire. We dragged him +out only just in time to prevent his being burnt. We left him then to +look for our saucepan, which we found so battered that it was past +using. Picart, however, strapped it all the same on to my back. + +We then tried to get up the steep bank, and reach the wood before +daylight, where there would be shelter both from the cold and the +enemy. After twice rolling down from the top to the bottom, we managed +to make a footing in the snow. We reached the top at the exact place +from which I had fallen the evening before, and where the Russian +cavalry had filed past. We stopped for an instant to take breath and +make out our bearings. + +'Straight on,' said Picart. 'Follow me.' + +He started off as he spoke, and I followed; but hardly had he gone +twenty yards when he disappeared in a hole six feet deep. He stood up +without speaking, and I helped him out with his musket; but as soon as +he was safe he began swearing against the God of Russia and the Emperor +Napoleon, whom he called 'Conscript.' + +'He is a regular fool of a conscript to have waited so long in Moscow. +A fortnight was long enough to eat and drink everything we found there; +but to stay there thirty-four days just waiting for winter to come on! +I call that folly. If he were here, I could tell him to his face that +isn't the way to lead men. Good God! the dances he has led me the last +sixteen years. We suffered enough in Egypt--in the Syrian deserts; +but that's nothing compared with these deserts of snow!' and he began +blowing on his hands. + +'Come, my poor fellow,' I said, 'this is not the time to stand and +talk--we must do something; let us see if we can't find a better way to +the left.' + +Picart had drawn out the ramrod of his musket, and walked about +sounding the snow in front of him. It was just as deep all round. In +the end we got across near where he had fallen in. Once on the other +side, we went on, still sounding as we went. Halfway to the wood we +came upon another deep ditch, like that one in which we had spent the +night. We crossed it, and with very great difficulty reached the other +side. We were so tired that we were forced to stop and take breath. + +To the right we saw some black clouds coming on us with frightful +rapidity. The clouds coming with a north wind foretold a terrible +storm, and a cruel day in store for us. The wind roared through the +pines and birch-trees, and drove us just the way we did not want to go. +Sometimes we fell into holes concealed by the snow. At last, after an +hour's walking, we arrived at our haven just as the snow began to fall +in great flakes. + +The storm burst with such force that trees broken or torn up by the +roots fell on all sides, and we were compelled to leave the forest. +We kept on the edge of the wood, with the wind to our left, but were +stopped by a great lake which we could have easily crossed, as it was +frozen hard, if it had been in the right direction. The quantity of +snow falling prevented our seeing, and we were forced finally to stop +altogether, sheltering behind two large birch-trees, until the weather +had mended a little. + +For a long time we stood there, stamping our feet to keep out the +frost, when I noticed that the wind had abated a little. I mentioned +this to Picart, and proposed going further on. We had skirted a good +way along the lake, when suddenly Picart stopped and looked steadily +before him. He then seized my arm and whispered: + +'Hold your tongue!' Then, dragging me behind a bush, he said in a low +voice, 'Don't you see?' + +'I don't see anything. What is it?' + +'Smoke. A bivouac.' + +I looked, and saw it too. An idea came to me, and I said: + +'Perhaps the fire belongs to the bivouac of the cavalry we saw this +morning.' + +'I think very likely it does,' he said; 'we must behave as if we were +sure of it. We made a great mistake this morning in not loading our +muskets while we were near the fire. Now our hands are numbed, and the +barrels full of snow, we can't do it.' + +The snow fell very lightly now, and the sky was clearer. All at once I +caught sight of a horse gnawing the bark of a birch on the edge of the +lake. I pointed it out to Picart, and as the horse was not harnessed, +he thought it might be a wounded one, abandoned by the Russian cavalry. + +While we were talking, the horse suddenly threw up his head and began +to neigh, then quietly came straight up to us and snuffed at Picart as +if he knew him. We dared neither move nor speak. The confounded horse +stopped there, his head against Picart's fur cap, who dared hardly +breathe, fearing that his master might come to look for him. Seeing, +however, that he had a wound in the chest, we concluded that he was +abandoned, and no doubt the bivouac also. We moved forward, and reached +a cleared semicircle covered with shelters and fires, and seven horses +killed and partly eaten. We guessed that more than 200 men must have +passed the night here. + +'It was the Russians,' said Picart, warming his hands in the ashes. 'I +remember that yellow horse; he was my mark in the attack. I think I got +his master a commission for the next world.' + +After a thorough look round we revived the fire in front of the +shelter, which the leader of the party had apparently occupied. + +The snow had stopped, and a dead calm had succeeded the wind. We now +began to make soup, but thought it wiser to keep back our own store of +meat, as there was plenty to be had here. Picart cut some fresh meat +with my little axe, enough for soup, and also some to take away with +us. We tried to break through the ice for water, but had not enough +strength or patience for the job. Now we were quite warm, and the +prospect of having some good soup filled me with joy. When one is in +real trouble, how little it takes to make one happy! Our saucepan was +of no use in its dilapidated condition, but Picart, who was full of +resource, and whom nothing put out, set to work to put it right. He cut +down a pine-tree to about a foot and a half from the ground, and using +the stump as an anvil, and another thick piece as a hammer (wrapped in +rag to dull the sound), he began his tinker's work, singing and keeping +time with his blows. These were the words he sang, just as he used to +sing them during the night-marches to his company: + + 'C'est ma mie l'aveugle, + C'est ma mie l'aveugle, + C'est ma fantaisie; + J'en suis amoureux.' + +As I listened to his powerful voice ringing out, I was obliged to say, +'_Mon vieux camarade_, you quite forget: this is hardly the time for +singing.' + +Picart looked at me, smiling, and without answering he started again: + + 'Elle a le nez morveux + Et les yeux chassieux. + C'est ma mie aveugle, + C'est ma fantaisie; + J'en suis amoureux!' + +He stopped, seeing that I was afraid of his singing, and showed me the +saucepan, now fit to use. + +'Do you remember,' he said, 'the day of the Battle of Eylau, when we +were on the right of the church?' + +'Yes, of course I do,' I said; 'we had weather just like to-day. I have +reason to remember it, for a brutal Russian bullet carried away my +saucepan. Have you forgotten it, Picart?' + +'By Heaven, no!' he said; 'that's why I remind you of it, and ask you +if a little patience and industry would not have mended your pan?' + +'Certainly not, no more than Gregoire's and Lemoine's heads which it +carried off, too.' + +'How the devil do you remember their names?' + +'I cannot forget them; Gregoire was a Vélite like me, and a good +friend, too. That day I had some biscuits and haricots in the +saucepan.' + +'Yes,' said Picart, 'which were splashed all over us. Great God! what a +day that was!' + +While we talked the snow melted in the pan. We put as much flesh in as +it would hold, so that we might have some cooked meat to take away with +us. + +My curiosity prompted me to look into the canvas bag which I had picked +up the evening before. I found in it only three cotton handkerchiefs, +two razors, and several letters in French, dated from Stuttgart, +written to Sir Jacques (_sic_), a Baden officer in a Dragoon regiment. +The letters were full of affection from a sister to a brother. I kept +them for some time, but they were lost when I was taken prisoner. + +Picart sat down before the fire at the entrance to our shelter, his +back turned to the north, and opened his knapsack. He drew out a +handkerchief, with some salt tied up in one corner, and a little +oatmeal in another. It was long enough since I had seen so much, and my +mouth watered merely to think of soup salted with real salt, when for +the last month all the seasoning I had taken was powder. + +I was terribly tired, and the warmth of the fire made me sleepy. I told +Picart that I should drop off. + +'All right,' he said, 'drop off. Get into the shelter, and I'll look +after the soup, and I can clean and load our arms. How many cartridges +have you?' + +'Three packets of fifteen.' + +'Very good. I have four, so that makes a hundred and five; more than +enough to do for twenty-five Cossacks, if they should come this way. +Get along; go to sleep.' + +I did not need telling twice, and, wrapping myself in my bearskin +cloak, with my feet to the fire, I fell asleep. I was sleeping soundly, +when Picart awoke me, saying: + +'_Mon pays_, you have been sleeping like an angel for two hours. I +have had supper; now it's your turn to eat and mine to rest, for I want +it badly. Here are our muskets cleaned and loaded. Mind you keep good +watch, and when I am rested a bit we will get on.' + +He wrapped himself in his white cloak and lay down, while I took the +saucepan between my knees and began with a tremendous appetite on the +soup. I do not think I ever enjoyed, or ever shall enjoy, anything so +much. + +After my supper, I got up to take my turn at the watch; but I had not +been there for more than five minutes, when I heard the wounded horse +neigh loudly several times, and then gallop off on to the middle of the +lake. Then he stopped and neighed again. Several other horses answered +him, and he started off in the direction of the sound. I hid myself +behind a clump of firs, and saw the horse join a detachment of cavalry +which was crossing the lake. There were about twenty-three of them. I +called Picart, already sleeping so soundly that I could not make him +hear, and I was obliged to pull his legs. At last he opened his eyes. + +'Well, what is it?' + +'Quick, Picart! Get up! Russian cavalry on the lake. We must get back +to the wood.' + +'You ought to have let me sleep. I deserved it.' + +'I am sorry, _mon vieux_, but you told me to warn you, and no doubt a +lot more may be coming.' + +'Oh yes,' he said, 'that's true. What a devilish trade this is! Where +are they?' + +'Rather to the right, and out of range.' + +Five others passed directly afterwards, half a gun-shot off. We saw +the first few stop, and, dismounting, make a circle near a place on +the lake, where they had probably broken the ice before to water their +horses, for we saw them strike the new ice with the butts of their +lances. + +We decided to pack and be off as soon as possible; to strike the road +again, and, if possible, rejoin the army. It was about eleven o'clock; +thus we had until dark--_i.e._, about four o'clock. The army, I knew, +could not be far off, as the Russians were waiting for us at the +crossing of the Bérézina, where all our scattered troops would have to +collect. + +We hurried our preparations as much as possible. Picart filled his +knapsack with meat, and I did the same with the canvas bag. He decided +to regain the road by the way we had come, following the outskirts of +the forest. If we were surprised by the Russians, we should have the +wood for shelter; and if we were not molested, we should be on a road +we could not easily lose. + +We started then--he with more than fifteen pounds of fresh meat, and I +carrying the saucepan filled with the meat already cooked. Picart told +me that he always liked carrying the food on a march in preference to +other things, as after a few days it diminished greatly in quantity; +he quoted Æsop as a proof of what he said. As he was talking, we heard +musket-shots from the opposite side of the lake. 'Back! Into the wood!' +said Picart; but the noise soon ceased, and we set out again. + +The storm, so long quiet, now threatened to break out afresh. Great +clouds covered the forest, making it so dark that we dared not enter +it for shelter. As we stopped to consider our next move, we heard more +firing, this time much nearer. We now saw two troops of Cossacks trying +to surround seven of our infantrymen, who were coming down a hill, +apparently from a little hamlet on the opposite side of the lake. We +could see them fire on the enemy, and then retreat to the side of the +lake, evidently trying to gain the forest, where they could set the +Cossacks at defiance. + +There were more than thirty of the Cossacks; half of them came down +to the edge of the lake opposite to us, to cut off our men's retreat. +Our firearms were ready loaded, and I had thirty cartridges ready to +receive them if they came over to our side, and perhaps to help our men +to get off. Picart, who kept his eyes fixed on them, said: + +'_Mon pays_, you must load, and I will engage to bring them down like +so many ducks. As a beginning, we'll both fire together.' + +Our men, however, continued to retreat. Picart recognised them as the +same men who had pillaged the waggon the day before; but now there were +only seven, instead of nine. The cavalry were now only about forty +yards off, so Picart, slapping me on the shoulder, said: 'Attention to +the word of command! Fire!' The men stopped astonished, and one of them +fell from his horse. When the Cossacks saw this they scattered, and +only two remained with the wounded man, who was now sitting on the ice, +supporting himself by one hand. Picart, anxious to lose no time, fired +a second time, and wounded a horse. Then they all fled, leaving their +wounded comrade, and sheltering themselves behind their horses, which +they led by the bridles. We next heard savage cries on our left hand, +and saw our unfortunate comrades surrounded by Cossacks on all sides. +On our right we could see the two men return for the wounded one, and +as he was unable to walk, they dragged him by the legs over the ice. + +We specially noticed a Cossack on the look-out for us, gazing at the +place where he had first seen us. Picart could contain himself no +longer; he fired, and the Cossack was struck on the head, for we saw +him reel in his saddle, drop his head forward, and, with his arms +stretched out, fall from his horse. He was dead.[37] + +At the noise of the shot the Cossacks who surrounded our comrades +turned round astonished. Our infantry fired at them, and four Cossacks +fell at once. Then we heard shouts of rage, and a stubborn fight +followed. We were just about to help in a vigorous manner, when the +storm, which had threatened for so long, broke. The snow, which had +been falling all the time, grew so thick as completely to blind us. We +found ourselves in a thick cloud, obliged to cling to each other to +avoid being blown down by the wind. All at once the cloud disappeared, +and six yards off we saw the enemy, who yelled out on seeing us. We +could not fire, our hands were so frozen by the cold; but we faced them +with the bayonet, and regained the wood, while they galloped off. + +On entering the wood, we saw the three infantrymen pursued by five +Cossacks from the other side of the lake. We fired on them, but without +success, and were beginning again, when all at once we saw them sink +in the lake and disappear, two Cossacks with them. The unfortunate men +had passed over the place which the Russians had broken in for their +horses, and the new ice was not strong enough to bear any weight. A +third Cossack, seeing the others disappear, tried to stop his horse, +and made him rear upright. The horse's hind-legs slipped, and he fell +over with his rider, and they, too, disappeared after the others. + +We were horror-struck, and our pursuers remained motionless on the ice, +not attempting to help their comrades. We could hear piercing cries +from the hole in the ice, and several times saw horses' heads appear; +then the water bubbled up and spread over the ice. + +Ten cavalrymen with their commander came up, and, approaching the fatal +spot, plunged their lances in; apparently finding no bottom to the +lake, they looked over to our side, and then galloped off again. We +lost sight of them, and all was quiet. + +We were now left alone in this deserted spot, leaning on our firearms, +and looking at the bodies of the wretched men. After a silence of some +minutes, Picart said: + +'I have a longing for a pipe. I have a good mind to look for some +tobacco among these men; I shall be very unlucky if I don't find any.' + +I said this was an imprudent thing to do, as we did not know where the +first of the cavalry had gone to; and as I spoke we saw a number of +horsemen and peasants carrying long poles towards the ice where the +unfortunate men had been engulfed. A cart with two horses followed them. + +'Good-bye to my tobacco,' said Picart. + +We now thought it advisable to go to the farthest side of the wood; +there we found a shelter, probably belonging to a last night's bivouac, +where we could hide ourselves and watch the Cossacks. They partly +stripped the bodies of our men, and the peasants came afterwards and +stripped them naked. I had the greatest difficulty while this was going +on to keep Picart from shooting at them. + +The rest of them, with the peasants, went on towards the hole in the +ice, and began to make preparations for dragging out the submerged men. +When we saw them at work, there was nothing more for us to wait for. +It was not quite so cold, and might be about mid-day. We noticed two +Cossacks patrolling the outskirts of the wood, following our footprints +in the snow. At sight of them, Picart flew into a rage, and said: + +'If they have seen us, there is nothing more for us to do; they will +follow us wherever we go by our footmarks. Let us hurry on, and get +into the wood as soon as we can, and if they're not more than two, +we can account for them.' He stopped directly afterwards. 'Confound +them! I had counted on them for tobacco. The cowards! They were too +frightened to follow us.' + +We kept as much as possible to the forest; but the fallen trees here +and there barred our way, and we had to come out occasionally. Once we +looked back, and saw the two men, one behind the other, about thirty +yards off. One of them no doubt saw us, as he spurred on his horse, +then waited for his companion to come up. We retired into the wood, +where we could see them without being seen, and we walked as quickly as +possible--sometimes in the wood, sometimes outside--in order to draw +the two men farther and farther from their companions. + +After half an hour's walking, we were stopped by a wall of snow ending +in a ravine, so we were forced to take a few steps back towards the +forest to hide ourselves. The Cossacks were now close to us, but +Picart, who knew the art of war, whispered: 'I want them at the other +side of the ditch; they will be further off from the others.' + +When the Cossacks saw that they could not get through, they went down +the ravine so as to come up on the other side of the snow wall. We had +in the meantime found a passage for ourselves. We took advantage of +the moment when they were in the ditch for getting out of the forest; +but just as we thought we had got rid of them, and I waited for a +breathing-space, for my legs were beginning to fail under me, Picart +turned his head, and saw our two friends behind, trying to take us by +surprise, when we thought they were in front. We re-entered the forest +quickly, and, making several détours, we returned and saw them walking +very softly. Again we took to the forest, running in and out to deceive +them, and finally returning to hide behind a group of little pine-trees +covered with snow. + +When the first man was about forty yards off, Picart said: 'The honour +of the first shot is yours, sergeant, but wait till he comes nearer.' + +As he spoke, the Cossack signed to his comrade to advance. He turned +his horse to the right, facing the bush we were behind. When he was +four yards off I fired, and wounded him in the breast. He cried out, +and would have fled, but Picart rushed forward, seized the bridle of +his horse, and struck him with the point of his bayonet, saying, 'Look +out, _mon pays_; take care of the other.' As he spoke, the other came +up and discharged his pistol at the head of Picart, who fell under the +horse he was holding. I ran at the man who had fired, but, seeing me, +he threw away his pistol, turned, and galloped off to the plain, a +hundred yards from us. I could not fire at him, as my musket was not +reloaded, and with my benumbed hands it was impossible to do it. + +Picart was now on his feet, but the Cossack I had wounded fell from his +horse as if dead. Picart lost no time. He gave me the horse to hold. +Walking twenty paces off, he aimed at the other man, sending a ball +whistling by his ear, which he avoided by laying himself almost flat on +his horse, and then made off at a gallop. Picart reloaded his musket, +and then said to me, 'The victory is ours, but we must be quick; let us +use the conqueror's rights, and see if this man has anything for us. We +can go off with the horse.' + +I asked Picart if he was not wounded, but he said it was nothing; we +would talk of that later. He took two pistols, one of them loaded, from +the dead man, and said, 'I believe he is shamming; I saw him open his +eyes.' + +In the meantime I tied the horse to a tree, and took the man's sword +and a pretty little case set in silver, which I recognised as belonging +to a surgeon in our army. This I hung round my neck, but I threw the +sword into the brushwood. The Cossack wore two French uniforms under +his cloak, a Cuirassier's, and a red Lancer's of the Guard, with an +officer's decoration of the Légion d'Honneur, which Picart promptly +secured. He wore besides several very fine waistcoats folded in four, +making a thick breastplate, which no ball could have pierced. In his +pockets we found more than 300 francs in five-franc pieces, two silver +watches, and five crosses of honour, all taken from the dead and dying, +or from carts left behind. If we had stayed longer we should probably +have found more. + +Picart picked up his lance and unloaded pistol. He hid them in a bush, +and we set off. Picart walked in front, leading the horse, and as I +followed it occurred to me to feel inside a portmanteau fastened on +the horse, which I could see had belonged to an officer of Cuirassiers +of our own army. When I got my hand inside I felt something very much +like a bottle. When I told Picart, he cried, 'Halt!' The portmanteau +was opened in a couple of minutes, and I drew out a bottle filled +with something the colour of gin. Picart swallowed some of it without +troubling to smell it, and then passed it to me. 'Your turn, sergeant.' +An exquisite sensation impossible to describe came over me after I had +drunk some. We agreed that this was the most precious of all our finds. +We must be very careful of it; and as I had in my pouch a little china +cup I had brought from Moscow, we decided that it should be the measure +each time we drank.[38] + +We plunged into the forest, and after a quarter of an hour's painful +progress, on account of the quantity of fallen trees, we reached a road +five or six feet wide, going precisely in the direction we must take +to rejoin the highroad where the army must have passed. + +Feeling now easier in my mind, I raised my head and looked at Picart. +His face was all covered with blood. Blood had formed in icicles on his +moustache and beard. I told him that he was wounded on his head. He +said 'yes,' he had discovered it when his cap had caught on a branch, +and blood had flowed down his face; it was nothing of any consequence. +'And besides,' he continued, 'this is not the time to bother about it; +it will do this evening.' + +I proposed that, to get on faster, we should both mount the horse. +'Let us try,' he said. We therefore took off the wooden saddle he +had on his back, leaving only a cloth underneath, and we both got +astride, Picart in front, and I behind. We drank some of our spirit and +started, holding our muskets across like balancing-poles. We trotted +on, sometimes we galloped; often our way was barred by fallen trees, +and the idea occurred to Picart to cut down a few more which looked on +the point of falling, and thus to form a barrier against the cavalry if +they came after us. He dismounted, and with my axe he felled some small +pine-trees across the road, which would effectually provide twenty-five +men with work for an hour. After he had mounted again, we trotted on +for a quarter of an hour, when he stopped and said: + +'_Coquin de Dieu!_ this tartar has a hard trot!' + +I said he was taking his revenge on us for having killed his master. + +'Ah, sergeant,' he said, 'the drop of drink has made you merry, I see.' + +Picart arranged the flaps of his white cloak carefully on the horse's +back to make his seat easier, and we went on for a quarter of an +hour at a walking pace. Some time the horse was half buried in the +snow. We now saw a road crossing ours, which we concluded must be the +highroad, but we had to be careful before entering it. We jumped down, +and leading the horse, we retired into the forest, in order to examine +the road without being seen. We soon recognised it as being the road +leading to the Bérézina, by the vast number of corpses half covered by +snow, and footmarks coming towards us; and the traces of blood on the +snow looked as if a convoy of French prisoners, escorted by Russians, +had passed not long since. + +There was therefore no doubt that we were behind the Russian van-guard, +and that very soon others would come after us. What were we to do? To +follow the highroad was the only course open to us. Picart's opinion +was this: + +'An idea has occurred to me. You shall be the rear-guard, and I the +van-guard. I will guide the horse forward if I see nothing coming; you, +my friend, with your head turned towards his tail, can look out behind.' + +It was not easy to put Picart's idea into practice. We had to sit back +to back, like a double eagle, as he said, with two eyes in front and +two behind. We each took a small glass of gin, reserving the rest for a +case of necessity, and we put the horse to a walk, setting off again in +this silent and lonely forest. + +The north wind was bitterly cold, and the rear-guard suffered severely +from it, hardly able as he was to keep his position; but, fortunately, +the atmosphere was clear, and one could see objects quite a long way +off; the road we followed was also a straight one, so that we had +no fear of being surprised at a sudden bend. We progressed in this +way for half an hour, when we met in the wood bordering the road +seven peasants, who appeared to be waiting for us. They each wore a +sheepskin coat, and their boots were made of the bark of trees. They +came up to us, wished us good-day in Polish, and seemed pleased to +find that we were French. They made us understand that they had to go +to Minsk to join the Russian army, as they belonged to the militia; +they had been forced to march against us by blows from the knout, and +Cossacks were stationed in all the villages to drive them out. + +We went on our way, and when they were out of sight I asked Picart if +he had understood what the peasants said. Minsk was one of our great +depots in Lithuania, containing storehouses of food, and where a large +part of the army was to meet. He said he had understood perfectly, and +if it was true, _Papa Beau-père_[39] had played us a nasty trick. As I +did not understand, he explained that the Austrians must have betrayed +us.[40] He was going on at some length, when he suddenly pulled the +horse up, saying, 'Look out, there! Isn't that a column of troops?' I +saw something black, which disappeared again; but directly afterwards +the head of a column appeared as if coming from a deep hollow. + +It was easy to see they were Russians. We had just time to turn to the +right and enter the forest, but we had hardly gone four paces, when +the horse sank breast-deep into the snow and threw me off. I dragged +Picart with me into six feet of snow, and we had the greatest trouble +in getting out again. The brute of a horse got off, but he cleared a +passage for us through the woods, and we took advantage of it at once. +After twenty yards we could go no further owing to the thickness of the +trees, so we were obliged to return--there was no choice. We found our +horse munching the bark off a tree, to which we tied him. We went some +distance off behind a thick bush, and got ready to defend ourselves. +While we waited Picart asked whether our bottle was either lost or +broken. Luckily it was all right, so we each had a cup, which we wanted +badly. While I undid the bottle, Picart looked to the priming of our +guns, and took the snow out of the hammers. + +After waiting for about five minutes, the head of the column appeared, +preceded by ten or twelve armed Tartars and Kalmoucks, some with +lances, others with bows and arrows, and peasants to right and left +of the road, armed with anything they could lay their hands on. In +the centre of the group were more than 200 prisoners of our army, +hardly able to drag themselves along. Many of them were wounded; some +had their arms in slings, others had frozen feet, and leant on thick +staves for support. Several had fallen, and in spite of the blows +from the peasants and from the lances of the Tartars, they did not +move. I cannot describe the pain we suffered at seeing our comrades so +ill-treated. Picart said nothing, but I feared every instant that he +would rush out from his cover at the offenders. Just then an officer +galloped up, and, addressing the prisoners in French, he said: + +'Why don't you walk faster?' + +'We cannot,' said a soldier lying in the snow, 'and, for my part, I +would rather die here than further on.' + +The officer said that he must have patience, that carts were coming, +and that the most seriously ill would be put into them. + +'You will be better off than you were with Napoleon, for at the present +moment he is a prisoner with all his Guard and the rest of his army, +and the bridges over the Bérézina are cut.' + +'Napoleon a prisoner with his Guard!' replied an old soldier. 'May God +forgive you, sir! You do not know them. They would only be taken dead. +They swore it! They cannot be prisoners!' + +'Come,' said the officer, 'here are the waggons.' + +We now saw two of our waggons and a travelling forge filled with sick +and wounded men. Five men were thrown out, whom the peasants at once +stripped absolutely naked. These were replaced by five others, three of +whom were unable to move by themselves. We heard the officer order the +peasants to return the clothes they had taken to the prisoners most in +need of them. As they did not hurry themselves to obey his orders, he +gave each of them several smart blows with a whip. We then heard him +say to some soldiers who were thanking him: + +'I am French myself. I have been in Russia for twenty years. My father +died there, but my mother is still alive. I hope now that we shall +get back to France and our property there. I know quite well you have +not been conquered by force of arms, but by this unendurable Russian +climate.' + +'And the want of food, besides,' replied a wounded man. 'If it were not +for that, we should be at St. Petersburg.' + +'Perhaps so,' said the officer. + +The convoy moved slowly on. + +When it was out of sight we went for our horse, and found him with +his head in the snow searching for grass. By chance we came upon the +remains of a fire. We relit it and warmed our frozen limbs. We jumped +up every moment, and looked to right and left, when all at once we +heard a groan, and saw a man coming towards us almost naked. He had on +a coat half burnt, a dilapidated forage-cap on his head. His feet were +wrapped in rags, and string was tied round them, and round a ragged +pair of gray trousers. His nose was almost frozen off, his ears covered +with wounds. Only his thumb remained on the right hand; all the fingers +had dropped off. This was one of the poor wretches abandoned by the +Russians. We could not understand a word he said. When he saw our fire +he almost threw himself upon it; he seemed as if he would devour it, +kneeling down in front of the flame without a word. We got him with +difficulty to swallow a little gin. More than half of what we gave him +was wasted, for his teeth chattered so he could hardly unclose them. + +His groans ceased, his teeth had almost stopped chattering, when he +suddenly turned pale, and seemed to collapse without a word or sigh. +Picart tried to raise him up, but he only lifted a corpse. This scene +took place in less than ten minutes. + +Everything my old comrade saw and heard seemed to impress him very +much. He took his musket, and without a word to me turned on to the +highroad, as if there was nothing more to trouble about. I hastened +after him, leading the horse, and when I caught him up I told him to +mount. He did so without speaking, and I after him, and we pressed +forward, hoping to get out of the forest before nightfall. + +After an hour's trotting, seeing nothing but dead bodies along the +road, we came to what we took for the end of the forest. We found, +however, that it was only a large clearing in semicircular form. In the +centre was a fair-sized house with a few huts round it. This was one of +the posting-stations, but, unfortunately for us, there were horses tied +to the trees. Their riders came out of the house, and formed in order +on the road; then they trotted off. There were eight of them, in white +cloaks and very high-crested helmets. They were like the Cuirassiers +we fought against at Krasnoë, in November. Luckily, they went off in +the opposite direction from the road we were making for. + +On re-entering the forest, we found it impossible to advance twenty +yards. No human being could ever have set foot there, the trees were so +crowded together, the brushwood was so thick, and there were so many +fallen trunks half buried in the snow. We were forced to come out, and +run the risk of being seen by following the forest outside. Our poor +horse sank at every step into the snow, and night was drawing on before +we had gone half our distance. To rest for a few minutes, we entered a +road leading into the forest. We dismounted, and flew at once to our +precious bottle. This was our fifth attack, and we could now see its +contents diminishing. + +As there were a good many felled trees about, we decided to get as far +to the other side of them as possible, and we halted against a pile of +wood which would prove a shelter. After Picart had rid himself of his +knapsack, and I of my saucepan, he said, 'Now for the main thing--a +fire. Quick! an old bit of linen.' + +My old shirt was a wonderful thing for catching a blaze. I tore off a +bit and gave it to Picart; he made it into a wick, and putting it with +a bit of powder into the priming-pan of his gun, he fired. The linen +caught fire, but a terrible report was the consequence, repeated again +and again by echoes, and I feared it would betray us. + +My poor friend Picart was not the same man since he had seen the +prisoners and heard the officer's account of the Emperor's surrender. +It had made a great effect on him; he even complained at times of a +bad pain in his head, which was not at all the result of the Cossack's +pistol. I cannot explain it. He forgot that he had loaded his musket, +and after the report he just sat still without speaking, and finally +only abused himself for a conscript and an old blockhead. Several dogs +were set barking. Then he said he expected they would come and track us +out like wolves. I tried to reassure him by saying that we need fear +nothing at that late hour. + +We soon had a good fire, as we found some really dry wood; we also +found, to our joy, some straw, probably hidden by peasants. Providence +seemed to smile on us again, and Picart said, 'Cheer up, _mon pays_; we +are saved just for this night! God will do the rest to-morrow, and if +we are lucky enough to find the Emperor, it will be all right.' + +Picart, along with all the veterans, who idolized the Emperor, thought +that once with him everything was bound to succeed, and that, in fact, +nothing was impossible. + +We made a comfortable litter for our horse with straw, and gave him +something to eat as well, all the time keeping him ready harnessed, and +with the portmanteau strapped on his back, ready for the first alarm. +Picart took a piece of cooked meat from the saucepan to thaw it, and +said: + +'Do you know, I am thinking a great deal of what the Russian officer +said.' + +'What do you mean?' + +'Why, that the Emperor and the Guard were taken prisoners. I know, +of course, that it's not that--couldn't possibly be--but I can't get +it out of my wooden head. It sticks there, and I shall have no peace +till I am with the regiment. Just now let's eat and rest a little, +and afterwards'--he went on in Picardy patois--'we'll drink a _tiote +goutte_.' + +The temperature was almost mild just then; we ate the horseflesh +without much appetite, and Picart talked by himself, swearing all the +time. + +[Illustration: BIVOUAC NEAR MIKALEWKA, NOVEMBER 7, 1812. + +_From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army._] + +'I have forty gold napoleons in my belt, and seven Russian gold pieces, +not counting the five-franc pieces; I would give the whole with all +my heart to be with the regiment again. That reminds me,' he said; +'the pieces are not in my belt, but are sewn inside my white service +waistcoat, and, as one never knows what may happen, they will belong to +you.' + +'Well,' I said, 'now for my last will and testament. I have 800 francs +in notes and in gold. You may dispose of it all, if it is God's will I +should die before finding the regiment.' + +While warming myself, I put my hand mechanically into the little canvas +bag I carried, and found something hard like a bit of cord and as +long as two fingers. On examining it I found it was tobacco. What a +discovery for poor Picart! When I gave it to him, he let fall a bit of +meat he was eating, and took a quid of tobacco instead, to wait with, +he said, while he found his pipe. As it was hardly the time to search +for it, he contented himself with his quid, and I with a little cigar +which I made _à l'Espagnole_ with a piece of paper. + +We had been resting for about two hours, and it was not yet seven +o'clock. We had therefore eleven or twelve hours yet to wait before +continuing our march. + +Picart had been walking a few yards off for a moment, and I was getting +uneasy about him, when I heard a rustling in the brushwood in the +opposite direction from that he had taken. I took my musket and put +myself ready, when Picart appeared. + +'It is all right, _mon pays_--quite right,' he said in a mysterious +voice, signing to me to keep silence. Then he told me that two women +had just passed along the road, one carrying a bundle and the other +a pail. They had stopped to rest for a few minutes, chattering like +magpies. 'We will follow them,' he said; 'probably we shall come to a +village or some hut where we shall get shelter and greater safety than +here, for listen to those confounded dogs barking!' + +'But,' I said, 'we shall be sure to find Russians!' + +He said we would risk that. So we set off again in the night, in the +midst of a forest, not knowing where we were going, and with only a few +footmarks in the snow to guide us. The footsteps ceased suddenly, and +when we found them again, they turned off to the right. This put us +out, as they led us away from the highroad. Very often, too, we almost +lost sight of them, and Picart had frequently to go down on his knees +and search for them with his hands. + +Picart led the horse by the bridle, and I followed, holding his tail. +A little further on we found two roads, both of them with footmarks, +and we stopped, not knowing which to take. We thought of making the +horse go first, and trusting to him to guide us; but at last God took +compassion on our misery. We heard a dog bark, and a little further +on we came to a fairly large building. Imagine the roof of one of our +barns placed on the ground, and you will have an idea of the kind of +building now before us. We walked round it three times before we could +discover a door, hidden as it was by a thatched roof reaching down to +the ground. Picart went under the roof, and found a second door, at +which he knocked gently. No one answered. He knocked again. Still no +answer. Thinking the house was deserted, he was about to push open the +door, when a feeble voice was heard; the door opened, and an old woman +appeared, holding a piece of resinous wood lighted in her hand. At +seeing Picart, she dropped the wood in terror and fled. My companion +picked up the wood, still alight, and advanced some steps. I fastened +the horse up near the door, and on going in found Picart in a cloud of +smoke. In his white cloak, with the light in his hand, he looked like +a penitent. He broke the silence by the best greeting he could muster +in Polish, and I repeated it after him. An old man heard us, and came +forward. When he saw Picart, he exclaimed: + +'Ah, Frenchmen, that is well!' + +He said it in Polish, and repeated it in German. We told them that we +were Frenchmen of Napoleon's Guard. At that name the Pole bowed, and +would have kissed our feet. At the word 'French,' repeated by the old +woman, two younger women came out of a little recess, and showed the +greatest joy. Picart recognised them for the two women whose footsteps +we had followed. + +After being with these good people for about five minutes the heat of +the cottage, to which I was so unaccustomed, nearly suffocated me. I +retreated to the door, where I fell down unconscious. + +Picart ran to help me, but the old woman and one of her daughters had +already lifted me up, and placed me on a wooden stool. They relieved +me of the saucepan and of my bearskin cloak, and made me lie down on a +camp-bed covered with skins. The women seemed very sorry for us, seeing +our great misery, and especially for me, as I was so young, and had +suffered so much more than my comrade. My sufferings had made me so +wretched that it was pitiful to see me. The old man had busied himself +in bringing in our horse, and they did all they could for us. Picart +remembered the gin in my pouch, and made me swallow a little, and I +began to feel much better. + +The old woman took off my boots for me. I had not had them off since +Smolensk--that is to say, since November 10th; it was now the 23rd. One +of the girls filled a great basin with warm water, and, kneeling down, +took my feet gently one after the other and washed them, pointing out +that I had a wound in the right foot. It was an old chilblain of 1807, +at the time of the Battle of Eylau. I had not felt it since then, but +now it opened again, and I suffered cruelly from it.[41] + +The other girl, who seemed to be the elder, performed the same office +for Picart. He submitted calmly, but seemed embarrassed. I said he had +had an inspiration from God when he thought of following the girls' +footsteps. + +'Yes,' he said; 'but when I saw them in the forest, I never thought we +should be received like this. I did not tell you,' he continued, 'that +my head ached like the devil--and I still feel it. I believe that dog +of a Cossack's ball did more damage than I thought. We'll see.' + +He untied the cord under his chin, which held the sheepskin +ear-coverings in their places; but hardly had he done this when the +blood began to flow. + +'Just look!' he said. 'But that's nothing--it's only a scratch; the +bullet must have slipped down the side of my head.' + +The Pole helped him off with his shoulder-belt. He had almost forgotten +how to take off that and his fur cap, he had slept in them for so long. +The girl who had washed his feet washed his head too. Everyone gathered +round to serve him. The poor fellow was so much touched by their care +for him that great tears rolled down his face. Scissors were needed +to cut his hair, and all at once I remembered the surgeon's little +case which I had taken from the Cossack. We found everything we wanted +there for dressing the wound--two pairs of scissors, and several other +surgical instruments, with lint and bandages. After cutting the hair +off, the old woman sucked the wound, which went deeper than we thought. +Then we put on some lint, a bandage, and a handkerchief. We found the +ball in the midst of some rags which filled his cap. It had gone right +through the left wing of the Imperial eagle on the front of the cap. +To his great joy, he also found his pipe, a regular cutty, not three +inches long, and he began to smoke it at once. + +When our feet were washed, they dried them with lambskins, which served +afterwards as a carpet; and on my chilblain they put some ointment, +assuring me it would soon make me all right. They gave me a bit to take +away in a piece of linen; this I put in the surgeon's case with all +the instruments I had used for Picart. We already felt much better, +and we thanked the Poles for all the care they had taken of us. They +told us how grieved they were not to be able to do more. On a journey +one must lodge one's enemies and wash their feet. How much more one's +friends! Just then the old woman screamed and ran out. Her great dog +had run off with Picart's cap. They wanted to beat him, but we begged +him off. I proposed to Picart that we should examine the portmanteau +still on the horse's back, so we carried it near the stove. First we +found nine handkerchiefs embroidered in silk. 'Quick!' said Picart; +'two each for our princesses, and one for the old mother, and the +others we will keep.' This was done immediately, to everyone's great +satisfaction. Then we found three pairs of officer's epaulettes, three +silver watches, seven crosses of honour, two silver spoons, two dozen +Hussars' gilt buttons, two boxes of razors, six bank-notes of 100 +roubles each, and a pair of linen trousers stained with blood. I hoped +to find a shirt, but was disappointed. I had greater need of that than +of anything else, as the warmth had revived the vermin which devoured +me. + +The girls opened their eyes wide as they looked at our presents, unable +to believe they were really theirs. The gilt buttons gave them greater +pleasure than anything else, and also some gold rings, which I enjoyed +putting on their fingers. The girl who had washed my feet noticed, I am +sure, that I gave her the best. Very likely the Cossacks cut off the +dead men's fingers to take the rings. + +To the old man we gave a large English watch and two razors, besides +all the Russian small money, amounting to more than thirty francs. We +noticed that he fixed his eyes continually on a commander's cross with +the Emperor's portrait, so we also gave that to him. I cannot describe +his pleasure. He pressed it several times to his lips and his heart, +and finally fastened it round his neck by a leather band, making us +understand that only death should part him from it. + +We asked for some bread, and they brought us what they had not dared +give us before, they said, it was so bad. We really could not eat it. +It was made of a black paste, full of grains of barley, rye, and bits +of straw, rough enough to tear one's throat to pieces. They said this +bread came from the Russians, that three leagues off the French had +beaten them that very morning, and had taken a large convoy from them. +This news had been brought to them by the Jews who were flying from all +the villages on the road to Minsk. They had also sold them this bread, +which was quite uneatable, and although I had not eaten any bread for +more than a month, I could not manage to get my teeth into it. For a +long time, too, my lips had been so cracked by the frost that they bled +constantly. + +When the peasants saw that we could not eat the bread, they brought +us a piece of mutton, a few potatoes, some onions, and some pickled +cucumber. They gave us, in fact, everything they had, saying that they +would do their best to get us something better. We put the mutton +into the saucepan to make some soup. The old man told us that half a +league off there was a village filled with refugee Jews, and as they +had carried off all their food with them, he hoped he could find there +something better to eat than what they had set before us. We wished to +give him some money, but he refused it, saying that what we had given +him and his daughters would be quite sufficient, and that one of them +had already gone off with her mother and the big dog. + +They had made a bed for us on the ground, of straw and sheepskins. +Picart had already gone to sleep, and I soon followed his example. We +were awakened by the loud barking of the dog. 'Good!' said the Pole, +'my wife and daughter have come back.' They brought us some milk, a few +potatoes, and a little cake of rye-meal, which they had procured by +heavy payment, but brandy, _nima_.[42] + +The little there was had been taken by the Russians. We thanked these +kind people who had walked nearly two leagues, with the snow up to +their knees, in the middle of the night, too, in terrible cold, and +exposed to the attacks of wolves and bears, which abound in Lithuanian +forests. We made some milk soup and drank it at once. I felt much +better after I had eaten, and then sat reflecting, my head in my hands. +Picart asked me what I was thinking of. + +'I am thinking,' I said, 'that if I were not with you, and bound by +honour and my oath, I should stay here in this forest with these good +people.' + +'Cheer up,' he said. 'I have had a lucky dream. I dreamed I was in the +barracks at Courbevoie, eating a piece of _Mère aux bouts'_ pudding, +and drinking a bottle of Suresnes wine.'[43] + +While Picart was speaking, I noticed that his face was very red, and +that he frequently put his hand to his forehead. I asked him if his +head pained him. He said it did, but that was caused very likely by +the heat, or by having slept too long, but he seemed to me to be in a +fever. His vision of the barracks at Courbevoie confirmed me in this +opinion. 'I want to go on with my dream, and try to find _Mère aux +bouts_ again,' he said. 'Good-night!' He was asleep in two minutes. + +I, too, tried to rest, but my sleep was constantly broken by the pains +in my legs, the result of my continued over-walking. The dog began +to bark soon after Picart went to sleep; he roused the people of the +house, and the old man, who was seated on a bench near the stove, got +up and seized a lance fastened to a long pine-branch, his only means +of defence. He ran to the door, followed by his wife, and I did the +same, taking care not to wake Picart, and armed myself with my musket +and bayonet. We heard someone trying the outer door, and in reply +to the old man's question of who was there, a nasal voice answered, +'Samuel!' The wife then told her husband that it was a Jew from the +village. I resumed my place on hearing that a son of Israel was at the +door, taking care to collect all our possessions around me, so little +confidence had I in the new-comer. I slept for two hours, when Picart +awoke me to take my share of the mutton soup. He still complained of +a bad pain in his head, saying he had dreamt of nothing but Paris and +Courbevoie, and, forgetting that he had already related his dream to +me, told me that he had been dancing at the barrière du Roule,[44] and +had drunk with the Grenadiers who were killed at the Battle of Eylau. + +As we sat down to eat, the Jew gave us a bottle of gin, which Picart +took possession of at once, and speaking in German, he asked its +history. When he tasted it, all the thanks the Jew got was the +exclamation that it was not worth the devil. It was bad gin made from +potato-spirit. + +The idea came to me that we might make use of the Jew as a guide; we +had quite enough with us to tempt his love of gain. Picart approved +of my plan, and just as he was prepared to propose it, the horse +raised himself, terrified, trying to break his tether, and the dog +gave tongue, and at the same moment some wolves began howling at the +door. Picart took his musket to chase them away, but our host warned +him against this, on account of the Russians. He contented himself, +therefore, by taking his sword in one hand, and in the other a piece of +flaming pine. Then opening the door, he ran at the wolves and put them +to flight. He came in again, saying that the air had done him good, and +that his headache had nearly gone. The wolves afterwards came back, but +we took no notice of them. + +As I had expected, the Jew asked us if we had anything to sell or +exchange. I said to Picart that now was the time for proposals, as we +wanted to be put on our way to Borisow, or to the first French outpost. +I asked him how far we were from the Bérézina, and he answered nine +leagues by the high road; but we made him understand that we wished to +get there by a shorter route, and I proposed that he should guide us if +we could arrange it. We gave him the three pairs of epaulettes, and a +bank-note worth 100 roubles, the whole the value of 500 francs; I made +the conditions, however, that the epaulettes should be left in charge +of our host, who would hand them over to him on his return, and that I +would give him the bank-note on arriving at our destination--that is, +at the first French outpost. When he returned the epaulettes would be +given to him on presentation of a silk handkerchief which I showed to +the assembled company. The handkerchief was to be given to the younger +daughter, who had washed my feet, and the Jew agreed to give our host +and hostess 25 roubles. The son of Israel accepted the conditions, +observing, however, that he should be running a great many risks in +thus leaving the highroad. Our host said how sorry he felt that he +was not ten years younger, so that he might guide us for nothing, and +defend us also against any Russians who might come; saying this, he +shook his halberd. He gave the Jew a great many instructions as to the +road, and he at last consented to guide us, after satisfying himself +that everything we had given him was of full value. + +At nine in the morning we started. It was November 24th. The Polish +family stood on the highest piece of ground they could find, following +us with their eyes, and waving to us with their hands. Our guide went +first, leading our horse. Picart talked to himself, sometimes standing +and going through the musket-drill. All at once he stopped, and, on +turning round, I saw him motionless, porting arms as if on parade. +Suddenly he thundered out, 'Vive l'Empereur!' I went up to him, and, +taking him by the arm, I said, 'What is the matter with you, Picart?' +fearing that he had gone mad. + +'What!' he answered, as if only just awake, 'isn't the Emperor +inspecting us?' + +I was distressed to hear him, and answering that it was not to-day, but +to-morrow, I took his arm, and hurried him along to catch up with the +Jew. Large tears were falling down his face. + +'What,' I said, 'an old soldier crying!' + +'Let me cry,' he said; 'it will do me good. I feel miserable, and if we +don't get to the regiment to-morrow, it's all up with me.' + +'Cheer up! We shall be there to-morrow, I hope, or the next day at +latest. How's this? You are taking on just like a woman.' + +'That is so,' he said; 'I can't explain it. I was either sleeping or +dreaming; but I am better now.' + +'That's right, _mon vieux_. It's nothing; it has often happened to me +before. But since you came I have felt quite hopeful.' + +As I talked, I saw our guide stop continually to listen. Suddenly +Picart threw himself full length in the snow, and shouted in a +commanding voice, 'Silence!' + +'Now,' I said to myself, 'he's done with--my old comrade has gone mad! +What will become of me?' + +I looked at him petrified. He then got up, and shouted again, 'Vive +l'Empereur! The guns! Listen! We're saved!' + +'What do you mean?' I said. + +'Yes, listen,' he went on. + +I listened, and really heard the sound of distant guns. + +'Ah, now I can breathe again!' he said; 'the Emperor is not a prisoner, +as that fool of an emigrant said yesterday. It had got regularly on my +brain, and I should have died of rage and mortification. Now let us go +in that direction; it's a safe guide.' + +The Israelite assured us that the guns were in the direction of the +Bérézina, and my old comrade was so delighted that he began to sing: + +Air du _Curé de Pomponne._ + + 'Les Autrichiens disaient tout bas; + Les Français vont vite en besogne + Prenez, tandis qu'ils n'y sont pas, + L'Alsace et la Bourgogne. + Ah! tu t'en souviendras, la-ri-ra, + Du depart de Boulogne' (_bis_).[45] + +Half an hour later we could not advance any further, so difficult had +our march become; our guide believed he had missed the way. We heard +the booming of the guns continually; it might be about mid-day. All +at once the sound of the guns ceased, the wind got up again, and the +snow began falling in such quantities that we could not see each other, +and the poor son of Israel gave up leading the horse. We advised him +to mount the beast, which advice he took. I began to feel terribly +tired, and uneasy in my mind, but said nothing; while Picart swore +like a madman because he could not hear the guns, and at the wind +which prevented our hearing. The trees were now so close together that +we could not possibly penetrate through them. Every moment something +caught our feet, and we fell headlong on the ground half buried in the +snow; and after much painful walking we found ourselves at the place we +had left an hour before. + +We now stopped for a few minutes, drank some of the bad gin which the +Jew had given us, and discussed our next move. We decided that we must +return to the highroad. I asked the guide if he could take us back to +where we had spent the night, in the event of our not being able to +find the road. He said he could, but that we must make landmarks where +we passed. Picart accomplished this by 'blazing' the young birches +and pines as he went along. When we had gone about half a league, we +came upon a cottage; it was only just in time, as my strength was now +failing me. We decided to halt there for half an hour while we fed +the horse, and ourselves also. By a stroke of luck, we found there a +quantity of dry wood for burning, two benches made of rough wood, and +three sheepskins; these we thought we would take away with us, in case +we were obliged to spend the night in the forest. + +We warmed ourselves while we ate a piece of horseflesh. Our guide +would not touch it, but drew from under his sheepskin cloak a +wretched-looking cake of barley-flour mixed with straw, which he begged +us to share with him. He swore to us by his father Abraham that he had +nothing with him but that and a few nuts. We therefore divided it +into four; the Jew took two parts, and we each had one. We also drank +a little of the bad gin. When I offered some to him he refused, as he +would not drink out of our cup, but he accepted some poured into the +hollow of his hand. + +Then he told us that the next hut was a good hour's walk off, so +we resolved to set out at once for fear of being overtaken by the +darkness. The road was so narrow that we had the greatest difficulty in +getting along, but Samuel, our guide, had pluck, and kept on assuring +us that it would become wider farther on. + +As a finishing stroke to our misfortunes, the snow began to fall again +heavily, and completely hid the way from us. Our guide burst into +tears, saying that he did not know where we were. We tried to retrace +our steps, but this was worse, as the snow flew straight in our faces, +and now the best thing we could do was to stand against a group of +pine-trees, waiting till it pleased God to stop the snow-storm. It +lasted for more than half an hour longer. We were almost perished with +cold. At times Picart swore, and then he would hum: + + 'Ah! tu t'en souviendras, la-ri-ra, + Du depart de Boulogne!' + +The Jew continually cried out, 'My God! my God!' For my part, I said +nothing, but my thoughts were gloomy, and had it not been for my +bearskin and the Rabbi's cap, which I wore under my shako, I should +have yielded to the cold. + +As soon as the weather grew a little better, we tried to find our +way, but a complete calm had followed the storm, so that we could not +distinguish the north from the south. We were now completely lost. We +walked on at random in great circles, continually coming back to the +same place. + +Picart swore continually, but now it was at the Jew. However, after +walking for some time, we found ourselves in an open space, about 400 +yards in circumference, and we hoped to find a road here, but after +wandering round it several times, we discovered nothing. We looked at +each other, hoping for an idea from someone. My old comrade leant his +musket against a tree, and, looking all round him, he drew his sword +from its sheath. Hardly had he done so, when the poor Jew, thinking +he was going to be killed, set up a piercing shriek, and, leaving the +horse, prepared to fly; his strength, however, failed him, and he fell +on his knees, imploring mercy of God and of us; quite needlessly, +however, as Picart had only drawn his sword to cut down a small +birch-tree and consult it as to our direction. He looked fixedly at +the part of the tree still in the ground, and then said calmly, 'That +is the direction we must take. The bark on this side, which must be +the north, is a little red and rotted, and the other side, that of the +south, is white and perfect. Let us walk towards the south.' + +We had no time to lose, as our greatest dread was that night should +overtake us. We tried to beat out a path for ourselves, taking care not +to lose the direction of our starting-point. + +Just then the Jew, who was in front of us, uttered a cry, and we +saw him stretched full length on the ground. He had fallen down in +trying to drag the horse between two trees where there was not room +to pass. The poor _cognia_ could neither go forward nor back. We had +to stop and disentangle the man from the horse; the burden the horse +carried, as well as his harness, had been pressed backwards on to his +hind-quarters. + +I was much put out at this loss of time. I would willingly have +left the horse behind, but at the end of half an hour's efforts we +discovered a fairly wide path, which the Jew recognised as being the +continuation of the road we had lost. He knew the road by some beehives +in the trees, too high, unfortunately, for us to reach.[46] + +Picart looked at his watch, and saw that it was nearly four o'clock, +therefore we had no time to lose. We now found ourselves close to a +frozen lake, known to our guide. We crossed it without difficulty, +and, turning to the left, continued our journey. Very soon we saw four +men, who stopped on seeing us. We naturally got on guard at once, but +it was soon apparent that they were more frightened than we, and after +consulting together they came towards us, wishing us good-day. They +were four Jews, known to our guide, belonging to a village on the high +road. As the village was occupied by the French army, they could not +possibly remain there without dying of cold and hunger. The provisions +were all gone, and not a single house was left for shelter, even for +the Emperor. From them we learnt, to our joy, that the French army +was only two leagues off. They advised us, however, to go no further +that day, as we might easily miss the road. We could pass the night in +the first hut we should come to, not far off. They left us, bidding +us good-night, and we fortunately soon found our resting-place for +the night, There was a quantity of straw and wood in the hut, and we +immediately lit a good fire in an earthenware stove we found there. It +would have taken too long to make soup, so we contented ourselves with +a piece of roast meat, and then decided to watch in turn two hours at a +time, with loaded weapons near us. + +I do not know how long I had been asleep, when I was awakened by the +horse, frightened in his turn by the howling of the wolves outside. +Picart took a long pole, and tying some straw and resinous wood to the +end, he lit it and rushed on the animals, holding his flaming pole in +one hand and his sword in the other, and for the moment they fled. He +returned triumphant, but he had scarcely lain down again when they +came back with redoubled fury. He then took a great piece of lighted +wood, and, throwing it a dozen yards off, he told the Jew to take out a +quantity of dry wood to keep up the blaze. After this we heard no more +howling. + +At about four o'clock Picart woke me with an agreeable surprise. +Without telling me, he had made soup with some oatmeal and flour he had +left, and had roasted a good piece of horseflesh. We both set to with +a good appetite. Picart had given the Jew his share, and we took care +of the horse also. We had filled several wooden tubs with snow, which +was now melted; we purified it by putting in a quantity of lighted +charcoal. This served for our drink, for soup, and for watering the +horse, who had drunk nothing since the evening before. After looking +to our boots, I took a piece of charcoal, and wrote the following +inscription on a plank in large letters: + +'Two Grenadiers of the Emperor Napoleon's Guard, lost in this forest, +passed the nights of November 24th and 25th in this hut. The day before +they enjoyed the hospitality of a kind Polish family.' This inscription +I signed. + +We had scarcely gone fifty yards, when our horse stopped short. Our +guide said he thought he saw something on the road, and on going nearer +there were two wolves sitting waiting for us. Picart fired, and the +wolves disappeared. Half an hour afterwards we were safe. + +We first came across a bivouac of twelve men, German soldiers attached +to our army. We stopped near their fire to ask for news. They looked at +us without answering, and then consulted among themselves. They were in +the last stage of destitution. Three dead bodies were lying near them. +As our guide had now kept his bargain, we gave him what we promised +him, and after asking him again to thank the good Poles for us, we bade +him good-bye and a safe journey. He strode off quickly and disappeared. + +We now prepared to gain the high road, only ten minutes' walk off, +when five of the Germans surrounded us, begging us to leave our horse +behind to be killed, and assuring us we should have our share. Two of +them took hold of his bridle, but Picart, who had had enough of this, +said, in bad German, that if they did not leave hold of the bridle he +would cut their faces for them with his sword, and he drew it out of +its sheath. The Germans took no notice, and Picart repeated what he had +said. No answer. He then gave the two holding the bridle a smart blow +with his fist which stretched them in the snow. He asked me to hold +the horse, and said to the others: 'Come on, if you have any pluck.' +Seeing, however, that no one moved, he took three pieces of meat out +of the saucepan and gave them to the men. Those lying on the ground +got up at once for their share. I saw that they were almost dead of +hunger, and to make up for our rough treatment of them, I gave them +a piece already cooked, weighing more than three pounds. They threw +themselves on the food ravenously enough, and we continued on our way. +A little farther on, we came on two fires almost extinguished, several +men, half dead, lying around them. Two of them spoke to us; one cried, +'Comrades, are you going to kill the horse? I only want a little blood!' + +We did not answer. We were still a gun-shot from the highroad. When at +last we reached it, I said aloud to Picart, 'We are saved!' + +A man near us, wrapped in a half-burned cloak, said, raising his voice, +'Not yet!' He moved off, looking at me and shrugging his shoulders. He +knew what was going on better than I did. + +Soon afterwards we saw a detachment of about thirty men, engineers +and _pontonniers_. I recognised them as the men we had met at Orcha, +where they formed part of the garrison.[47] This detachment, commanded +by three officers, and which had joined us only four days ago, had +not suffered. They looked strong and well, and were travelling in the +direction of the Bérézina. I asked an officer to direct us to the +Imperial quarters, and he replied that it was still in the rear, but +had begun to move, and that we should soon see the head of the column +appear. He warned us to look well after our horse, as the Emperor had +given orders to take all that were found for the use of the artillery +and the wounded. While we waited for the column we hid ourselves in the +wood. + +I cannot possibly describe all the sufferings, anguish, and scenes of +desolation I had seen and passed through, nor those which I was fated +still to see and endure; they left deep and terrible memories, which I +have never forgotten. + +This was November 25th, perhaps about seven o'clock in the morning, and +as yet it was hardly light. I was musing on all I had seen, when the +head of the column appeared. Those in advance seemed to be Generals, +a few on horseback, but the greater part on foot. There were also a +great number of other officers, the remnant of the Doomed Squadron +and Battalion formed on the 22nd, and barely existing at the end of +three days. Those on foot dragged themselves painfully along, almost +all of them having their feet frozen and wrapped in rags or in bits +of sheepskin, and all nearly dying of hunger. Afterwards came the +small remains of the Cavalry of the Guard. The Emperor came next, on +foot, and carrying a baton. He wore a large cloak lined with fur, a +dark-red velvet cap with black fox fur on his head. Murat walked on +foot at his right, and on his left the Prince Eugène, Viceroy of Italy. +Next came the Marshals, Berthier--Prince of Neufchâtel--Ney, Mortier, +Lefebvre, with other Marshals and Generals whose corps had been nearly +annihilated. + +The Emperor mounted a horse as soon as he passed: so did a few of those +with him, the greater part of them having no more horses to ride. Seven +or eight hundred officers and non-commissioned officers followed, +walking in order and perfect silence, and carrying the eagles of their +different regiments, which so often had led them to victory. This was +all that remained of 60,000 men. + +After them came the Imperial Guard on foot, marching also in order. The +first were the Chasseurs. Poor Picart, who had not seen the army for +a month, gazed in silence; but it was easy to see how much he felt. +He struck the ground many times with the butt of his musket, then his +breast and forehead with his clenched hand. Great tears fell from his +eyes, rolled down his cheeks, and froze in his moustache. Then, turning +to me, he said: + +'I don't know, _mon pays_, if I am awake or dreaming. It breaks my +heart to see our Emperor on foot, his baton in his hand. He, so great, +who made us all so proud of him!' He went on: 'Did you notice how he +looked at us?' + +The Emperor had turned his head towards us as he passed. He looked at +us as he always looked at the men of his Guard when he met them alone. +He seemed, in this hour of misfortune, to inspire us by his glance +with confidence and courage. Picart declared that the Emperor had +recognised him, which was quite possible. My old comrade, fearful of +looking ridiculous, had taken off his white cloak and carried it over +his left arm, and although his head still pained him, he had put on his +fur cap, not liking to appear in the sheepskin the Poles had given him. +Poor Picart forgot all his own miseries, and now only thought of the +Emperor, and of the comrades he longed to see. + +At last the old Grenadiers appeared. These were the first regiment; +Picart belonged to the second. We were not long in catching sight of +them, however, as the first column was a short one--in my opinion quite +half were missing. When at last his own regiment came up to us, Picart +advanced to join it. + +Then someone said: + +'Look! Isn't that like Picart?' + +'Yes,' answered Picart, 'it is I; and I will not leave you again, +except to die.' + +The company immediately took possession of him (for the sake of the +horse, of course). I walked with him for some time longer, to get a +piece of the horse's flesh if they killed him, but a shout was heard: + +'The horse belongs to the company, like the man!' + +'I belong to the company, certainly,' said Picart; 'but the sergeant, +who claims a bit of the horse, killed his master in the first place.' + +'Very well, then,' said a sergeant who knew me, 'he shall have some.' + +This sergeant took the place of a sergeant-major who had died the day +before. + +The column came to a halt, and an officer asked Picart where he came +from, and how he happened to be in front, as those who had escorted +the convoy had come back three days ago. The halt lasted for some +time. Picart related his adventures, stopping continually to ask after +several comrades whom he failed to see in the ranks. They were all +dead. He dared not ask after his bed-mate, who was also from his own +country. But at last he ventured. + +'And where is Rougeau?' + +'At Krasnoë,' said the drummer. + +'Ah! I understand.' + +'Yes,' continued the drummer, 'he died from a ball which cut both his +legs off. Before he died he made you his executor. He gave me for you +his cross, his watch, and a little leather bag containing money and +different things. He begged me to tell you that they were for his +mother. If, like him, you were so unfortunate as not to see France +again, you were to commission someone else.' + +The drummer, named Patrice, then took all the things out of his +knapsack before all the company, saying to Picart: + +'I give them to you just as I received them from his hands. He took +them out of his knapsack--which we replaced under his head--and +directly afterwards he died.' + +'If I have the good fortune to get back to Picardy,' said my friend, 'I +will carry out my comrade's last wishes.' + +They began the march, and I bade good-bye to my old friend, saying we +should meet again at bivouac in the evening. + +Then I waited by the side of the road until my regiment came by, as I +heard it formed part of the rear-guard. + +After the Grenadiers came more than 30,000 men, almost all with their +feet and hands frozen, a great number of them without firearms, as they +were quite unable to make use of them. Many of them walked leaning on +sticks; generals, colonels, other officers, privates, men on horseback, +men on foot, men of all the different nations making up our army, +passed in a confused rabble, covered with cloaks and coats all torn +and burnt, wrapped in bits of cloth, in sheepskins, in everything they +could lay their hands on to keep out the cold. They walked silently +without complaining, keeping themselves as ready as they could for any +possible struggle with the enemy. The Emperor in our midst inspired +us with confidence, and found resources to save us yet. There he +was--always the great genius; however miserable we might be, with him +we were always sure of victory in the end. + +I had more than an hour to wait before the column had passed by, and +after that there was a long train of miserable wretches following +the regiments mechanically. They had reached the last stage of +destitution, and could not hope to get across the Bérézina, although +we were now so near it. Then I saw the remains of the Young Guard, +skirmishers, flank-men, and some of the light companies, escaped from +Krasnoë. All these regiments mingled together marched in perfect +order. Behind them came the artillery and several waggons. The bulk +of the artillery, commanded by General Négre, had already gone +before. Next came the Fusiliers-Chasseurs. Their numbers were greatly +diminished. Our regiment was still separated from me by some pieces +of artillery, drawn by poor beasts with no power left in them. After +that I saw my regiment marching to left and right of the road to join +the Fusiliers-Chasseurs. The Adjutant-Major, Roustan, saw me the +first, and cried out, 'Hallo, poor Bourgogne! Is that you? We thought +you were dead behind us, and here you are alive in front! This is +first-rate. Have you met some of our men behind?' I told him that for +the last three days I had been in the woods to avoid being taken by the +Russians. M. Césarisse said to the Colonel that he knew I had stayed +behind since the 22nd, and that he was surprised beyond everything to +see me again. My company came at last, and I took my own place in it +before my friends were aware of it.[48] When at last they saw me, they +came round me asking questions which I had not strength to answer; I +was as overwhelmed to find myself once more amongst my comrades as if +I had been with my own family. They told me they could not imagine +how I had become separated from them, and that if they had only known +I was ill and could not follow, it should not have happened. As I +glanced over the company, I saw that their numbers also were terribly +diminished. The Captain was missing. He had lost all his toes by the +frost, and just at that moment they did not know where he was, although +they had found a wretched horse for him to ride. Two of my friends took +hold of me under the arms, seeing that I could scarcely walk.[49] + +We joined the Fusiliers-Chasseurs. I never remember in all my life +having such a terrible longing for sleep, and yet we were obliged to go +on. My friends supported me under the arms again, telling me to go to +sleep. This we did for each other in turn, for sleep overcame us all. +Frequently it happened that we stopped short, all three of us having +gone off. The cold, fortunately, was much less that day, otherwise most +of us might have been frozen to death. + +In the middle of the night we reached Borisow. The Emperor stayed in a +country house on the right of the road, and the Guard bivouacked round +it. General Roguet, who commanded us, took possession of a greenhouse +for the night. I and my friends were behind it. During the night the +cold increased very much. The next day (the 26th) we took up a position +on the banks of the Bérézina. The Emperor was at Studianka, a little +village on a hill in front. + +We saw the brave _pontonniers_ working hard at the bridges for us +to cross. They had worked all night, standing up to their shoulders +in ice-cold water, encouraged by their General.[50] These brave men +sacrificed their lives to save the army. One of my friends told me as a +fact that he had seen the Emperor himself handing wine to them. + +The first bridge was finished at two o'clock in the afternoon. It was a +painful and difficult piece of work, as the trestles sank continually +in the mud. Marshal Oudinot's corps crossed immediately to attack +the Russians, who had tried to prevent our passage. The cavalry of +the 2nd Corps had already swum across, not waiting for the bridge +to be finished, and every man took a foot soldier behind him. The +second bridge, for the artillery and cavalry, was finished at four +o'clock.[51] + +Directly we arrived at the banks of the river I lay down wrapped up +in my fur, and then found myself trembling all over with fever. I was +delirious for a long time. I fancied I was at my father's house, eating +potatoes, bread and butter _à la flamande_, and drinking beer. I do +not know how long I was in this condition, but I remember my friend +bringing me some hot broth in a bowl, which I drank eagerly, and I +was soon in a perspiration, in spite of the cold. Besides my bearskin +cloak, my friends had covered me with a great piece of waterproofing +they had torn off a waggon. The rest of the night I lay quiet without +moving. + +On the next day (the 27th) I felt rather better, but terribly weak. +That day the Emperor crossed the Bérézina with part of the Guard, and +about a thousand men belonging to Marshal Ney's corps. Our regiment +remained on the banks. Suddenly I heard my name called; I turned my +head and saw M. Péniaux, director of the Emperor's stage posts and +relays, who had searched me out. They told him that I was ill, and he +came at once, not to give me anything--he had nothing to give, except +encouragement. I thanked him for his kindness, and said I did not +expect even to cross the Bérézina, or to see France again; but I begged +him, if he were more fortunate than I, to tell my parents of my sad +situation. He offered me money, but I declined it. I would willingly +have exchanged 800 francs for the potatoes and bread-and-butter I +dreamed I had eaten at home. + +Before he left me he pointed out the house where the Emperor had +stayed, saying he had been unfortunate, as the house was a flour +warehouse, but the Russians had taken it all, so that he had nothing to +offer me. He shook me by the hand and left me to cross the bridge. + +As soon as he had gone, I remembered that he had spoken of some flour +in the Emperor's house, so I rose, and, weak as I was, I dragged myself +in that direction. The Emperor had only just left the house, and yet +they had already taken off all the doors. I went through several rooms, +and the traces of flour could be seen in them all. In one of them the +boards in the floor were very badly laid down; there was more than an +inch between them. I sat down and scraped out with my sword as much +dirt as flour, which I collected and put into my handkerchief. After +working more than an hour, I got out about two pounds in weight, an +eighth of which was dirt, straw, and little bits of wood. That did not +matter in the least; I went out happy. As I made my way towards our +bivouac I saw a fire, where several men from the Guard were warming +themselves. Amongst them was a musician from our regiment, who had a +tin bowl on his knapsack. I signed to him to come to me, and as he +seemed unwilling to leave his place, I pointed to my parcel, making +him understand there was something inside it. He rose with difficulty, +and when he was near enough I said, in a voice which the others could +not hear, that if he would lend me his bowl, I would make some cakes +which we could share. He consented directly, and as there were several +fires near, we looked out for one in a quiet place. I then made a paste +and four cakes from it; the half I gave to my musician, and took him +back with me to the regiment, still camped on the bank of the river. +I divided the rest of the cakes with the men who had helped me along +the road; they thought them very good, still hot as they were from the +baking. After drinking some of the muddy water of the Bérézina, we +warmed ourselves, waiting for the order to cross the bridges. + +Near our fire was a man belonging to the company attired in _full +uniform_! I asked him what that was for, and he only laughed at me. +The poor fellow was ill; that laugh was the laugh of death, as he +succumbed during the night. + +A little further off was an old soldier with two chevrons--fifteen +years service, that is. His wife was _cantinière_. They had lost +everything--carts, horses, baggage, besides two children, who had +died in the snow; all this poor woman had left to her was despair and +a dying husband. The poor creature, still a young woman, was sitting +on the snow, holding her dying husband's head on her knees. She did +not weep; her grief seemed beyond that. Behind her, leaning on her +shoulder, was a beautiful young girl of thirteen or fourteen years, +the only child remaining to her. This poor child was sobbing bitterly, +her tears falling and freezing on her father's cold face. She wore a +soldier's cape over her poor dress, and a sheepskin on her shoulders to +keep out the cold.[52] None of their own comrades were there to comfort +them. Their regiment was utterly destroyed. We did all that we possibly +could for them, but I was not able to find out if these unhappy people +were saved. Whichever way one turned, these terrible scenes were taking +place. Old carts and waggons furnished us with wood enough to warm +ourselves, and we made the most of this opportunity. My friends wanted +to hear how I had spent my three days of absence. They told me on their +side that on the 23rd, when they were marching across the forest, they +caught sight of the 9th Corps drawn up by the roadside, shouting 'Vive +l'Empereur!' They had not set eyes on this corps for five months. These +men, who had scarcely suffered at all, and had never wanted food, were +distressed at seeing their comrades' destitution. They could hardly +believe that this was the Moscow army, then so splendid, now so +miserable, and so sadly reduced in numbers. + +The 2nd _Corps d'Armée_, commanded by Marshal Oudinot, and the 9th +by Marshal Victor, Duke of Bellune, also the Poles under General +Dombrowski, had not been to Moscow, but had remained in Lithuania. For +the last few days, however, they had been engaged against the Russians, +had repulsed them, and taken a large quantity of baggage; as the +Russians retired they had burnt the bridge. This was the only bridge +over the Bérézina, and had stopped our advance, keeping us penned up +between two forests in the middle of a marsh. We were a medley of +Frenchmen, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Croats, Germans, Poles, +Romans, Neapolitans, and even Prussians. I saw some canteen men whose +wives and children were in great despair, weeping. We noticed that the +men seemed to suffer more, both morally and physically, than the women. +The women bore their sufferings and privations with an astonishing +courage, enough to reflect shame on certain men, who had no courage +and resignation to endure their trials. Very few of these women died, +except those who fell into the Bérézina in crossing the bridge, or some +who were suffocated. + +We were quiet when night came, every one in his bivouac, and no one +came to cross the bridge during the night of the 27th-28th, a most +astonishing thing. I slept, as we had a good fire, but in the middle +of the night I was seized with fever again, and became delirious. The +sound of firing woke me at about seven o'clock. I got up, took my +firearms, and without speaking to anyone I went up to the bridge and +crossed it alone. I met no one but the _pontonniers_, who camped on the +two banks to repair the bridge in case of any accident. + +The first thing I saw when I reached the other side was a large wooden +hut. The Emperor had slept there, and had not come out yet. I was +shivering with fever, so went up towards a fire where several officers +were engaged in studying a map. I received such a cold welcome, +however, that I hastily retired. One of our men, who had observed +me, now came up to tell me that our regiment had crossed the bridge, +and was in the second line of battle behind Marshal Oudinot's corps. +As the cannon roared, and the bullets came rattling over to where we +were standing, I started off to join the regiment, saying to myself +that I had better be shot than die of cold and hunger, so I walked +forward into the wood. On the way I overtook a corporal of my company +dragging himself painfully along, so we helped each other and arrived +at the regiment together. There we saw a fire, and as the corporal was +shivering with fever, I led him up to it. Hardly had we arrived, when a +ball struck my poor comrade in the chest, and stretched him dead at my +feet. I could not help crying out, 'Poor Marcelin! How lucky you are!' +Just then the rumour ran that Marshal Oudinot was wounded. + +When the Colonel saw one of his men fall, he ran to the fire, and +noticing how ill I was, he ordered me to go back to the end of the +bridge and wait for men who had not come up, and bring them to the +regiment. The greatest disorder prevailed at this place. All the men +who had not taken advantage of the night to cross had thrown themselves +in a mass on to the banks of the river as soon as they heard the +artillery, in order to cross by the bridges. + +A corporal of our company named Gros-Jean, who came from Paris, asked +me with tears in his eyes if I had seen his brother. I said no. Then +he told me that he had been with him ever since the Battle of Krasnoë, +as he was ill with fever; but just now, by some dreadful fatality, +they had been separated. Thinking he had gone on in front, he had been +inquiring of his comrades on all sides, and not finding him, he was +going back over the bridge, for if he did not find him he would die. +Wishing to dissuade him from such a fatal resolution, I begged him to +stay with me at the head of the bridge, where we should very likely +see his brother as he passed. But the poor fellow stripped off his +arms and knapsack, saying that, as I had lost my own, he would make me +a present of them if he did not return, and that there were plenty of +muskets over at the other side. He then made as if he would go, but I +stopped him. I pointed out to him the number of dead and dying already +on the bridge, these last preventing others passing over by catching +hold of their legs, and all rolling together in the Bérézina. They +appeared for a moment amongst bits of ice, only to disappear altogether +and make way for others. Gros-Jean did not even hear me. Fixing his +eyes on this scene of horror, he thought he perceived his brother on +the bridge, struggling to clear a pathway for himself through the +crowd. So, listening only to the voice of despair, he climbed over +the dead bodies of men and horses which blocked up the way from the +bridge,[53] and rushed on. Those he first met tried to thrust him back, +but he was strong, and did not give way. He succeeded in reaching the +unfortunate man whom he had taken for his brother; but, alas! it was +not he. I followed all his movements with my eyes. Seeing his mistake, +he redoubled his efforts to reach the further end; but he was knocked +over on to his back, on the edge of the bridge, and nearly thrown into +the water. They walked over his body, his head, but nothing vanquished +him. He collected all his strength for a new effort to rise, and seized +hold of a Cuirassier's leg, who, in his turn, got hold of another +man's arm. The Cuirassier, however, was hindered by a cloak over his +shoulder; he staggered, fell, and rolled into the Bérézina, dragging +after him Gros-Jean and the man whose arm he held. They sank then, +adding to the number of men underneath the bridge and on each side of +it. + +The Cuirassier and his companion disappeared under the ice; but +Gros-Jean, more fortunate, had seized one of the supports of the +bridge, against which he found a horse. Climbing on to the horse by +his knees, he begged for help, for a long time speaking to deaf ears. +Finally some engineers threw him a rope, which he was clever enough to +catch and tie round his body; and thus from one support to another, +over dead bodies and lumps of ice, he was drawn over to the further +side. I did not see him again; but I heard the next day that he had +found his brother, a little distance off, but in a dying condition. +Thus perished these two poor brothers, and also a third in the 2nd +Lancers. When I got back to Paris I saw their parents, who begged me +for news of their children. I left them one ray of hope by saying that +their sons had been taken prisoners, but I felt certain they died. + +While these sad events were taking place, the Grenadiers of the Guard, +accompanied by an officer, went round the bivouacs, asking for dry +wood to warm the Emperor. Everyone willingly gave the best they had. +Even dying men raised their heads to say, 'Take what you can for the +Emperor.' By this time it might be ten o'clock, and the second bridge, +built for the cavalry and artillery, had just broken in under the +weight of the latter; a number of men sank with it, and most of them +perished. The disorder and confusion were thus doubly increased, +for, as everyone rushed to the other bridge, it became an absolute +impossibility to get across. Men, horses, carts, canteen men, with +their wives and children, were all mingled in frightful disorder, +crushed against each other; and in spite of the shouts of Marshal +Lefebvre, who stood at the end of the bridge to keep all the order +possible, he could not remain there. He was swept on with the others +and forced to cross, to avoid being suffocated or crushed to death. I +had managed to get together five men of our regiment, three of whom had +lost their firearms in the confusion, and I had ordered them to make a +fire. I kept my eyes fixed all the time on the bridge, and saw a man +in a white cloak; he was pushed by those behind him, and fell over the +body of a horse stretched on the ground. With extreme difficulty he got +up, staggered a few steps, fell again, rose a second time, only to fall +again by our fire. He remained thus for a little while, and, thinking +that he was dead, we were about to lay him on one side and remove his +cloak, when he raised his head and looked at me. It was the gunsmith of +our regiment. He said sadly: + +'Ah, sergeant, what misfortunes I have had! I have lost +everything--horses, carts--all I had! I have only one mule left which +I brought from Spain, and I have just been forced to leave him. I was +carried across the bridge, but I nearly died.' + +I told him that he would be very fortunate, and ought to thank Heaven, +if he got back to France alive. + +So many men now crowded round our fire that we were obliged to leave +it and make another some little way back. The confusion and disorder +went on increasing, and reached their full height when Marshal Victor +was attacked by the Russians, and shells and bullets showered thickly +upon us. To complete our misery, snow began to fall and a cold wind +blew. This dreadful state of things lasted all day and through the next +night, and all this time the Bérézina became gradually filled with ice, +dead bodies of men and horses, while the bridge got blocked up with +carts full of wounded men, some of which rolled over the edge into the +water. Between eight and nine o'clock that evening Marshal Victor began +his retreat. He and his men had to cross the bridge over a perfect +mountain of corpses. On the night of the 28th-29th it was possible for +all the unfortunate wretches on the opposite bank to get across, but, +paralyzed by the cold, they stayed behind to warm themselves by the +warmth of the burning waggons, which had been set on fire on purpose to +make the men go across. + +I remained in the rear with seventeen men and a sergeant named +Rossière, led by one of the men, as he had become almost blind, and +was shivering with fever.[54] I was sorry for him, and offered to lend +him my bearskin to cover him, but so much snow had fallen during the +night that it had saturated the cloak. The snow then melted with the +heat of the fire and dried up again. When I took hold of the skin in +the morning, it was as hard as iron and useless for wearing, and I had +to leave it behind. Wishing, however, to make it useful to the last, +I laid it over a dying man. We had passed a wretched night. Many of +the men in the Imperial Guard had died. At about seven o'clock on the +morning of the 29th I went towards the bridge, hoping to find some +more of our men. The unfortunate men who had not taken advantage of +the night to get away had at the first appearance of dawn rushed on to +the bridge, but now it was too late. Preparations were already made to +burn it down. Numbers jumped into the water, hoping to swim through the +floating bits of ice, but not one reached the shore. I saw them all +there in water up to their shoulders, and, overcome by the terrible +cold, they all miserably perished. On the bridge was a canteen man +carrying a child on his head. His wife was in front of him, crying +bitterly. I could not stay any longer, it was more than I could bear. +Just as I turned away, a cart containing a wounded officer fell from +the bridge, with the horse also.[55] They next set fire to the bridge, +and I have been told that scenes impossible to describe for horror then +took place. The details I had witnessed were merely slight sketches of +the horrible picture that followed. + +I was now told that the regiment was moving. I made the men take up +their arms, and counted them to the number of twenty-three, without the +gunsmith. As the regiment moved off, each man joined his company. + +We were at last on the march; it might be, perhaps, nine o'clock. We +crossed a wooded piece of ground interspersed by marshes, which we +traversed by means of bridges made of pine-wood, fortunately not burned +by the Russians. We waited now and then for those in the rear to come +up with us. The sun was shining, and I sat down on Gros-Jean's knapsack +and went off to sleep; but an officer, M. Favin, catching sight of +me, pulled me by the ears and the hair, others kicked me from behind, +all without waking me. Several of them got hold of me and forced me to +rise, and well for me that they did, or I should have slept the sleep +of death. I felt very cross, however, at being roused. + +Many who we thought had perished came on from the Bérézina. They +embraced and congratulated each other as if it were the Rhine they had +crossed, still 400 leagues off. They felt so happy that they were sorry +for those left behind. They advised me to walk a little in front, so +that I should not fall asleep again. This advice I took. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 35: The corps commanded by General Dombrouski, a Pole, had +not been as far as Moscow. It was marching just now to Borisow to cut +off the Russians from the bridge over the Bérézina.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 36: _Cognia_ in Polish, and in Russian also, means +_horse_.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 37: Picart was one of the best shots in the Guard. In camp at +target practice he always carried off the prizes.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 38: I still have the little cup; it is at home, under a glass +case, with a little silver cross found in the crypt of the Church of +St. Michael, and under the Emperors' tombs.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 39: The Emperor of Austria.] + +[Footnote 40: Picart knew what he was about in speaking of Austrian +treason, as I learnt since that an alliance had been made against +us.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 41: The Battle of Eylau began on February 7th, 1807, at +daybreak; we had slept the night before on a plain behind the town, a +quarter of a league away. This plain was covered with snow and with +dead bodies, the rear-guard having been engaged there just before our +arrival. It was scarcely daybreak when the Emperor ordered us to move +forward. This we had great difficulty in doing, as we walked through +ploughed fields, and snow up to our knees. He placed the Guard near +the town--a part of it near the cemetery, and a part on a lake fifty +yards off. Balls and shells falling on the lake cracked the ice, and +threatened to submerge those who stood on it. All day we stood in this +position, our feet in the snow, and half crushed by the shells and +grape-shot. The Russians were four times as strong as we were, and they +also had the advantage of the wind, which blew dead against us, driving +the snow, and the smoke from our powder and theirs, into our faces. +Up till seven o'clock we remained in this position. At three in the +afternoon our regiment was sent to resume the position of the morning, +which the Russians wanted to take. All night, as during the battle, +the snow never ceased to fall. That day my right foot was frozen, +and was only cured at Finkeistein, before the battles of Essling and +Friedland.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 42: _Nima_ in Polish and Lithuanian means 'no,' or 'there is +none.'--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 43: _Mère aux bouts_ was an old woman who came at six +o'clock every morning to the barracks at Courbevoie, and sold us, for +ten centimes, a piece of pudding six inches long. We feasted on this +every day before our drill, and drank ten centimes' worth of Suresnes +wine, to help us to wait for the soup at ten o'clock. What Vélite or +old Grenadier of the Guard has not known _Mère aux bouts_?--_Author's +Note._] + +[Footnote 44: Place where the old Grenadiers of the Guard met their +mistresses and danced.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 45: This song had been composed on leaving the +camp at Boulogne in 1805, to go to Austria for the Battle of +Austerlitz.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 46: In Poland, Lithuania, and a part of Russia, large trees +are chosen; and about ten feet from the ground a hole of about a foot +deep and wide is made. Here the bees deposit their honey, and often +it is stolen by the bears, who are very numerous in these forests, +and very greedy. Thus the hives frequently become traps to take +them.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 47: The _pontonniers_ and the engineers saved us, and to them +we owed the construction of the bridges over the Bérézina.--_Author's +Note._] + +[Footnote 48: They marched with their heads bent, their eyes fixed on +the ground, hardly seeing anything; the frost and the bivouac fires had +nearly ruined their sight.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 49: Grangier and Leboude.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 50: General Eblé.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 51: This second bridge broke soon afterwards, when the +artillery began to cross. A great many perished.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 52: The girl, and also her mother, wore Astrakan caps on +their heads.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 53: At the outlet of the bridge was a marsh, a slimy, muddy +place, where many of the horses sank, and could not get out again. Many +of the men, also, being dragged by the weight of the others to the +outlet, sank down exhausted when left to themselves in the marsh, and +were trampled upon by others coming on behind.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 54: I learned afterwards that the sergeant had the luck to +return to France; as he had plenty of money, he got a Jew to take him +as far as Koenigsberg, but when he arrived in France he went mad and +blew out his brains.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 55: Thus perished M. Legrand, the brother of Dr. Legrand, +of Valenciennes. He had been wounded at Krasnoë, and had just got as +far as the Bérézina. Just after the scene I have described, and while +the Russians were firing at the bridge, I was told that he was badly +wounded before being thrown into the water.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FROM THE BÉRÉZINA TO WILNA--THE JEWS. + + +I had been walking in advance of the regiment for about half an hour, +when I met a sergeant of the Fusiliers-Chasseurs whom I knew. He seemed +very happy about something (a most unusual thing), so I asked him if he +had anything to eat. + +'I have found some potatoes,' he said, 'in this village.' + +I raised my head and saw that we were actually in a village at that +moment. Walking with my eyes fixed on the ground, I had not noticed it. +When I heard the word 'potatoes' I stopped him to ask in which house +he had found them, and I ran there as fast as my legs would carry me. +After much searching, I had the luck to find three little potatoes +under an oven, about the size of nuts. I half cooked them on an almost +extinct fire I found a little distance off the road. When they were +done enough, I ate them with a bit of horseflesh, but I hardly tasted +them, as the fever I had on me for the last few days had destroyed my +appetite entirely, and I was sure that if it continued I should soon be +dead. + +When the regiment passed I took my place, and we marched as far as +Ziemben, where the Emperor, with part of the Guard, had already +arrived. We could see him gazing at the road to Borisow on our +left, where we were told the Russians would come. Several of the +horse-Guards were sent on in front, but no Russians were to be seen +that day. The Emperor slept at Kamen with half the Guard, and we, the +Fusiliers, Grenadiers, and Chasseurs, spent the night close by. + +On the 30th the Emperor and his suite slept at Plechnitzié. We +bivouacked some distance off. We arrived there on the following day, +and heard that Marshal Oudinot had only just escaped being made +prisoner there; that 2,000 Russians, with two field-pieces, had entered +the place, and that the Marshal, although wounded, had entrenched +himself in a house with twenty-five men, both officers and privates, +many of them wounded. The Russians, astounded at these preparations +for defence with so small a number of men, had retired on to some +heights overlooking the house, and laid siege to it till the arrival +of the Emperor with the troop of the Rhine Confederation and part of +the Guard. As we passed, we looked at the house, pierced through by +balls in many places. It seemed strange to us how 2,000 Cossacks had +not sufficient courage to take an old wooden house defended by only +twenty-five men. + +On the next day, December 1st, we left early in the morning, and after +an hour's march we reached a village, where the Fusiliers-Chasseurs had +spent the night. They were waiting to set out with us. I made inquiries +if there was anything to buy there, and was told by a sergeant-major +that there was some gin to be had from a Jew. He took me to the place, +and seeing the Jew with a long beard, I asked him politely in German if +he had any gin for sale. 'No,' he answered rudely, 'I have none; the +French have taken it all.' I said nothing, but I knew perfectly well he +was telling a lie, and that he was only afraid of not being paid. + +Just then a girl of fourteen or fifteen jumped down from a great stove +she had been sitting on, and coming up to me, she said: 'If you will +give me your silver lace, I will let you have a glass of brandy.' I +said yes, so she took off the silver braid belonging to my haversack, +worth thirty francs, which I had brought from Moscow. She hid it +immediately in her dress, and gave me a miserable bit of cord instead. +If I had allowed her, she would have taken the surgeon's pocket-case I +had got from the Cossack, as she caught sight of the silver fittings. +She then brought me a glass of very bad gin, but I felt so sick I could +hardly swallow it. She also gave me a small oval-shaped cheese, the +size of a hen's egg, smelling of aniseed. I put it carefully in my +haversack, and went out. + +I was hardly in the open air, when the abominable spirit flew to my +head. I was obliged to cross a broad deep ditch on a tree thrown over +to serve as a bridge. I danced across this without falling, and rushed +in the same way amongst my comrades. More than that, I took hold of +their arms, singing and trying to make them dance. Several of them, +even officers, gathered round me, asking me what was the matter. I only +sang and danced the more. The sergeant-major of our company took me a +little way apart, and asked me where I came from. I told him that I had +had some drink. 'Where?' 'Come with me,' I said. He followed, and we +crossed the tree, holding each other by the hand. On the other side a +friend of mine took my arm. This was a sergeant-major named Leboude, a +Liègeois. He had just heard what I had been doing. When we got to the +Jew's house, I told them if they had any gold or silver lace they could +get some gin. 'If that's all,' said the Liègeois, 'here it is.' He had +a very nice Astrakan cap, with a gold braid round it. The young Jewess +took matters into her own hands again, and ripped off the braid. They +gave us some gin, and we came away; but we were hardly out of the +house, when the same kind of frenzy came over me, worse than before. +It took hold of the Liègeois also, and he and I danced together. The +sergeant-major looked at us, telling us to march back and rejoin our +regiment. Instead of answering, we each took one of his arms, and +danced towards the tree over the ditch. There the Liègeois slipped +and fell, dragging the sergeant-major into the ditch, and me also. +Under the snow in the ditch were more than two hundred dead bodies, +thrown there during the last two days. At this sudden collapse the +sergeant-major shrieked with rage and terror, swearing loudly at us. We +were none of us hurt, however, and the Liègeois began to sing and dance +afresh. + +We had not the strength to get out again. Ice was everywhere under the +snow, and when we got away from the dead bodies, it was too slippery to +walk. If a company of Westphalians had not passed at that moment, there +we should have stayed. They threw us ropes at first, but our hands were +too much frozen to hold them. At last they put down the side of a cart, +making a kind of ladder, and they helped us to mount by it. The fall +had sobered the Liègeois and me a little. We rejoined the regiment, +which had halted near a wood, and resumed our march. A mile farther on +we met Prince Eugène, the vice-King of Italy, at the head of a small +number of officers and a few Grenadiers of the Royal Guard, grouped +round their colours. They were completely exhausted with fatigue. We +made a good distance on that day, leaving a great many far behind. We +found a deserted village, where we slept, and plenty of straw to lie +down in. Horseflesh we had in abundance, but no saucepans to stew it or +make soup in. We were therefore obliged, as on the preceding days, +to eat some of the meat roasted; but at least we could sleep under +shelter and make fires. During the night I was obliged to go out into +the air several times, as I was quite unaccustomed to the heat of the +houses. + +[Illustration: ON THE ROAD BETWEEN BRAUNSBERG AND ELBING, DECEMBER 21, +1812. + + _From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army. The + figure with the sword under the arm is Napoleon in the costume worn + during the Russian campaign._] + +On the next day we started early; this was December 2nd. My fever came +on again, and my legs almost gave way under me, so that after an hour's +march I found myself behind the others. I went through a small village +filled with stragglers, but I passed through without stopping. A little +further on I saw large numbers of men gathered outside some houses busy +roasting horseflesh. General Maison passed by and stopped, telling +everyone to follow him if they wished to escape the Russian cavalry, +now not far off. Most of the men, however, were too much famished and +too demoralized to listen; they would not leave their fires till they +had eaten, and many of them were prepared to defend the piece of meat +they held against the enemy. I went on my way. Further on I met several +men of my company, and begged them not to leave me; they promised me +they would follow me anywhere--that they were quite indifferent where +they went. In the evening we stopped near a wood for the night. Already +several men from different corps were there, especially of the Italian +army, and a few Grenadiers of the 1st regiment of the Guard, of whom I +asked news of Picart. They said they had seen him the day before, but +that he seemed quite mad, and they thought his brain was affected. + +I had never till now thought of looking in poor Gros-Jean's knapsack, +which he had given me at the Bérézina bridge. Now, as I felt certain he +could not return, I opened it before two men of our company who were +with me, and were, moreover, in his squadron. I found nothing of any +importance, except a handkerchief containing oatmeal mixed with rye. +One of the men happening to have a saucepan lid, we cooked the meal. I +also found an old pair of shoes, but there was not a shirt, of which I +was in great need; the rest was quite useless to me. + +There was, fortunately, a great deal of wood about, so we made a +large fire. The cold was endurable while the night lasted, but in the +morning (the 3rd) a north wind got up, bringing with it twenty degrees +of frost. We were forced to begin our march, as it was impossible to +remain still. We started after eating some horseflesh, just following +in the steps of those who walked before us, who knew no more than we +did where they were, or in what direction they were going. The sun +shone brilliantly, and the cold decreased a little; so we made good +progress, stopping every now and then at houses with deserted bivouac +fires. As far as I can remember, we slept in a posting-station. + +The sun which we had enjoyed the day before was the forerunner of a +terrible frost. I cannot write of this day, for I truly do not know +how I got through it. When my comrades spoke to me, I answered as if I +were mad. The cold was intolerable. Many took the first road they came +to, in the hope of finding houses of some kind as shelter. We lost our +way at last in following some Poles, who were going to Varsovia. One +of them who spoke French assured me that we were more than a league +from the road to Wilna. We tried to retrace our steps, and we lost +ourselves again. We met three officers, followed by more than a hundred +unfortunate men from different corps and of different nations, half +dead with cold and want. When they heard from us that they were lost, +many of them cried like children. + +We were now near a pine-wood, so we decided to bivouac there with the +men we had met. They had a horse, which we killed and divided amongst +us. Two fires were made, and everyone cooked his meat at the point of +his sword or a stick. When we had finished our meal, we gathered round +the fires, and arranged that a quarter of the number should keep watch, +as we feared we might be taken by the Russians, who were following the +army on both sides of the road. An hour later the snow began to fall, +and a high wind got up, driving us under the shelters we had made. The +wind grew furious, driving the snow into the shelters, and entirely +preventing us from sleeping, though we wanted it badly enough. I slept, +however, seated on my knapsack, with my fur-lined collar on my head to +keep off the snow. How many times during this miserable night I longed +for my bearskin coat! + +I did not sleep long, as a violent gust of wind carried away the +shelter. I and my two men were forced to walk about to keep ourselves +from freezing. When the dawn came at last, we set out on our march, +leaving seven men behind in the bivouac, three of whom were already +dead, and four unconscious. + +At about eight o'clock we reached the high road, and after countless +difficulties we arrived at Molodetschno at three in the afternoon, +amid a rabble of men of all corps, especially of the army of Italy. +The Emperor had slept here. We tried to find shelter for the night in +some barn or stable, but found we were too late. We had to be content +with a half-burnt house with no roof, and three-quarters filled with +men already; but we considered ourselves lucky in getting any kind of +shelter against the fearful cold, which went on increasing until we got +to Wilna. + +I heard later that it was from this place that the Emperor despatched +his twenty-ninth bulletin, which caused such a sensation in France, +announcing the destruction of our army. It was broad daylight when we +started on the 5th. Mechanically we followed 10,000 men in front of +us, marching in confusion, without knowing where they went. We crossed +several marshes, where we should have all probably sunk and perished, +but for the severe frost. Those who lagged behind were in no danger +of losing their way, for the numbers of fallen men on the road served +as guides. We arrived the next day at Brenitza. The Emperor had slept +there, and had already left. This day we were more fortunate. I was +able to buy a little flour, and we made some hasty-pudding; but we had +not the luck to find a roofless house again, and were obliged to spend +the night in the street. It was so bitterly cold that we got no sleep. +The next morning we set off for Smorgony. The road was full of officers +of different corps, and the remnants of the Doomed Squadron and +Battalion, wrapped in worn-out furs, and half-burnt garments. Some had +not even these, having, no doubt, parted with them for their friends. +Many of them walked leaning on sticks, their beards and hair a mass of +ice; others, no longer able to walk, looked vainly at the miserable men +passing along the road, trying to find some part of the regiments they +had commanded a fortnight before, and get help or an arm to lean on. It +was all over, I fear, with those who could not walk. + +The roads were like battlefields, there were so many dead bodies; but +as the snow fell all the time, the horror of the sight was softened. +We had lost all sense of pity, besides; we were insensible even to our +own sufferings, let alone those of others. The men who fell imploring +help were not listened to. Thus we arrived at Smorgony, on the 6th. +On entering the town, we heard that the Emperor had left the evening +before, at ten o'clock, for France, leaving the command of the army to +King Murat. Many of the foreigners took advantage of this circumstance +to blame the Emperor, but the step he took was a perfectly natural +one, as, owing to Malet's conspiracy, his presence was necessary in +France, not only for the administration, but to organize a new army. +Amongst the numbers of dying men constantly arriving were others who +were well dressed and vigorous, evidently foreigners, and these all +exclaimed loudly at the Emperor's conduct. I have often thought since +that these men were agents from England, come to create disaffection in +the army. + +In the crowd I lost one of the men who had been with me, but I had no +time to look for him, I was so afraid of losing shelter for the night. +Seeing an officer from Baden, who belonged to the garrison of the town, +I followed him with my other man. He went to a Jew's house where he was +quartered, and, seeing us after him, made no objection to our entrance. +We sat down near a warm stove. One must go through the misery and +suffering we had experienced to understand the delight of being in a +warm house and having the prospect of a good night. + +In the same room there was a young officer on the staff, ill with fever +and lying on a wretched sofa. He told me that he had been ill ever +since Orcha, and as he could go no farther, there was probably an end +of him, as he would certainly be taken by the Russians. 'God knows,' he +said, 'what will come of it, and what my poor mother will say when she +learns!' + +The Baden officer, who could speak French, tried to comfort him by +saying that he would get him a horse for his sledge, as his own was +dead. He promised soup and meat to us, but during the night he left +with the rest of the garrison. The poor officer grew worse, and was +delirious all night, and as for us, we got neither soup nor meat. We +had only a few onions and some nuts the Jew had sold us, dearly enough, +but the shelter was well worth the money. + +After our rest we set out early on the 7th, as quietly as possible, so +that the young officer might not hear us, as we could not possibly do +anything for him. There were very few people on the road, and after +a time we rested near a ruined barn. After half an hour, the column +of the Imperial Guard came in sight; the fragment of our regiment was +there, marching in as much order as possible. I joined their ranks. +When we halted, they asked me, in an indifferent way, if I had found +any food during the four days I had been away. When I told them I had +nothing, they turned their backs to me, cursing and banging the butts +of their muskets on the ground. + +We continued our march, and got to Joupranouï very late; almost all +the houses here were burnt, and the rest deserted, without roofs or +doors. We huddled together as best we could, and as there was plenty of +horseflesh, I cooked some ready for the next day. + +On the 8th it was late when we started, but the cold was so intense +that the men set fire to the houses to warm themselves. All the houses +contained unfortunate soldiers, many of whom had not the strength to +save themselves, and perished in the flames. + +In the middle of the day we got to a small town the name of which I +have forgotten. They told us that distributions of rations were to be +made here, but we soon heard that the shops had been pillaged before +our arrival, and that the people who had charge of the distributions +had got away, and the commissaries also. We continued our route, +therefore, striding over the dead and dying on our way. When we halted +near a wood, one of the men of our company caught sight of a horse, +and we gathered round to kill him, and each take some of the flesh; +but as we had no knives or hatchets to cut it, we killed it for the +sake of the blood, which we collected in a saucepan taken from a German +_cantinière_. Finding a deserted bivouac fire, we began to cook the +blood, putting some powder in it for seasoning, but it was only half +done when we caught sight of a legion of Cossacks. We had just time to +eat it as it was, and this we had to do from our hands, so that our +faces and clothes were covered with blood. We were ghastly objects to +look at. + +This halt, caused by some difficulty with the artillery, had gathered +together more than 30,000 men of all nations, making a spectacle +impossible to describe. We started off again, and reached a large +village three or four leagues from Wilna. I recognised the village +for the same we had stayed at five months before, in going from Wilna +to Moscow. Here I had lost a trophy, that is to say, a little box +containing rings, hair necklaces, and portraits of the mistresses I had +had in all the countries I had visited. I was much grieved at losing +my collection. On the 9th we left Wilna, in twenty-eight degrees of +frost.[56] Scarcely 2,000 arrived at Wilna, out of two divisions of +more than 10,000. These, both French and Neapolitans, had joined us +during the last two days. This enormous number was lost during this +terrible journey. The men were well clothed, and wanted for nothing +but food. They had left good quarters in Lithuania and Pomerania only +a few days before. When they came they were filled with pity for our +condition, but in two days they were worse off than we. They were less +demoralized, and at first they tried to help each other; but when +they saw what deprivation this meant, they grew as selfish as all the +others, officers and privates alike. + +I had plucked up a little courage in the hope of soon getting to Wilna, +where we should have abundant food. I should call the efforts we made +superhuman. This terrible cold was more than I had ever felt before. +I was almost fainting, and we seemed to walk through an atmosphere of +ice. How often in the dreadful time did I long for my bearskin cloak, +which had saved me so often in cold like this! I could hardly breathe: +my nose felt frozen; my lips were glued together; my eyes streamed, +dazzled by the snow. I was forced to stop and cover my face with my +fur collar to melt the ice. In this style I got to a barn where there +was a fire burning, and where one could breathe a little. In all the +buildings we passed were unfortunate men not able to get any further, +and waiting there to die. + +Now we could see the spires and roofs of Wilna. I tried to hurry on +to get there amongst the first, but the old Chasseurs of the Guard +prevented me. They blocked up the road in such a manner that no one +could pass them without marching in order. These veterans, with ice +hanging to their beards and moustaches, marched on, controlling their +own sufferings to keep order in the ranks; but this order it was +impossible to maintain. Once in the outskirts of the town, everything +was in confusion. At the door of a house I saw one of my old friends of +the Grenadiers lying dead. They had arrived an hour before us. A house +was chosen for our battalion, and a distribution of beef was made. We +had not the sense to put it all together and make soup. We each fell +on our allowance like wild beasts, every man cooking or warming it +as he could, and some even devouring it raw. One of my friends named +Poton, who was a Breton gentleman, and a sergeant in my company, waited +impatiently for his piece, about half a pound. As he was a short +distance off, it was thrown to him. He caught it with both hands, like +a cat, and began eating it convulsively, in spite of everything we +could do to prevent him. He was incapable of seeing anything but the +meat before him. + +Soon afterwards I went into the town to see if I could not buy some +bread and a little brandy. But the doors were almost all shut and +bolted. The inhabitants, although our friends, had taken fright on +seeing fifty or sixty thousand famished men, most of whom looked +imbecile or mad. Many of our men had rushed about like lunatics, +knocking at all the doors and shops, but had been refused, as the +contractors wished to do everything in order. This was impossible, as +order did not exist. + +I soon saw that I could not get what I wanted, and was about to go +back to my quarters, when I heard my name called. I turned round, and +to my great surprise saw Picart, who threw himself on my neck, crying +with joy. He had come across the regiment twice since we passed the +Bérézina, but they had assured him that I was dead or taken prisoner. +He said he had some flour, which I should share with him; and as for +brandy, he would take me to his Jew, who would furnish me with that, +and perhaps bread as well. I begged him to take me there while we were +waiting for the distribution of rations. This we were sure to have +later, as the shops were full. + +I shall never forget the curious effect an inhabited house had on me. +It seemed to me years since I had seen one. Picart gave me a little +brandy, which I had great difficulty in swallowing. I then bought +a bottle for twenty francs, which I carefully stowed away in my +haversack. As to bread, I must wait for that till evening. For fifty +days I had not tasted any, and it seemed that if only I could eat a +little I should forget all my miseries. The Jew told me that the men +who had arrived first in the morning had devoured everything. He +advised us not to leave his house, even to sleep there, and that he +would undertake to get us everything we wanted, also to prevent others +from coming in. Taking his advice, I settled down to rest on a bench +near the stove. + +I asked Picart how it happened that he was on such friendly terms with +the Jew, as I noticed they treated him as a member of the family. He +said that he had passed himself off as the son of a Jewess, and that +during the fortnight we had spent in the town in July he had attended +their synagogue with them, and in consequence of this he had always got +some schnapps to drink and some nuts to crack. + +I had not laughed for long enough, but I burst out into a roar at this, +until the blood poured down my lips. Picart went on with his funny +stories, until suddenly we heard a rattle of artillery, and our host +came hurriedly in. He looked dazed, and could not speak. At last he +said that he had seen some Bavarian soldiers, followed by Cossacks, +enter by the same gate at which we had come in. + +The garrison of the town just then sounded the call. When Picart heard +it, he seized his arms and came up to where I sat, unwilling to move. + +'Come, _mon pays_,' he said, striking me on the shoulder; 'we belong +to the Imperial Guard, and should be the first to go. We must not let +these savages eat our bread. If you have strength, follow me, and we'll +join with fellows who'll turn out these rascals.' + +I followed Picart. A few men ran to join they hardly knew what, but a +great number walked off as far as they could get, and the most part, +quite indifferent to everything, paid no attention to what was going on. + +When we got near the gate leading to the faubourg, we met a detachment +of Grenadiers and Chasseurs of the Guard. Picart left me to take his +proper place, and as I saw a few of our men following, and also some +officers, I followed also, without knowing who commanded us or where we +were going. We went up a mountain without any pretence of order, each +one going as he could; many fell and remained behind. We had climbed, +perhaps, two-thirds of the height--and I was astonished at having got +so far--when I fell; and although helped up by a Lithuanian peasant, I +could hardly rise. I begged the man not to leave me, and to secure his +services I gave him about four francs in Russian money and some brandy +in the little cup I still kept. The peasant was so delighted that I +believe he would have carried me on his back. We went on over ground +covered with dead men and horses. There were a great many firearms +lying about. My peasant picked up a carbine and some cartridges, saying +that he wished to fight the Russians himself. After great difficulty +we at last reached the top of the mountain, where the Prussians were +already fighting. Two hundred men, three-parts belonging to the Guard, +were facing the enemy, consisting of cavalry, many of whom were scouts. +As the Bavarians had in retreating left some men behind them, with two +pieces of artillery, two discharges of grape-shot were sufficient to +disperse them. As the position was untenable on account of the cold, +we faced about to return to the town, where the greatest disorder +prevailed. The garrison, almost entirely composed of foreigners, was +in a state of panic. Some were preparing to leave the town, loading +carts, sledges, and horses. On all sides we heard cries of 'Who has +seen my horse?' 'Where has my cart got to?' 'Stop the man who is off +with my sledge.' This disorder was mainly caused by the thieves who +had followed us all through the retreat, and of whom I have spoken +before. Now, seeing a good opportunity, they took advantage of it by +seizing carts, horses, and sledges loaded with provisions, gold, and +silver. The arrangements for departure were made by the commissariat, +contractors, and other army employés, who now were making common cause +with us. The thieves thus fled along the Kowno road, sure of not being +pursued. + +On entering the faubourg, I avoided the house where our battalion was +quartered. I had two reasons for going into the town: firstly, for the +bread I was to share with Picart; secondly, to let him know that I had +taken part in the little expedition which had beaten the Russians. I +ran to the right to find Picart, but to my surprise I was told that he +had taken the first turning to the left, with ten other Grenadiers and +Chasseurs, to be on guard for Murat. Murat had just left the town for +the faubourg on the Kowno road. + +I decided to look for him at Murat's quarters. On the way I passed +the house where Marshal Ney was staying. Several Grenadiers of the +line were before the door, warming themselves by a large fire, which +gave me a terrible longing to be there, too. Seeing how wretched I +looked, they made room for me. Many of them were quite strong and well +dressed. When I showed my surprise at their appearance, they said they +had not been as far as Moscow; they had been wounded at the siege of +Smolensk, and left at Wilna, where they had remained ever since. Now +they were well again and fit for fighting. I asked them if they could +get me some bread. They answered as the Jew had done--that if I would +return that evening, or stay with them, they were certain that I should +have some. But, as I was obliged to go back to the battalion, I told +the Grenadiers that I would return, and that I would give five francs +for each loaf. Before leaving them, they told me that just before +I arrived a German General had come to the Marshal, and had advised +him to leave if he did not wish to be surprised by the Russians; but +the Marshal had replied, pointing to a hundred Grenadiers warming +themselves in the courtyard, that with those he could afford to laugh +at all the Cossacks in Russia, and that he would sleep in the town. + +I asked how many there were in the Marshal's body-guard. + +'About sixty,' answered a drummer sitting on his drum; 'and another +sixty we found here well and fit. I have been with the Marshal ever +since the crossing of the Dnieper, and with him at our back we can +manage those dogs of Cossacks. _Coquin de Dieu!_' he said, 'if it were +not so cold, and if I hadn't frozen hands, I would sound the attack +myself all day to-morrow.' + +I returned to the faubourg, and found all my comrades asleep on the +floor. There was a large fire, and the room was warm, and as I was +completely worn out, I lay down with them. + +It might be perhaps two o'clock in the morning when I awoke, and as I +had now missed the rendezvous I had given the Marshal's Grenadiers, I +told my comrades that I was going to the town to get some bread, and +that now was a favourable time, as all the soldiers would be asleep; +and, besides, I had some Russian bank-notes. Several of them tried +to get up and go with me, but could not do so. Only one, Bailly, a +sergeant, succeeded in rising, and the others gave us their money, +amounting to about fifty francs. + +It was a beautiful moonlight night, but when we were in the street it +felt so bitterly cold that it would not have taken much to send us back +into the house. + +We met no one in the faubourg. At the gates of the town there was no +sentry. The Russians could have got in as easily as we did. When we +were opposite the first house on the left, I caught sight of a light +through the entrance to the cellar, and, stooping down, I saw it was a +bakehouse, and that bread was being made. The smell had made us aware +of it before. My comrade knocked, and they asked us what we wanted. We +answered: 'Open the door! We are Generals!' They opened at once, and +we went in. They took us into a large room, where a number of officers +were lying on the floor. They did not trouble to ask us if we were +really what we pretended to be. For some time past it had been hardly +possible to distinguish an officer from a private. + +A very fat woman was standing against the cellar door, so we asked +her if she had any bread to sell. She said no, it was not baked yet; +we might go down to the cellar and see for ourselves. An officer +lying on some straw, wrapped in a great cloak, got up and went down +with us. Two bakers were there fast asleep, and looking all round, we +could see nothing; and we began to think that the woman had spoken the +truth, when on stooping down I saw under a kneading-trough a large +basket, which I drew out. In it we found seven large loaves of white +bread, weighing three or four pounds each, as good as those made in +Paris. What luck! What a glorious find for men who had had no bread +for fifty days! I began by taking possession of two, which I put under +my arm and my cape. My comrade did the same, and the officer took the +three others. This officer was Fouché, a Grenadier-Vélite, then an +Adjutant-Major in a regiment of the Young Guard, and a Major-General. +We came out of the cellar, and found the woman still standing at the +door. We said that we would return in the morning when the bread was +baked, and she was so anxious to get rid of us that she opened the +door, and we found ourselves in the street.[57] + +As soon as ever we were free, we dropped our muskets into the snow, and +began to bite into the loaves voraciously; but, as my lips were cracked +and bleeding, I could not open my mouth as comfortably as I wished. +Just then two men came up to us, asking if we had nothing to sell or +exchange, and we saw that they were Jews. I told them that we had +Russian bank-notes for a hundred roubles each, and asked how much they +would give. + +'Fifty,' said the first in German. 'Fifty-five,' said the other. +'Sixty,' went on the first. + +He ended by offering us seventy-seven, and I made the condition that +they should give us some _café-au-lait_. They consented. The second +then came behind me and said, 'Eighty!' But the price was concluded, +and, as the man had promised us coffee, we did not wish to bargain over +again for twenty francs at most. + +The Jew now conducted us to a banker, as he was only an agent. The +banker was also a Jew. He asked us at once for our notes, of which we +had to give nine; three of them belonged to me. He looked very closely +at them, and passed into another room, while we sat down on a bench to +wait, furtively handling our bread. + +Our longing for the coffee promised us overcame our patience, and we +called out for the banker. No one appeared. The idea suddenly came +to us that we were going to be robbed. I said as much to my comrade, +who thought so too. To compel attention, therefore, he struck their +counter as hard as he could with the butt of his musket. As no one +came to this summons either, he knocked against a wooden partition +dividing the two rooms. The Jews came out, looking as if they were +plotting something together. After again asking for our money, we were +told to wait; but my comrade loaded his musket before their eyes, and +I took one of them by the throat, demanding our notes. When they were +convinced that we should make a scene to their disadvantage, they +hastily counted out our money, the most part of it in gold. We took +hold of the man who had led us to the place, and forced him to leave +with us; but as soon as we were in the street he swore that what had +occurred was no fault of his. We thought it better to believe him in +view of the coffee he had promised us, and he took us to his house. + +After our meal, my comrade wished to go back to the faubourg; but I +felt so tired, and even ill, that I decided to stay where I was till +the next day, thinking myself safe with two Bavarian cavalrymen. So I +lay down on a sofa--perhaps it might be five o'clock in the morning. + +I had only been resting about half an hour, when I was seized with the +most violent colic, after which I was terribly sick, and continued so +ill that I felt sure the Jew had poisoned me. I thought I must die, +as I was so weak as to be unable to get to the bottle of brandy in my +knapsack. I begged one of the Bavarians to give me some, and after that +I felt better; so I lay down again on the sofa and dozed off. I do not +know how long I slept, but when I awoke I discovered that my bread had +gone. Only a very small piece was left, which, fortunately, I had put +in my haversack, along with the bottle of brandy, and hung at my side. +My Rabbi's cap had also disappeared, so, too, had the Bavarians. That, +however, was not what distressed me the most, but my own position, +which was a dreadful one; besides my colic and sickness, my right +foot was frozen, and my wound had reopened. The first joint on the +middle finger of my right hand was on the point of dropping off, and +the terrible cold of the preceding day had poisoned my foot to such a +degree that I could not get my boot on. I was forced to wrap it up in +rags, after rubbing it over with the grease the Poles had given me, and +a piece of sheepskin over all, which I tied on with string. The same +process I repeated with my right hand. + +I was about to go out, when the Jew asked me to stay, saying that +he had some rice to sell. I bought some, thinking it would stop my +complaint. I begged him to get me some sort of pot to cook it in, and +he fetched me a little copper pan; I tied this and my boot to the +knapsack, and after giving the man ten francs I went out. + +As soon as I was in the street, I heard despairing cries, and I saw a +woman weeping over a dead body at the door of a house. She stopped me, +asking me to help her to get back what had been taken from her. + +'I have been staying in this house since yesterday,' she said, 'with +these scoundrels of Jews. My husband was very ill. During the night +they took everything we had, and this morning I went out to get help. +As I saw I should get none anywhere, I came back to nurse my poor +husband; but when I arrived, imagine my horror at seeing his corpse at +the door! The villains had taken advantage of my absence to assassinate +him. Oh, monsieur,' she went on, 'do not leave me! Come with me!' + +I said that was impossible, but the best thing she could do now was to +join those who were leaving the town. She made a gesture with her hand +to say she could not do it; and, as I had heard several musket-shots, I +had to leave the unfortunate woman and go in the direction of Kowno. +I got into a crowd of 10,000 men, women, and children all hurrying and +thrusting past each other to get out first. + +As chance would have it, I met a Captain of the Young Guard belonging +to my own part of the country.[58] He had with him his Lieutenant, his +servant, and a wretched horse. The Captain had no company left; his +regiment had ceased to exist. I told him all my misfortunes, and he +gave me a little tea and a piece of sugar, but directly afterwards a +vast number of people coming after us separated us. + +A drummer was beating the retreat at the head of the first crowd, very +likely a detachment of the garrison I had not seen. We marched on for +half an hour, and arrived at the end of the faubourg; then we could +breathe a little, and each one walk as he would. When I got outside the +town, I could not help thinking of the state of our army: five months +before it entered the Lithuanian capital, proud and rejoicing; now it +went out, fugitive and miserable. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 56: Many people said thirty or thirty-two degrees.--_Author's +Note._] + +[Footnote 57: Since then I have seen General Fouché, and, on my +reminding him of this episode at Wilna, he told me that, after going +out, he was nearly assassinated by the people of the house, who tried +to make him pay for what we had taken.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 58: M. Débonnez, from Condé, killed at Waterloo.--_Author's +Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + FROM WILNA TO KOWNO--THE REGIMENTAL DOG--MARSHAL NEY--THE TREASURY OF + THE ARMY--I AM POISONED--THE THIEVES' DRIPPING--THE OLD GRENADIER, + FALOPPA--GENERAL ROGUET--FROM KOWNO TO ELBING--TWO CANTINIÈRES--THE + ADVENTURES OF A SERGEANT--I FIND PICART AGAIN--THE SLEDGE AND THE + JEWS--A SHREW--EYLAU--ARRIVAL AT ELBING. + + +We were only a quarter of a league from the town, when we saw the +Cossacks to our left upon the heights, and to our right on the plain; +however, they did not dare venture within reach of us. After having +marched for some time, I found the horse of an officer of artillery +stretched on the ground; it had a schabraque of sheepskin on its back. +This was just what I wanted to cover my poor ears, for it would have +been impossible for me to go any distance without risking the loss of +them. I had in my haversack the scissors belonging to the surgeon's +case found on the Cossack I had killed on November 23rd. I tried to set +to work to cut some of it away, and make what we called ear-lappets to +replace the Rabbi's cap; but having my right hand frozen, and the other +benumbed, I could not manage it. I was in despair, when a man belonging +to the garrison of Wilna came up. He was stronger than I, and succeeded +in cutting the band fastening the schabraque to the horse; then he gave +me half of it. Until I could arrange it better, I put it over my head +and continued my way. + +I now heard cannon, and then musketry fire; it was the rear-guard +leaving the town, with Marshal Ney in command, engaging the Russians. +Those who were no longer able to fight ran as fast as they possibly +could. I tried to follow them, but my frozen foot and bad boots +prevented me; then the colic, which came on repeatedly, and forced me +to stop, hindered me, and I found myself always in the rear. I heard a +confused sound behind me, and I was hustled by several men of the Rhine +Confederation running off as fast as they could. I fell full length in +the snow, and immediately several others passed over my body. I raised +myself with great difficulty, for I was in great pain; but I was so +accustomed to suffering, I said nothing. The rear-guard was not far +off--if it passed me I was lost; but the Marshal called a halt, to give +the other men still leaving the town time to join us. To hold the enemy +in check, the Marshal had with him about 300 men. + +In front of me was a man whom I recognised by his cloak as belonging to +the regiment. He was walking very much bent, apparently overwhelmed by +the weight of a burden he was carrying upon his knapsack and shoulders. +Making an effort to get near him, I saw that the burden was a dog, +and that the man was an old sergeant named Daubenton.[59] The dog he +carried was the regimental dog, though I did not recognise it. I told +him how surprised I was at seeing him carrying the dog, when he had +trouble to drag himself along; and, without giving him the time to +reply, I asked him if the dog was to eat--if so, I should prefer the +horse. + +'No,' he answered; 'I would rather eat Cossack. But don't you recognise +Mouton? His paws are frozen, and now he can't walk any longer.' + +'Now I do,' I said; 'but what can you do with him?' + +As we walked, Mouton, whose back I had patted with my bandaged right +hand, raised his head to look at me, and seemed to recognise me. +Daubenton assured me that from seven in the morning, and even before, +the Russians had occupied the first houses of the suburb where we had +lodged, that all that remained of the Guard had left it at six, and +that it was certain that more than 12,000 men of the army, officers and +soldiers who were no longer able to march, had remained in the hands +of the enemy. He had just missed submitting to the same fate himself +through devotion to his dog. He saw very well that he would be obliged +to leave him on the way in the snow. The evening of the day when we had +arrived at Wilna--at twenty-eight degrees--the poor dog had had his +paws frozen, and this morning, seeing that he could walk no longer, he +had made up his mind to leave him; but poor Mouton got an idea that he +was to be deserted, for he began to howl in such a way that in the end +he decided to let him follow. But hardly had he taken six steps along +the street when he saw his unfortunate dog fall upon his nose; so he +fastened him across his shoulders over his knapsack, and it was in this +fashion that he had rejoined Marshal Ney, who with a handful of men +formed the rear-guard. + +Whilst still marching, we found ourselves stopped by an overturned +waggon barring part of the way; it was open, and contained canvas bags, +but all these were empty. This waggon had probably left Wilna the +preceding evening or in the morning, and had been pillaged by the way, +for it had been laden with biscuits and flour. I proposed to Daubenton +to halt a moment, for my colic had come on again; he consented +willingly, especially as he wished to rid himself of Mouton in one way +or another. + +We had hardly stopped, when we saw at the back of a ravine a troop of +about thirty young Hessians who had formed part of the garrison of +Wilna, and had left there at daybreak. They were waiting for Marshal +Ney, about thirty paces away from us, and ahead of us to the right. At +the same moment we saw on our left another troop of horsemen, about +twenty in number. We recognised them at once for Russians; they were +Cuirassiers in black cuirasses over white coats, accompanied by several +Cossacks scattered here and there. They moved on so as to cut off the +Hessians and ourselves, and a vast number of other unfortunate men +who had just caught sight of them, and who turned back to rejoin the +rear-guard, crying out, 'Beware of the Cossacks!' + +The Hessians, under command of two officers who had probably caught +sight of the Russians before we did, put themselves in order of defence. + +At this moment we saw a Grenadier of the line pass near to us, running +to take rank among the Hessians; we prepared to do the same, but +Daubenton, hampered by Mouton, wished to put him in the waggon. We +had not time, however, for the cavalry came at a gallop alongside the +Hessians. There they halted, signing to them to lay down their arms. +A musket-shot was the reply; it was that of the French Grenadier, +followed by a general discharge from the Hessians. + +At this report, we expected to see half the troopers fall, but, to our +astonishment, not one did so, and the officer who was in advance, and +who ought to have been shot in pieces, seemed to be whole and sound. +His horse simply leapt to one side. He turned round again instantly +towards his men; they all thundered upon the Hessians, and in less +than two minutes they were sabred. Several took to flight, but the +cavalry pursued them. + +At the same time Daubenton, wishing to rid himself of Mouton, called +out to me to help him, but three of the men in pursuit of the Hessians +passed close by him. So as to defend himself better, Daubenton thought +of retiring under the waggon, where I had taken refuge, suffering +terribly from colic and cold; but he had not time, for one of the three +horsemen was on the point of charging him. Daubenton was fortunate +enough to see the man in time, and get ready for him, but not so well +as he could wish, for Mouton, barking like a good dog, hampered him in +his movements. Meanwhile, although nearly dying of cold, I felt rather +better, and had arranged my right hand to make use of my weapon the +best way possible, having hardly any strength left, to speak of. + +The man wheeled continually round Daubenton, but at a certain distance, +fearing a musket-shot. Seeing that neither of us attempted to fire, +he no doubt thought that we were without powder, for he advanced upon +Daubenton and hit him a blow with his sword, which the latter parried +with the barrel of his musket. Instantly the man crossed to the right, +and gave him a second blow upon the left shoulder, which struck Mouton +on the head. The poor dog howled enough to break one's heart. Although +wounded and with frozen paws, he leapt off his master's back to run +after the man; but being fastened to the straps of the knapsack, he +pulled Daubenton down, and I thought all was over with him. + +I dragged myself on my knees about two steps ahead and took aim, but +the priming of my gun did not burn. Then the man, shouting savagely, +threw himself on me, but I had had time to get under the waggon and +present my bayonet at him. + +Seeing that he could do nothing to me, he returned to Daubenton, who +had not yet been able to rise on account of Mouton, who all the time +dragged him sideways, howling and barking after the cavalry. Daubenton +was dragged against the shafts of the waggon, so that his enemy on +horseback could not get near him. This man faced Daubenton, his sword +raised as if to split him in two, appearing all the while to mock at +him. + +Daubenton, although half dead with cold and hunger, his face thin, +pale, and blackened by the bivouac fires, still seemed full of energy; +but he looked odd and really comical, as that devil of a dog was +barking all the time, and dragging him sideways. His eyes were shining, +his mouth foamed with rage at being at the mercy of such an enemy, who +in any other circumstances would not have dared stand up one minute +before him. To quench his thirst, I saw him fill his hand with snow and +carry it to his mouth, and instantly seize his weapon again; now in his +turn he threatened his enemy. + +By the man's shouts and gestures, one could see that he had no command +over himself, and seemed to have drunk a great deal of brandy. We saw +the others passing, repassing, and shouting round some men who had not +been able to reach the side where the rear-guard would come; we saw +them thrown into the snow and trampled under the horses' feet, for +almost all who followed were without arms, wounded, or with frozen feet +and hands. Others, who were stronger, as well as some Hessians escaped +from the first charge, were able to withstand them for a little, but +that could not last, either--they must be relieved or captured. + +The cavalryman with whom my old comrade was doing business had just +passed to the left, when Daubenton shouted out to me: 'Don't be +frightened! don't stir! I'll finish him off.' Scarcely had he said +these words, when he fired. He was luckier than I. The Cuirassier +was struck by a ball which entered under the right arm first, and +passed out again on the left side. He uttered a savage cry, moved +convulsively, and at the same moment his sword fell with the arm that +held it. Then a stream of blood came from his mouth, his body fell +forward over his horse's head, and in this position he remained as if +dead. + +Hardly was Daubenton rid of his enemy and free from Mouton so as to +seize the horse, when we heard behind us a great noise, then cries of +'Forward! Fix bayonets!' I came out of my waggon, looked towards the +side from which the cries came, and saw Marshal Ney, musket in hand, +running up at the head of a party of the rear-guard. The Russians, on +seeing him, took to flight in all directions. Those who rushed to the +right on the side of the plain found a large ditch filled with ice and +snow, which prevented them crossing. Several flung themselves in it +with their horses, others stopped still in the middle of the road, not +knowing where to go. The rear-guard seized several horses, and made +their riders walk on foot amongst them. Afterwards they were left on +the road. What else could one do? One could barely look after one's +self. + +I shall never forget the Marshal's commanding air at this moment, his +splendid attitude towards the enemy, and the confidence with which he +inspired the unhappy sick and wounded round him. In this moment he +was like one of the heroes of old time. In these last days of this +disastrous retreat he was the saviour of the remnant of the army. + +All this took place in less than ten minutes. Daubenton had rid himself +of Mouton, so as to get hold of the horse, when a man, emerging from +behind a clump of pines, threw the Cuirassier off the horse, seized the +animal by the bridle, and made off. Daubenton shouted to him: 'Stop, +rascal! That is my horse. I killed the fellow!' But the other escaped +with the horse amongst the rabble of men who were hurrying forward. +Then Daubenton called out to me: 'Look after Mouton. I am going after +the horse; I must have him, or there will be the devil to pay.' The +last word was hardly out of his mouth, when more than 4,000 stragglers +of all nations came on like a torrent, separating me from him and from +Mouton, whom I never saw again. + +This seems to be the place for giving a little biography of the +regimental dog. + +Mouton had been with us since 1808. We found him in Spain, near the +Bonaventura, on the banks of a river where the English had cut the +bridge. He came with us to Germany. In 1809 he assisted at the Battles +of Essling and Wagram; afterwards he returned to Spain in 1810-11. +He left with the regiment for Russia; but in Saxony he was lost, or +perhaps stolen, for Mouton was a handsome poodle. Ten days after our +arrival in Moscow we were immensely surprised at seeing him again. +A detachment composed of fifteen men had left Paris some days after +our departure to rejoin the regiment, and as they passed through the +place where he had disappeared, the dog had recognised the regimental +uniform, and followed the detachment. + +Whilst marching in the midst of men, women, and even some children, +I was constantly looking about for Daubenton, whom I regretted very +much; but behind only Marshal Ney and his rear-guard were to be seen, +taking up a position on the little eminence where the Hessians had been +attacked. + +After this adventure I was forced to stop again, as I was suffering +so much from my colic. In front, I could see the Ponari mountain from +the foot to the summit. The road about three-fourths up the left slope +could be traced by the number of waggons, carrying more than seven +millions in gold and silver, as well as other baggage, and carriages +drawn by horses whose strength was exhausted, so that they had to be +left on the road. + +A quarter of an hour after, I arrived at the foot of the mountain, +where some had bivouacked during the night. Traces of the fires were +still to be seen--several still alight, and around them men warming +themselves before attempting the ascent. Here I learnt that the carts +which had left Wilna the evening before at midnight, on reaching a +defile, had not been able to go further. One of the first waggons had +fallen open on turning over, and the money in it had been taken by +those standing near. The other carriages, from top to bottom of the +mountain, were obliged to halt. Many horses had fallen to rise no more. + +While they told me this, we heard the musketry fire of Marshal Ney's +rear-guard, and on the left Cossacks were visible, drawn by the sight +of booty. They advanced very cautiously, however, waiting till the +rear-guard should have passed to reap their harvest safely. + +I started off again, but, instead of taking the road of the waggons, +rounded the mountain to the right. Here several carts had tried to +pass, but all had been overthrown into the ditch at the side. One +waggon had a great many trunks still in it. I should have liked to +carry one off, but in my feeble state I did not dare to risk it, +fearing I might not be able to climb out of the ditch again if I once +got down. Fortunately, a man of the hospital corps from the Wilna +garrison, seeing my dilemma, was kind enough to go down, and threw me +a box, in which I found four beautiful shirts of fine linen and some +cotton trousers. + +Since November 5th I had not changed a shirt, and my shreds and tatters +were filled with vermin, so I put the whole into my knapsack, delighted. + +A little further on I picked up a band-box containing two superb hats. +As it was very light, I put it under my arm; I really don't know +why-probably to exchange it for something else if I had the opportunity. + +The road I was following turned to the left across some brushwood to +rejoin the highway. This road had been beaten out by the first men who +at daybreak had crossed the mountain. After half an hour of painful +walking, I heard a heavy fusillade, accompanied by loud cries, coming +from the side of the waggons. Marshal Ney, seeing that the booty could +not be saved, was having it distributed among the men, and at the same +time kept the Cossacks off by steady firing. + +Over on my side, to the right, I saw some Cossacks advancing steadily. +There was no one to check them but some men scattered here and there +upon the mountain, trying to gain the road. All at once I was forced to +stop: my legs gave way under me. I drank a good mouthful of my brandy +and struggled on. I reached at last a point on the mountain not far +from the road, and as I was searching for the right direction, the snow +crumbled under me, and I sank more than five feet up to the eyes, and +was nearly suffocated. It was with great trouble that I dragged myself +out, completely exhausted with cold. + +A little further on I caught sight of a hut, and seeing some people in +it, I stopped there. They were about twenty men belonging to the Guard, +all with bags containing five-franc pieces. Several of them, on seeing +me, began to call out, 'Who would like 100 francs for a twenty-franc +piece in gold?' But finding no one to exchange with them, they +concluded by offering some to those who were without any. Just then I +cared more for life than for money, so I refused, for I had about 800 +francs in gold, and more than 100 francs in five-franc pieces. + +I remained in this hut long enough to fasten the sheepskin over my +head, so as to keep the cold off my ears, but I had no time to change +my shirt. I left, following some musicians carrying money, but who were +too heavily laden to go far. + +The firing now came nearer, so that we were obliged to double our pace. +Those who were laden with money, and could not run, lightened their +burden by shaking the five-franc pieces out of their bags, saying that +it would have been better to have left them in the waggons, especially +as there was plenty of gold to take, but that there had not been time +to bury the chests. However, there were many who had sacks of double +napoleons. + +A little ahead I saw several still coming from the direction of the +waggons, carrying bags of money. As they were terribly weak and their +fingers frozen, they called to those who had none, to give them a +share; but it very often happened that those who had carried some money +part of the way, and who wished to share it with the others, had no +more to give, as, farther in front, men who had none had forced a share +from them. Those poor devils who had been carrying money for so long +saw it torn from them, and were lucky if in trying to defend what they +had they held their own, for they were always the weakest. + +I had gained the road, and, as I was not very cold, I stopped to rest. +I saw other men come up, still laden with money, and who now and again +stayed to fire on the Cossacks. Higher up the rear-guard had halted to +allow some men to pass, as well as several sledges, some bearing the +wounded, and loaded with as many barrels of money as it was possible +for them to carry. This did not keep some men, drawn by the love of +plunder, from still remaining behind, and when at bivouac in the +evening, I was assured that many had rifled the waggons along with the +Cossacks. + +I went on slowly and painfully. Presently I saw an officer of the +Young Guard coming towards me, very well dressed, and in good health, +whom I recognised at once as Prinier, one of my friends, passed as +officer eight months before. Surprised to see him going in the opposite +direction, I asked him, calling him by his name, where he was bound +for. He demanded in his turn who I was. At this unexpected question +from a comrade in the same regiment for five years, I could not refrain +from tears. He did not know me because I was so changed and wretched. +But an instant afterwards: 'Why, my dear fellow, is it you? To think +you should be so unlucky!' Then he offered me a bottle which hung from +his side, containing wine, saying, 'Take some;' and, as I had only one +hand free, the good fellow supported me with his left hand, and with +the other poured the wine into my mouth. + +I asked him if he had met the remnant of the army. He said no; that +as he had been quartered the preceding night in a mill some distance +from the road, it was very probable that the column had passed, but +he had seen terrible traces of it in some dead bodies lying upon the +road. He had only heard yesterday, and in a very vague way, of the +disasters that we had experienced. He was on his way to rejoin the +army, according to orders. + +'But there is no army left.' + +'What is that firing?' + +'That is the rear-guard, commanded by Marshal Ney.' + +Then he replied: + +'I shall join the rear-guard.' + +He embraced me before leaving, but as he did so he saw that I had +a band-box under my arm, and asked what it contained. I told him +they were hats: he asked me for them, and I gave them to him with +much pleasure. It was exactly what he needed, for he still wore his +non-commissioned officer's shako. + +The wine he had made me drink had warmed me; I decided on going on to +the next bivouac. An hour after leaving Prinier I caught sight of fires +belonging to some Chasseurs. I went up in an imploring way. Without +looking at me, they said: 'Do as we are doing; go and look for some +wood, and make a fire yourself.' + +I was expecting this reply--the usual one. There were six of them; +their fire was a very poor one. They had no further shelter to protect +them against the wind and the snow, should any happen to fall. + +I remained a long time standing behind them, sometimes leaning forward +and stretching out my hands to get a little warmth. Finally, overcome +with sleep, I thought of my bottle of brandy. I offered it to the men; +it was accepted, and they made room for me. We emptied the bottle, +passing it round, and when we had finished I fell asleep seated on +my knapsack, my head in my hands. I slept perhaps two hours, often +disturbed by pain and the cold. When I awoke I took advantage of the +little fire that was still left to cook some rice in the kettle I had +bought of the Jew. I scraped up some snow, and melted it with some +rice. I could not manage it with a spoon, as a Chasseur was eating +with me, so I turned it out into my shako, and we ate it in this way. +Afterwards I resumed my former position, and fell asleep again, the +cold this night not being very severe. + +_December 11th._--When I woke it was still far from daybreak. After +tying up my food, I rose to go on; for if I did not wish to die of cold +and hunger, like so many others, I must rejoin my comrades. I walked +alone till daybreak, stopping sometimes at a fire, where I found dead +and dying men. When day came, I met some soldiers of the regiment, who +told me they had passed the night with the staff. + +A little further on, I saw a man with a sheepskin over his shoulders +walking painfully, leaning on his musket. When I got near him, I saw +that he was the quarter-master of our company. He uttered a cry of +surprise and joy on seeing me, for they had told him I was a prisoner +at Wilna. Poor Rossi had both feet frozen, wrapped up in pieces of +sheepskin. He told me, that not being able to walk as quickly as the +others, he had been separated from the remnant of the regiment, and +that our friends were very uneasy about me. Two great tears ran down +his cheeks, and he began to weep, saying, 'Poor mother! if you could +only see me now! It is all over with me; I shall never see Montauban +again' (the place he came from). + +I tried to comfort him by pointing out that my situation was still +worse than his own. We walked together for part of the day. I was +obliged to stop often, owing to my colic. + +It might have been noon when I proposed that we should stop at a +village that we saw ahead of us. We entered an empty house, and found +three unfortunate soldiers, who told us, not being able to go any +further, they had resolved to die there. We warned them of the fate +that awaited them should they fall into the hands of the Russians. +For answer they showed us their feet. Nothing more terrible could be +imagined. More than half their toes were missing, and the remainder +ready to fall off. The feet were blue in colour, and seemed to be +almost mortified. The men belonged to Marshal Ney's corps. Perhaps, +when he passed by some time after, he may have saved them. + +We stopped long enough to cook a little rice, and we also roasted +a little horseflesh to eat later. Then we left, resolving to keep +together; but the great crowd of stragglers came up, dragged us with +them, and in spite of all our efforts we were separated, and could not +find each other again. + +I now arrived at a water-mill. There I saw a soldier who, in trying +to cross the ice of the little mill-stream, had fallen through it. +Although the water was only up to his waist, he could not get out, +owing to the pieces of broken ice. Some artillery officers, who had +found some ropes in the mill, threw them to him, but he had not +strength to catch them; although still living, he was frozen and +motionless. + +A little further on I heard that the regiment, if it could be still +called by that name, was to sleep at Zismorg, still five leagues off. +I made up my mind that if I should have to drag myself there upon my +knees, I would go; but what trouble it cost me! I fell from exhaustion +on the snow, and thought I should rise no more. Happily, since my +separation from Rossi the cold had greatly decreased. After superhuman +efforts I got to the village; it was none too soon, for I had done all +that man could do to escape death. + +The first thing I saw on entering was a great fire to the right, +against the gable end of a burnt house. Completely exhausted, I +dragged myself there; and great was my surprise on seeing my comrades. +When I got up to them I fell almost unconscious. + +Grangier recognised me, and hurried with some others of my friends to +help me; they laid me on some straw. It was the fourth time Grangier +and I had met each other since we left Moscow. M. Césarisse, Lieutenant +of the company, who had some brandy, made me take a little; then I +was given some horse-broth. It tasted very good, for this time it was +salted with salt, while so far we had eaten everything salted with +powder. + +My colic came on again worse than ever; so I called Grangier, and told +him I thought I had been poisoned. On this he melted some snow in +the little kettle, and brewed me some of the tea he had brought from +Moscow. I drank a great deal, and it did me good. + +Poor Rossi arrived in as miserable a state as myself. He was +accompanied by Sergeant Bailly, whom he had met a moment after his +separation from me. It was Sergeant Bailly with whom I had changed the +bank-notes at Wilna, and who had drunk coffee with me at the Jew's. He +was as ill as I was. He asked me how I was, and when I told him how ill +I had been after taking the coffee, he was sure that they had meant to +poison us, or at least make us good for nothing. + +I was settling myself as well as I could on the straw near a large +fire, when all at once I felt pains in my legs and thighs, so violent +that during a part of the night I did nothing but groan. I heard them +saying, 'He will not be able to leave to-morrow.' I thought so too, +and decided, as many had already done, to make my will. I called my +friend Grangier, and told him that I was certain all was over with me. +I begged him to undertake the charge of some small articles, to be +given to my family if he had the good fortune to see France again. +These articles were a watch, a cross in gold and silver, a little vase +in Chinese porcelain. I possess the two last still. I also wished to +dispose of all the money that I had, reserving some gold pieces that I +meant to hide in the sheepskin wrapped about my foot, hoping that the +Russians, when they took me, would not begin searching among my rags. + +Grangier, who had listened without interrupting me, now asked if I were +in a fever or dreaming. I said that I was in a fever, but I was quite +clear-headed. He began to lecture me, reminding me of my courage in +worse situations than this. + +'Yes,' I said, 'but then I was stronger.' + +He assured me that I had said as much at the passage of the Bérézina +when I had been quite as ill, and since then I had come eighty leagues. +As for the fifteen that remained before reaching Kowno, they would be +done in a couple of days; with the help of my friends I should manage +them very well. To-morrow they would only walk four leagues. + +'So,' he said, 'try to rest, and wrap up those things again. I will +only take your kettle, and carry it for you.' + +Another said, 'I will take this other case (the surgeon's case), which +must worry you.' + +Meanwhile, Rossi, who was lying near, remarked: 'My friend, you will +not be here alone to-morrow morning; I shall share your fate, for I +am quite as bad as you are. The journey to-day has done for me, and I +shall not be able to go any further. But when the rear-guard passes +by, we may be able to march with it, for we shall have had some extra +hours' rest. If we have not enough strength to follow it, we will go to +the right. To the first village or the first house that we find, and +put ourselves under the protection of the Baron or master; perhaps he +will have pity on us until we are better, and we can reach Prussia or +Poland. Very likely the Russians will not come further than Kowno.' + +I told him that I would do as he wished. M. Césarisse, whom Grangier +had just told of my intention, came up to comfort me. He said that the +pain I suffered only came from the fatigue of yesterday. He made me lie +before the fire, and, as there was plenty of wood, they piled on enough +to roast me. This fire did me so much good that the pain gradually left +me, and I slept for some hours. Poor Rossi did so too. + + * * * * * + +In 1830 I was appointed an officer of the staff at Brest. On the day of +my arrival, sitting at table with my wife and children at the Hôtel de +Provence, a man sat opposite to me, very well dressed, who looked at +me a great deal. Every other moment he stopped eating, and, his head +resting on his hand, he seemed to think deeply, or to be recalling +certain memories. Afterwards he spoke to the landlord of the hotel. My +wife, who was beside me, pointed it out to me. + +'Yes,' I said, 'that man begins to puzzle me, and if it goes on I shall +ask him what it means.' + +At that very moment he rose, threw down his napkin, and passed into +the office where travellers' names were registered. He re-entered the +dining-room, exclaiming aloud, 'It is he--I was not mistaken' (calling +me by my name). 'It is indeed my friend.' + +I recognised him by his voice, and we were in each other's arms. It +was Rossi, whom I had not seen since 1813, seventeen years before. He +believed me dead, and I thought the same of him, for I had learnt on my +return from prison that he had been wounded under the walls of Paris. +This recognition interested all who were present, about twenty in +number, and we were asked to relate our adventures during the Russian +campaign. This we did willingly, and at midnight we were still at +table, drinking champagne to Napoleon's memory. It is hardly surprising +that at first I did not recognise my comrade, for I left him delicate, +and I found him stout and strong, his hair almost gray. He lived at +Montauban, and was now a rich merchant. + + * * * * * + +When the moment of departure came, I thought no more of remaining +behind, but it was impossible to walk alone. Grangier and Leboude held +me up under the arms, and others did as much for Rossi. At the end of +half an hour's walking I was much better; but all the way I needed +the help of one arm, often of two. In this manner we arrived in good +time at the little village where we were to sleep; there were very few +dwellings to be found, and, although we were the first to arrive, we +were obliged to sleep in a yard. By chance we were able to find plenty +of straw, which we used to cover us; but, with our usual ill-luck, the +straw took fire. Everyone saved himself as best he could; many had +their coats burnt. A quarter-master of Vélites, named Couchère, was +more unfortunate than the others; the fire caught his cartridge-case, +and his whole face was burnt. And as for me, without the help of my +comrades I should probably have been roasted, as I could not possibly +move by myself. I was taken by the legs and shoulders, and dragged up +to the hut, where General Roguet and other officers were quartered. +They fled on seeing the flames, thinking that the house itself was on +fire. After this misfortune came a high north wind, and, as we were +without shelter, we entered the General's house, which consisted of two +rooms. We took possession of one, in spite of him; more than half of us +were obliged to stand up the whole night, but, still, it was better +than staying outside exposed to bad weather. That would have killed +three-fourths of us. + +_December 13th._--Kowno was at least ten leagues off, so General Roguet +made us start before daybreak. + +A shower of hail had fallen, forming ice upon the road. If, as on +the preceding evening, I had not had my friends' help, I should very +probably, like so many others, have finished my life's journey on that +last day in Russia. + +It was hardly dawn when we reached the foot of a mountain which was +one sheet of ice. What trouble we had climbing it! We had to squeeze +ourselves into groups to obtain mutual support. On this march there was +more readiness to help one another than before. Probably it was the +hope of arriving at the end of the journey. I remember that, when a +man fell, cries were heard, 'Stop! there is a man fallen!' I noticed a +sergeant-major of our battalion shout, 'Stop, there! I swear that not +one of you shall go on until the two left behind have been picked up +and brought on.' It was by his firmness they were saved. + +At the top of the mountain it was light enough to see, but the slope +was so rapid, and the ice so smooth, that no one dared to venture down. +General Roguet, some officers, and several sappers who were walking in +front, had fallen. Some picked themselves up, and those who were strong +enough went down in a sitting position, guiding themselves with their +hands; others who were weaker trusted to Providence--that is to say, +they rolled over and over like barrels. I was of this latter number, +and I should most likely have thrown myself into a ravine, or been +lost in the snow, but for Grangier, who went in front of me, moving +backwards and stopping, so that I ran into him. He drove his bayonet +into the ice to hold on by, and when I came up he moved further, +sliding and repeating the same process, till I reached the bottom, +bruised all over, and my left hand bleeding. The General had ordered a +halt to assure himself that everybody had come up--the roll-call had +been taken the evening before--and happily no one was missing. It was +broad daylight, and we could see that the mountain might have been +avoided by turning to the right. The other corps who were marching +after us came along this side of it without accident. This climbing had +tired me so much that I could only walk very slowly, and, as I did not +wish to abuse the kindness of my friends, I begged them to follow the +column. One of the company, however, stayed with me, a Piedmontese, by +name Faloppa. I had not seen him for several days. + +Those who were fortunate enough to keep their health, to have unfrozen +feet, and to march at the head of the column, missed seeing all the +disasters which I, for instance, sick and crippled, witnessed daily. +Those in front could not see the men who fell around them, while we in +the rear passed over the long train of dead and dying that each corps +left behind it. We had also the disadvantage of being harassed by the +enemy at our heels. + +Faloppa, the man who had stayed with me, was in no better position. +We had been walking together for a quarter of an hour, when he turned +towards me, saying: 'Well, sergeant, if we had those little pots of +dripping here that you made me throw away in Spain, you would be very +glad, and we could make fine soup.' It was not the first time he had +made that remark. The episode, comical enough, was this: + +One day, after we had made a long expedition in the mountains of +Asturias, we were quartered at St. Hiliaume, a little town in Castile, +on the sea-coast. I was quartered with my subdivision in a large +building forming the right wing of the Court House.[60] This part of +it was very large, and inhabited by an old bachelor, absolutely alone. +On arriving at his house we asked him whether we could buy some butter +or dripping to make soup, and cook some haricots. He replied that +even for gold there was none to be had in the entire town. A moment +afterwards the muster was called. I left Faloppa to do the cooking, and +commissioned another man to search through the town for some butter or +fat, but none was to be had. When we came back, the first thing Faloppa +said to us was that the old bachelor was a rascal. 'How is that?' He +answered us, 'Look!' + +He showed me three gallipots containing some beautiful fat that we +saw was goose-dripping. Everyone exclaimed, 'There's your Spanish +beggar for you. There's a rascal!' Our cook had made some splendid +soup, and had prepared some haricots. We sat down to eat under a great +chimney-piece, like the entrance to a house, when suddenly the Spaniard +returned, wrapped in his brown mantle, and, seeing us eating, hoped +we should enjoy our meal. I asked him why he had not wanted to sell +us the dripping. 'No, señor,' he answered, 'I had none. If I had had +any, I would have given it to you with pleasure, and for nothing!' Then +Faloppa, taking up one of the little pots, showed it to him. 'Then this +is not fat, is it, rascal of a Spaniard?' Looking at the little pot, +he changed colour, and stood as if thunderstruck. Pressed for a reply, +he told us that it certainly was dripping, but the _manteca de ladron_ +(thieves' fat). He was the town executioner, and what we had found +and made our soup with was the fat of hanged men, which he sold for +ointment. + +[Illustration: PASSAGE OF THE BÉRÉZINA, NOVEMBER, 1812.] + +Hardly had he finished, when all the spoons flew about his head. He +had barely time to escape; and not one of us, although very hungry, +wanted to eat any haricots; the soup was almost all gone. Faloppa only +went on eating just the same, saying that the Spaniard had lied. 'And +even were it so,' said he, 'the soup is good, and the haricots still +better.' So saying, he offered me some to taste, which turned me sick. +I went across to a brandy merchant's facing our quarters, and asked him +with whom we were quartered. He crossed himself, repeating over and +over again: '_Ave, Maria, purissima, sin peccado concebida!_' He told +me that it was the executioner. For some time I was ill and sick with +disgust; but Faloppa, when he left, carried off the remainder of the +fat, pretending he would prepare us soup with it again. I was obliged +to make him throw it away; and that is why in Russia, when he had +nothing to eat, he was always quoting this story. + +For half an hour we had not lost sight of the column, showing that we +had walked pretty well. I must say that the road happened to be better; +but soon afterwards it became rough and as slippery as in the morning. +The cold was very keen, and we had already passed some men dying by +the way, although clothed in thick furs. Exhaustion, however, was +answerable for a good deal. Faloppa fell several times, and if I had +not been with him to help him up again, he would have been left behind. + +The road now became better; we could see the long train of the column +in front of us. We redoubled our efforts to rejoin it, but did not +succeed. We came upon a hamlet of five or six houses, of which half +were on fire, where we stopped a little while. Several men were +gathered round; many seemed quite unable to go on, and several horses +had dropped, dying, and were struggling on the snow. Faloppa cut a +piece from the thigh of one of them, which we cooked on the points of +our swords at the fire of the burning houses. + +While we were busy with this job, cannonading was heard in the +direction from which we had come. I then saw more than 10,000 +stragglers spreading in disorder over the width of the road. Behind +them marched the rear-guard. I have thought since that Marshal Ney was +firing in order to make all these unfortunate creatures believe the +Russians were upon us, and so hurry them on to Kowno that same day. It +was part of the wreck of the Grand Army. + +Our meat was not half cooked before we thought it wiser to decamp as +quickly as possible, and not to be submerged in this fresh torrent. + +There were still six leagues to walk before reaching Kowno, and we were +quite worn out. It might have been about eleven o'clock, when Faloppa +said: 'Sergeant, we shall not get there to-day, the _ruban de queue_ is +too long.[61] We shall never be able to leave this devil's country; it +is all over, I shall not see my beautiful Italy again!' Poor fellow! he +spoke the truth. + +We had been walking about an hour since our last rest, when we came +upon several groups of forty or fifty men, more or less composed of +officers, non-commissioned officers, and some men, carrying in the +midst of them the regimental eagle. These men, miserable though they +were, seemed proud to have been so far able to keep and guard this +sacred trust. It was evident that in marching they avoided mingling +with the large masses that covered the road, so as to keep together in +an orderly way. + +We walked as long as we were able with these little detachments; we +did all we could to follow them, but the artillery and musketry fire +began again. The detachment halted at the command of some person; one +could never have told by the rags covering him who he might be. Never +shall I forget the tone of his command. 'Come, children of France! +Another halt! It must never be said that we went faster at the sound +of artillery. Right about face!' and instantly the men fell into rank +without a word, and turned in the direction of the firing. As for us, +having no colours to defend, we continued to drag ourselves along. It +was very lucky for us that on this particular day the cold was not so +intense, for we fell more than ten times, and if it had been freezing +as on the day before, there we should have remained. + +After walking a certain time among stragglers like ourselves, we caught +sight of a moving line, a column apparently, in very close order, now +moving, then halting, again moving on. This seemed as if there must be +a defile just there. The road began to narrow to the right on account +of a hill through which it had been cut, and on the left was bounded by +a large river that I think must have been the Niemen. There the men, +while waiting till some waggons passed coming from Wilna, hustled and +shoved one another in great confusion. It was a question of who could +get over the first. Many climbed down to the ice-covered river, in +order to gain the right of the column or the end of the defile. Several +who found themselves on the extreme edge were thrown down the banks, +which in this place were at least five feet high; some were killed. + +When we reached the left of this column, we had to do as those who +preceded us--we had to wait. I came upon a sergeant of Vélites named +Poumo, belonging to our regiment, who proposed that I should cross the +river with him, telling me that on the other side we should find houses +where we could pass the night, and that the next day, being thoroughly +rested, we could reach Kowno easily; 'for,' said he, 'it is not more +than two leagues further.' I consented to his proposal, especially as +I had no strength to go on, and then there was the hope of spending a +night in a house with a fire! I told Faloppa to follow us. Poumo went +down first. I followed him, sliding on my back; but, after taking a few +steps across the snow which covered the river in great heaps, I saw +the impossibility of going further, so I signed to Faloppa, who had +not got down, to stop, for I had just discovered that beneath the snow +was nothing but a mass of jagged ice, with holes in between. This was +probably the result of a thaw, followed by a hard frost. + +In the meantime Poumo, who was walking some steps ahead of me, stopped; +but, seeing that I was not following, he still got across himself with +three old Grenadiers of the Guard. It was only, however, with great +labour that they reached the other bank. + +I got nearer to Faloppa, from whom I was separated only by the height +of the bank, to tell him to follow the left of the column; that, as +I was down on the ice, I was going to follow it up to the end of the +defile, and that I would wait for him there. Then I followed the mass +of men, slowly advancing, then stopping, shouting and swearing, for +those on the bank were afraid of falling to the bottom. + +I had already gone three-fourths of the length of the defile when I saw +that the river turned abruptly to the left, while the road, widening +again, went straight on. I had to return almost to the middle of the +pass, to the spot where the bank seemed less steep; but weak as I was, +and having only one hand of any use, I tried in vain to climb it. + +I mounted on an ice-heap, so that without stooping very much some +helping hand could be given me. I supported myself with my left hand +on my musket, and held out the other to those who, within reach of me, +could have pulled me up by a slight effort. But I asked in vain. No one +answered me; they had not even the appearance of paying any attention +to what I was saying. At last God had pity on me again. Just when the +crowd of men had halted, I saw an old trooper of the Imperial Guard on +foot, his moustaches and beard covered with icicles, and wrapped in a +great white cloak. I spoke to him still in the same tone: + +'Comrade, I beg of you, as, like me, you're in the Imperial Guard, give +me a hand, and you will save my life.' + +'How do you think I am to give you a hand?' he said, 'I have none.' At +this answer I nearly fell off the ice-heap. 'However,' he continued, +'if you can take hold of my cloak, I will try to pull you up.' + +Then he stooped. I grasped the cloak; I even held it with my teeth, and +scrambled on to the road. Happily, at this moment there was no pressing +forward, or I might have been trampled under foot without perhaps ever +rising again. When I was really safe, the old Grenadier told me to +keep a firm hold of him, which I did, but with much difficulty, as the +effort which I had just made had greatly weakened me. + +Shortly afterwards they began to move forward. We passed by three +fallen horses, the waggon having overturned into the river. This was +what had caused the delay in the march. At last we reached a point +where the pass widened, and where we could walk more easily. + +Just then Faloppa, whom I had left at the entrance of the pass, came up +weeping and swearing in Italian, saying that he would never be able to +go further. The old trooper asked me who this creature was who cried +like a woman. I told him he was a _barbet_, a Piedmontese. + +'He will never see the marmots and bears of his native mountains +again,' he answered. + +I encouraged poor Faloppa to keep on; I gave him my arm, and we +continued to follow the column. + +It might have been about five o'clock; we had still more than two +leagues to go before reaching Kowno. The old Grenadier related how his +fingers had frozen before reaching Smolensk. After suffering frightful +distress up to the passage of the Bérézina, he had found a house on +arriving at Ziembin, where he had spent the night. During that night +all his fingers fell off one after the other, but since then he had not +suffered nearly so much. His comrade, who had never left him before, +had gone off to the mountain near Wilna to _monter à la roue_,[62] and +since that day he had not seen him. + +After going on for another half-hour, we reached a little village, +where we stopped in one of the last houses to rest and warm ourselves a +little; but we could not find room, for the house was crammed with men +stretched out on the evil-smelling straw, and shrieking and swearing +whenever one happened to touch them. Nearly all their hands and feet +were frozen. We were obliged to be contented with a stable, where we +came upon a trooper of the Guard of the same regiment and squadron +as our old Grenadier. He still had his horse, and, hoping to find a +hospital at Kowno, undertook the charge of his comrade. + +We had still a league and a half to walk, and the cold had considerably +increased. Fearing that it would grow still colder, I told Faloppa +that he must go; but the poor devil, who had laid himself down on the +manure-heap, could not get up. It was only by begging and swearing, +with the help of the trooper, I succeeded in getting him on his legs +and pushing him outside the stable. On the road I gave him my arm. When +he was rather warm, he walked fairly well, but without speaking, for +about a league. + +During the time we had been resting in the village the great part +of the stragglers after the army had passed us; there was no one +to be seen either in front or behind but miserable creatures like +ourselves--in fact, those whose strength was entirely gone. Several +were stretched on the snow--a sign of their approaching end. + +Faloppa, whom till then I had been continually coaxing on by saying, +'Here we are. Just a little more courage,' sank upon his knees, then +on his hands. I thought he was dead, and fell at his side, overwhelmed +with fatigue. The cold, which began to go through me, forced me to make +an effort to rise again, or, to tell the truth, it was a fit of rage, +for I got upon my knees swearing. Then, seizing Faloppa by the hair, I +made him sit up; but he looked at me stupefied. Seeing that he was not +dead, I said to him: + +'Courage, my friend. We are not far from Kowno, for I can see the +convent[63] on our left. Don't you see it, too?' + +'No, sergeant,' he answered; 'I see nothing but the snow which is +turning round me. Where are we?' + +I told him we were near a place where we could sleep and find bread and +brandy. + +At this instant chance brought five peasants near us who were crossing +the same road. I proposed to two of these men, in consideration of a +five-franc piece each, that they should lead Faloppa as far as Kowno; +but under pretext that it was late, and that they were cold, they made +some difficulties. I guessed that it was the fear of not being paid +(for they spoke German). I took two five-franc pieces from my bag and +gave them one, promising them the other on our arrival. They were +satisfied. I then told three others to go back to where a foot soldier +was lying whom we had passed, and I said they would have some money for +leading him, and they went off at once. + +The two peasants had lifted Faloppa, but the poor devil could not +stand. They seemed at a loss what to do. Then I showed them how to +carry him on a musket, each supporting him with an arm behind. But we +did not get far this way. They decided to take him on their backs in +turn, while the other carried his knapsack and gun, and took me under +his arm, for I could hardly drag my legs along. During the distance +to the town, which was not more than half a league, we were obliged +to stop five or six times to rest and change Faloppa from one back to +another. If we had had to walk a quarter of an hour longer, we should +never have got there. + +Meanwhile the bulk of stragglers had passed us, but many others, as +well as the rear-guard, were still behind us. We heard at intervals +the sound of artillery, which seemed to us like the expiring sigh of +our army. At last we reached Kowno by a road our peasants knew of, and +that the column had not taken. The first place we saw was a stable. +We went in, and the peasants set us down; but before giving them the +last five-franc piece, I implored them to find us a little wood and +straw. They brought some of both, and even made us a fire, for it was +impossible for me to stir; and as for Faloppa, I looked upon him as +dead. He was seated in the angle of the wall, saying nothing, but every +now and then making faces, and lifting his hands to his mouth, as if +to eat. The fire burning before him seemed to restore him a little. +I at last paid my peasants. Before leaving us they brought us still +more wood, and made me understand they would come back. Trusting to +their promises, I gave them five francs, begging them to bring me some +bread, some brandy, or anything else. They promised to do so, but never +returned. + +While we were in the stable, terrible things were happening in the +town. The remnant of the corps arriving in front of us on the preceding +evening, not being able to find lodgings, bivouacked in the street. +They pillaged the flour and brandy stores. Many were intoxicated, and +fell asleep on the snow, to wake no more. The following day I was told +that more than fifteen hundred had died in this way. + +After the departure of the peasants, five men, two of whom belonged to +our regiment, came to find a place in the stable; but as they had met +soldiers returning from the town who told them that flour and brandy +were to be had there, two went off to try and get some. They left their +arms and knapsacks, but did not return. To crown my misfortune, I had +nothing to cook any rice in, for Grangier had my kettle. Not one of the +three men remaining with me had anything we could make use of, and not +one would stir to go and look for a pot. + +Meanwhile the roar of the distant artillery and the howling of the wind +were mingled with the cries of men dying on the snow. Although the cold +on this day was not excessive, a large number of men perished from it. +It was the last effort, and of those who had reached this point, not +half had seen Moscow; they were the garrisons of Smolensk, of Orcha, of +Wilna, as well as the remnant of the main army of Generals Victor and +Oudinot, and of General Loison's division, which we had met dying of +cold before reaching Wilna. + +The men who were with me in the stable lay down around the fire. To +keep myself alive, I ate a piece of the half-cooked horseflesh; it was +the last before leaving this country of misfortune. + +Afterwards I tried to sleep, but I lay awake a long time in great pain. +However, sleep overcame me in its turn, and I dozed I do not know for +how long. When I awoke I saw that the three soldiers who had arrived +after us were preparing to go, and yet it was still far from daybreak. +I asked them the reason. They told me they were going to instal +themselves in a house they had discovered where there was some straw +and a well-heated stove. The house was occupied by a man, two women, +and four soldiers of the Kowno garrison. + +I immediately set about following them, but I could not leave Faloppa. +Looking towards the place where I had left him, I was astonished at not +seeing him there. The soldiers told me that for more than an hour he +had done nothing but prowl about the stable on all fours, howling like +a bear. Our fire was low, and I had some trouble in finding him. At +last I did so, and to see him better I lighted a piece of resinous wood. + +When I went near him he began to laugh, growling like a bear, running +first after one of us, and then the other, and all the time upon his +hands and knees. Sometimes he spoke, but in Italian. I knew that he +thought he was in his own country in the midst of the mountains, +playing with the friends of his childhood; now and again he called for +his father and mother; in short, poor Faloppa had gone mad. + +As I had to leave him for a time to go and see the new lodging, I took +care that during my absence nothing should happen to him. We put out +the fire and shut the door. On reaching our new quarters, we found two +of the men busily eating soup. They did not seem to have suffered much, +and, indeed, since September they had been at Kowno. + +Before throwing myself on the straw, I asked the peasant if he would +come with me to fetch a sick man, that I would give him five francs, +at the same time showing him the piece. The peasant had not yet +replied, when the German soldiers proposed that we should give them the +preference. + +'We will go for nothing,' said one of the other soldiers. + +'And give him some soup as well,' said another. + +I showed my gratitude by saying that one could easily see that they +were Frenchmen. They took a wooden chair on which to carry the sick +man, and we set out, but as I could only walk with difficulty, they +gave me an arm. I told them of Faloppa's sad plight if he were left to +the mercy of the Russians. + +'What, Russians?' said one of the soldiers. + +'Certainly,' I said; 'Russian Cossacks will be here perhaps in a few +hours!' + +These poor soldiers thought that it was only cold and wretchedness we +had brought with us. + +On entering the stable we found the poor devil of a Piedmontese lying +his full length behind the door. He was placed upon the chair, and in +this way was carried to the new lodging. When he was laid near the +stove on some good straw, he began to mutter disconnected words. I went +near him to listen; he was no longer recognisable. His face was all +over blood, but it was the blood from his hands that he had bitten or +tried to eat; his mouth, too, was filled with straw and earth. The two +women had pity on him, bathed his face with water and vinegar, and the +German soldiers, ashamed to have done nothing, undressed him. A shirt +was found in his knapsack, which we put on him instead of the ragged +one he wore; then they offered him something to drink: he could not +swallow, and every now and again clenched his teeth fast together. +Afterwards he gathered up the straw with his hands, as if he would put +it over him. One of the women said it was a sign of death. I was very +sorry for it, as we had reached the limit of our suffering. I had done +all I could to save him, just as he would have done for me, for he had +been five years in the company, and would have died for me. He proved +it on more than one occasion, especially in Spain. The gentle warmth of +the room made me more comfortable than I could have thought possible. I +felt no more pain, and I slept for two or three hours, a thing that had +not happened since my departure from Moscow. + +I was awakened by one of the soldiers, who said: 'Sergeant, I think +that everybody is going, for there is a great noise outside. We shall +have to muster in the square, according to the orders we received +yesterday. As for your soldier,' he added, 'you must think of him no +more; he is done for.' + +I raised myself to see; the two women were at his side. The youngest +handed me a leather purse containing money, saying that it had fallen +from one of the pockets of the overcoat. There might have been about +twenty-five to thirty francs in Prussian pieces, and some other money. +I gave it all to the two women, telling them to look after the sick +man till his last moment, which could not be far off, for he scarcely +breathed. They promised me not to abandon him. + +The noise in the street went on increasing. It was already day, but in +spite of that we could not see much, for the little squares of glass +were dimmed with ice, and the sky, covered with thick clouds, foretold +a great deal of snow still to come. + +We were ready to go out, when all at once we heard the sound of cannon +from the direction of Wilna, and quite close to us. The discharge of +musketry mingled with it, and the cries and oaths of men. We heard +the falling of individual blows. We at once thought that the Russians +were in the town, and that fighting was going on; we seized our arms. +The two German soldiers, not used to this sort of music, were at a +loss. However, they came and ranged themselves at our side. We had the +muskets belonging to the two men who had left the evening before, and +who had not returned, and Faloppa's also. They were all loaded; we had +plenty of powder. One of the German soldiers had a bottle of brandy, +which he had not so far mentioned; but thinking that he might want +something of us, he offered it. It did us good. The other German gave +me a piece of bread. + +One of them said to me, 'Sergeant, suppose we put one of these guns +into the hands of that peasant there who is trembling beside the stove? +Do you not think he would be able to bring down his man?' + +'No doubt,' I said. + +'Come here, peasant,' said the soldier. + +The poor devil, not knowing what was wanted of him, allowed himself +to be led forward. He was offered a musket. He looked at it, like an +imbecile, without taking it. It was placed upon his shoulder; he asked +what he was to do with it. I told him it was to kill the Cossacks +with. At that word he let his weapon fall. It was picked up by a +soldier, who forcibly made him take hold of it, threatening if he did +not fire upon the Cossacks to run a bayonet through his body. The +peasant made us understand that he would be recognised by the Russians +as being a peasant, and that they would kill him. During this colloquy, +other cries were heard from the other extremity of the room; it was the +two women weeping. Faloppa had just breathed his last. + +The soldiers took the coat of the dead man, and forced the peasant +to wrap himself in it. In less than two minutes he was completely +equipped, for a sword and a cartridge-case were hung on him, and a cap +put on his head, with the result that he could not have recognised +himself. + +This scene took place while the two women were making lamentations over +the dead (probably on account of the money I had given them). They were +therefore not aware of the transformation of their man. + +The noise we had been hearing for the last few moments increased +tremendously. I thought I could distinguish the voice of General +Roguet; he indeed it was who was swearing and dealing blows to everyone +indiscriminately, officers and non-commissioned officers as well as +privates, to make them set out. He entered the houses, and made the +officers search them to be sure no men were left in them. He did right, +and it is perhaps the first good service I ever saw him render a +soldier. Certainly this distribution of blows came easier to him than +the distribution of bread and wine which he had made in Spain. + +I caught sight of a foot soldier who had propped himself against a +window, and was fixing his bayonet to the end of his musket. I asked +him if the Russians were in the town. + +'No, no; not at all.... Don't you see it is that brute of a General +Roguet striking at everybody with his baton? But just let him come +here; I'm waiting for him....' + +We had not yet left the house, when I saw Adjutant-Major Roustan come +to a halt in front of the door. Recognising me, he said: 'Well, what +are you doing there? Out with you! No one is to remain within a house, +no matter of what regiment, for I have orders to strike down any and +everybody.' + +We came out, but the peasant, whom we had forgotten, naturally remained +in his own house, and closed the door. The Adjutant-Major, who saw +the movement, and thought it was a soldier wanting to hide himself, +opened it again in his turn, entered the house, and ordered the new +soldier to get out, or he would be knocked down. The peasant looked +at him without replying. The Adjutant-Major seized the man by the +belt, and thrust him into the midst of us. The poor devil now tried to +struggle, and to explain in his own language. He was not listened to; +the Adjutant-Major, simply thinking it was because he had not given him +the time to bring away his knapsack and gun, re-entered the house, took +them both, and brought them to him. In the house he saw the dead man +and two women weeping; so, coming out, he said aloud: 'This rascal here +is not so stupid as he looks; he wanted to stay in the house in order +to console the widow. He looks like a German. Of what company is he? I +don't remember having seen him.' + +No one paid much attention to what the Adjutant was saying; each one +had enough to do to look after himself. The wife, who had heard her +husband's voice, had run to the door where we were still standing. The +man, on seeing her, began to speak, but could not make her recognise +him. There he was amongst us, not able to stir; she never imagined +that a Lithuanian, the Emperor of Russia's subject, had the honour of +being a French soldier of the Imperial Guard, marching off, not to +glory, but to misery. The whole affair took less than ten minutes. I +have thought since that the poor devil must have felt pretty miserable, +penned up there in the midst of us. + +We set off, but very slowly. We were in an alley, where were several +men who had died in the night from drinking brandy, and being +afterwards seized by the cold; the greater number, however, were to be +found in the town, which I did not enter. + +Meanwhile we reached the place where there are two ways leading to +the bridge over the Niemen. We now walked more easily, and in a few +minutes we were on the banks of the stream. There we saw that several +thousand men were already in front of us, squeezing and pushing to get +across. As the bridge was narrow, a large number climbed down on to the +ice-covered river, which was not strong enough to bear. It consisted +merely of pieces of ice that had been thawed and frozen over again. +At the risk of being drowned or hurt, everyone tried to get across as +quickly as possible, thinking that once on the further side we would be +safe. We found out later how greatly we were deceived. + +While waiting till we could pass, Colonel Bodelin, who commanded our +regiment, ordered the officers to prevent anyone crossing the bridge by +himself. We were now about sixty men, or thereabouts, the remnant of +2,000, all grouped around the Colonel. He looked sadly on the remains +of his fine regiment, probably drawing a contrast in his own mind. Five +months before we had passed over this same bridge with the whole great +and brilliant army, and now it was almost annihilated! To encourage us +he made us a speech; I am afraid very few listened. + +'Come, my men! I will not tell you to be brave--I know how much courage +you have. During the three years I have been with you you have given +proofs of it under all circumstances, and particularly during this +terrible campaign, in battles and all the privations you have had to +undergo. But, remember, the more distress and danger, the more glory +and honour, and the greater the reward for those who have had the +endurance to go through with it.' + +Then he asked how many were present. I seized this opportunity to +tell M. Césarisse that Faloppa had died that morning. He asked me if +I was certain of it, and I answered that I had seen him die, and that +Adjutant-Major Roustan himself had seen him. + +'Who?--I?' responded the Adjutant-Major. 'Where?' + +'In the house you told me to come out of, and which you entered to +bring out another person.' + +'True,' said he, 'I saw a dead man upon the straw, but it was the +master of the house, for the woman was crying over him.' + +I told him that the one he had turned into the street was the real +husband, and the man on the straw was Faloppa. We looked for the +peasant in our ranks, but he had disappeared. + +While we were resting on the banks of the Niemen, those who were in +front of us had crossed over the bridge, or over the ice. Now we +advanced, but when we had got across we could not mount the bank by the +road, which was blocked by waggons. Order was now at an end. Everyone +went as he pleased. Several of my friends got me to follow them, and +we went to the left. When we were about thirty paces from the bridge +we began to climb up on to the road. I walked behind Grangier, whom I +had fortunately found again, and who looked after me much better than +after himself. He beat out a passage through the snow in front of me, +shouting out in his Auvergne dialect, 'Come along, _petiot_' (little +'un), 'follow me.' But the _petiot_ could not drag one leg after +another. + +Grangier was already three-quarters up the side when I had only done a +third of the way. Stopping, and resting on his musket, he made signs +that he would wait there for me. But I was so weak I could not pull my +leg out of the snow. At last, unable to do more, I fell on my side, and +rolled as far as the Niemen, landing on the ice. + +As there was a great deal of snow, I did not hurt myself much, but I +felt a pain in my shoulders, and my face was bleeding from the branches +of some bushes I had rolled over. I picked myself up without a word, as +if it was something perfectly natural, for I was so inured to suffering +that nothing surprised me. + +After having picked up my musket, I tried to climb up again at the +same place, but the thing was impossible. I now thought I would see +whether I could not manage to get under the waggons at the outlet of +the bridge. There I dragged myself with difficulty. As I got near the +first, I saw several Grenadiers and foot soldiers of the Guards mounted +on the wheels, taking out handfuls of the money that was packed in +the waggons. I was not tempted to do the same--I only tried to get +through. But just then I heard a shouting: 'The Cossacks! To arms! to +arms!' This cry was followed by several musket-shots, then by a great +movement, which spread from the bottom to the top of the slope. + +Not one among the Grenadiers and Chasseurs took any notice: their heads +were in the waggon. I pulled one by the leg; he looked round, asking +me if I had any money. I said, 'No; but the Cossacks are up there.' +'Is that all?' he replied. 'We are not going to disturb ourselves +for those beasts, and leave them our money. Who wants some? I'll give +it him.' And he threw two large bags of five-franc pieces on to the +ground. All this was only to occupy those who were coming up, for I +understood that they had just found some gold--I had heard the words +'jaunets' and 'forty-franc pieces.' + +I took possession of the musket of one of the Grenadiers busy taking +gold, left my own, which was filled with snow, and returned to the +outlet of the bridge to go over the same ground again. + +I had hardly reached the bridge, when I met Captain Debonnez of the +Tirailleurs of the Guard, whom I have mentioned several times. He was +with his Lieutenant and a private soldier--his whole company! The +remainder, as he expressed it, had melted. He had a Cossack horse, +which he could not get through the crowd. I told him my miserable +condition. For sole answer he gave me a large piece of white sugar +soaked in brandy. Then we separated, he to climb down upon the Niemen +with his horse, I, biting at my sugar, to begin my climb upwards for +the third time. Hardly had I begun, when I heard someone calling me. It +was Grangier, who had climbed down the bank and was looking for me. He +asked why I had not followed him, and I told him the reason. On that +he walked in front of me, dragging me by his musket, I holding on to +the end of the barrel. It was with immense difficulty, with the help +of Grangier and biting at my lump of brandied sugar, that at last, +completely exhausted, I reached the top. + +Several of our friends were waiting for us--Leboude, sergeant-major; +Oudicte, sergeant-major; Pierson, _idem_; Poton, sergeant. The others +had scattered, walking like us in groups. The certainty that on +entering Prussia the conditions would be better for us influenced us +all, and began to make us indifferent to one another. From the spot +where we were we could make out the Wilna road, some Russians marching +upon Kowno, and others nearer; but the presence of Marshal Ney with +a handful of men prevented their advancing. A man came towards us, +walking with difficulty, leaning on a pine staff. On coming up to us he +exclaimed: 'Ah, _per Dio santo!_ I am not mistaken: these are friends!' + +We looked at him, and recognised him by his voice and accent as +Pellicetti, a Milanese, former Vélite-Grenadier. Three years before, +he had left the Imperial Guard to enter that of the King of Italy as +officer. Poor Pellicetti! It was only by the remains of his cap that +we could guess to what corps he belonged. He told us that three or +four houses had been enough to accommodate the only corps remaining of +Prince Eugène's army. He was waiting for one of his friends, who had a +Cossack horse carrying the bit of baggage left to them. They had been +separated on leaving Kowno. + +It was December 14th--it might have been about nine o'clock in the +morning--the sky was gloomy, the cold bearable, and no snow was +falling. We walked on without knowing where we were going, but on +reaching the highroad we saw a great post with directions, informing +the soldiers of the different corps of the road they must follow. + +We took the one inscribed for the Imperial Guard, but many marched +straight in front of them without taking any notice. A few steps +further on we saw five or six unfortunate soldiers looking like +spectres, their faces emaciated and bedaubed with blood off their +hands, with which they had been scratching in the snow for crumbs of +biscuit fallen from a waggon which had just been pillaged. + +We went on till about three in the afternoon. We had only walked three +short leagues on account of Sergeant Poton, who seemed to be suffering +a great deal. + +We had caught sight of a village to our right, about a quarter of a +league from the road, and we decided to spend the night there. On +reaching it we found two soldiers of the line, who had just killed a +cow at the entrance to a stable. This was a good sign, and so we turned +in. The peasant to whom the cow belonged came himself to cut some for +us, in order to save as much of the meat as possible. He made a fire, +and then brought two pots of water for soup. We had some clean straw +and a good fire; it was a very long time since we had been so happy. +Shortly afterwards we ate our soup; then we went to sleep. + +I was lying near Poton, who did nothing but groan. I asked him what was +the matter. He said: 'My dear fellow, I am certain I shall not be able +to go further!' + +Without knowing the reason why he talked like this (a serious +accident, unknown to us all), I comforted him, telling him that after +he had rested he would be much better; but soon after fever came +on, and throughout the night he did nothing but cry and wander in +his mind. Several times during the night I found him writing in a +memorandum-book, and tearing out the leaves. + +Once, when I was sleeping peacefully, I felt myself pulled by the arm. +It was poor Poton, who said: + +'Dear friend, I am utterly unable to leave here--even to take a +step--so you must do me a great service. I count on you, if you +have the happiness to see France again; if you do not, you must ask +Grangier, on whom I count, as I do on you, to carry out my wishes. +Here,' he continued, 'is a little packet of papers that you must send +to my mother, to the address given, accompanied by a letter, in which +you must describe the situation in which you left me, without, however, +letting her lose all hope of seeing me again some day. Here is a silver +spoon that I beg you will accept; it is far better that you should have +it than the Cossacks.' + +Then he handed me his little packet of papers, saying again that he +counted on me. I promised him to do all he had just told me, but I +little thought we should be obliged to leave him. + +On December 15th, when we prepared to depart, I repeated to our friends +what Poton had told me. They thought he had lost heart, or that he had +gone mad, so that each began to chaff him in his own way. + +But for sole answer the unhappy Poton showed us two hernias that he had +had for a long time, a consequence of the repeated efforts he had made +in climbing the bank at Kowno. We saw indeed that it was impossible +for him to stir. Sergeant-Major Leboude thought it would be a good +thing to leave him with the peasant who owned the house; but before +fetching him, as Poton had a good deal of money--above all, gold--we +made haste to sew up his gold in the waist-band of his trousers. Then +we called the peasant, and, as he spoke German, it was easy to make him +understand us. We offered him five five-franc pieces, telling him he +should have four times as much, and perhaps more, if he would take care +of the sick man. He promised, swearing in the name of God, and that +he would even go and fetch a doctor. Then, as time pressed, we took +farewell of our comrade. + +Before leaving, he made me promise not to forget; we embraced him +and left him. I do not know if the peasant kept his word, but never +again did I hear Poton spoken of. According to all accounts, he was an +excellent fellow, a true comrade, having received a good education, a +rare thing at that period. He was a Breton gentleman, belonging to one +of the best families of the country. + +I religiously fulfilled my mission, for on my arrival at Paris, in +the month of May, I sent all the papers to the address given. They +contained his will, and the affecting farewell he had written during +his fever. I took a copy of one, which I reproduce: + + 'Adieu, bonne mère, + Mon amie; + Adieu, ma chère, + Ma bonne Sophie! + Adieu, Nantes, où j'ai reçu la vie; + Adieu, belle France, ma patrie; + Adieu, mère chérie: + Je vais quitter la vie-- + Adieu!' + + * * * * * + +For several years I gave up writing my Journal of the Russian +Campaign--that is to say, I gave up putting those memoirs in order +which I had written while a prisoner in 1813. A singular mania had come +upon me; I doubted whether all that I had seen and endured with so much +courage and patience in this terrible campaign was not the effect of my +imagination. + +Nevertheless, when the snow is falling, and I find myself sitting with +my friends--former soldiers of the Empire--of whom some are of the +Imperial Guard, and who, like myself, have gone through that memorable +campaign, it is always there that our memories take us; and I have +noticed that with them, as with me, indelible impressions are left. We +speak of our glorious campaigns with pride. + +To-day my mother has just brought me some letters that I wrote to her +during this campaign, and of which I was regretting the loss, so I am +taking courage again. I must add to that the advice of friends who are +making me promise to finish it. For my own part, it makes me live my +life over again. One day, perhaps--who knows?--my memoirs, although +badly written, will interest those who read them. The great genius is +no more, but his name will live for ever. Thus, taking my courage in +both hands, I am going on; so that, after me, my grandchildren, reading +their grandfather's memoirs, will say, 'Grandfather was in the great +battles with the Emperor Napoleon!' They will see how, in Spain, he +'dressed down' the Prussians, the Austrians, the Russians, the English +in Spain, and many others; they will see, too, that grandfather did not +always lie upon a bed of roses; and although he may not have been one +of the best Catholics in France, they will see that he often fasted, +and more than once he fasted on a feast-day! + + * * * * * + +At seven o'clock on the morning of December 15th, we left the stable +where we had spent the night, and walked in the direction of the road +until we reached the spot where we had branched off the preceding +evening; there we halted. + +Grangier still had with him my little copper kettle. He carried it +in front of him, fastened with a strap to his belt, for fear someone +should make off with it, for a pan in which snow could be melted and +something cooked was a precious article. Grangier returned it to me, +for he foresaw that I might again be left behind, and might want it. He +fastened it firmly to my knapsack. + +The sky was clear, but the cold bearable. We saw only a very few men +upon the road; from this we concluded that the evening before the +greater number had gone on further, and in different directions. + +We caught sight of a column of men upon the road in the direction of +Kowno, but we could not make out if they were French or Russians; so +in this uncertainty we resumed our march. + +For an hour I walked fairly well, but at the end of this time a severe +colic seized me, and I was forced to stop; it was still the result of +my Wilna poisoning. I set down this relapse to the broth that I had +taken overnight, and before setting out in the morning. + +In this way I progressed till about three o'clock in the afternoon. I +was now not very far from a forest that I had caught sight of some time +before, and which I wanted to reach in order to pass the night there. + +I was no further away from it than a musket could carry, when, to the +right of the road, I caught sight of a house where, around a large +fire, several soldiers of the different army corps were gathered, the +greater part of them being of the Imperial Guard. As I was tired, I +stopped to warm and rest myself a little. Some of the men proposed that +I should remain with them; I accepted gladly. + +The cold had been bearable throughout the day, and was so still, and +we thought one might feel easy about the enemy; but some men coming +up on the right of the road told us they had just caught sight of +cavalry, and that they were sure it was Russian. 'And if it was the +devil,' replied an old Chasseur of the Guard, 'it would not prevent me +establishing my headquarters here! Friends, do as I am doing--load your +weapons and fix bayonets.' We all quietly did as he said. 'And then,' +he added, 'we can retreat to the wood. Upon my soul, it's a famous +position!' + +On this, he went up to a horse that had been killed a little distance +from the fire, cut a piece off it, and returned calmly to seat himself +upon his knapsack near the fire, and roast his meat at the end of his +sword. More than twenty soldiers were also roasting horseflesh, some +sitting on their knapsacks, others going on their knees. + +Opposite to the Chasseur of whom I have just spoken was a woman, +sitting on a soldier's knapsack. Her head was in her hands, her elbows +resting on her knees; a soldier's gray overcoat over an old silk dress +in tatters was all her clothing. On her head was a sheepskin cap, held +in its place by a torn silk handkerchief tied under the chin. The +Chasseur spoke to her: + +'Look here, Mother Madeleine!' + +She did not answer. Another man near her pushed her, saying: + +'They're speaking to you, mother.' + +'To me?' she said. 'My name is Marie. What do you want?' + +'A drink of _rogomme_, as at drill-time.' + +'_Rogomme!_ You know very well I have none.' And she returned to her +former position. + +Another woman who was near the fire wore on her head a schabraque, +bordered with red cloth, cut into festoons and drawn around the neck +with the cord of a Grenadier's bearskin, the tassels of which fell +under her chin. She had also over her dress a Guard's blue overcoat. +This woman, hearing the Chasseur's voice, looked up, asking who wanted +spirits. + +'Ah! is that you, Mother Gâteau?' answered the soldier. 'It is I who am +asking for spirits. I, Michaut. I dare say you are surprised to see me. +Well, if anyone is more amazed than I am at meeting you, particularly +_schabraquée_ as you are, may the devil take him! Even before the +passage of the Bérézina, thinking of you sometimes, dear Mother Gâteau, +I imagined that the crows must long since have made a _fristouille à la +neige_ of your old carcase!' + +'Wretch!' replied Mother Gâteau; 'they will eat you before they do me, +you old drunkard! Ah,' she continued, in a jeering tone, 'you must +be wanting spirits indeed! You've had to go without for three months; +but very likely at Wilna, and yesterday at Kowno, you've taken a good +dose: that's why you have so much tongue now. One thing astonishes +me: that you're not dead of drink, like so many of the others we +saw in the street. So many brave fellows left down yonder, and this +good-for-nothing, this bad soldier, still lives!' + +'Stop there, Mother Gâteau!' replied the old soldier; 'slang me as much +as you like, but stop short of _bad soldier! Halte-là!_' + +Then, jeering all the time, he continued to eat the piece of horseflesh +he was holding in his hand, and which he had ceased to bite at while +answering the old _cantinière_. + +Directly afterwards she began again: 'For two years now he's had a +spite against me, ever since I wouldn't give him credit at the Military +School. Ah! if my poor husband were not dead--if a rascally ball had +not cut him in two at Krasnoë!...' + +And then she stopped. + +'It wasn't your husband! You weren't married!' + +'Not married! not married! Haven't I been with him nearly five years, +ever since the Battle of Eylau, and I'm not married? What do you say to +that, Marie?'--turning to the other _cantinière_. + +But Marie, whose marriage was of the same kind as Mother Gâteau's, said +nothing. + +The soldier asked Mother Gâteau if she had _monté à la roue_ on the +mountains at Wilna. + +'Ah!' she said, 'if I'd been strong enough, I shouldn't have missed +the chance. I picked up some in the snow, but it hasn't done me much +good. When you find yourself with rascals who respect nothing, we women +can never feel safe. The evening after crossing the mountain, when I +reached our men's bivouac, I had still a little of the brandy I had +brought from Wilna, so I gave it them for a place at the fire, and +lay down to sleep on the snow near two soldiers of our regiment--or, +rather, two thieves, for they cribbed half of my money. By good chance +I was lying on a pocket they could not get to. Trust a comrade after +that! Happily, I still have enough to take me as far as Elbing. Once +there, we shall find some way of beginning the campaign afresh. I want +no more carts; I will have two _cognias_, with baskets on their backs. +We shall be luckier, perhaps. What do you say, Marie?' + +Marie did not reply. + +'Marie,' said the old soldier, 'has had a second husband in a year, and +if she likes I will marry her for a third.' + +'You, you old scamp!' answered Mother Gâteau. 'She'd be hard up to take +you!' + +The Chasseur went up to Marie and offered her a piece of horseflesh. +Marie took it, saying, 'Thank you, _mon vieux_.' + +'So that's settled,' he went on. 'On reaching Paris I will marry you; I +will make you happy.' + +For sole answer, Marie sighed, saying, 'How can you chaff an unhappy +woman like me?' + +'What I have just said,' the old Chasseur replied, 'is no joke, and to +prove it I will offer Mother Gâteau, without any malice, what I have +just offered you--a little piece of "gee-gee" on my thumb.' + +As he spoke, he moved forward to offer it; but Mother Gâteau, seeing +him coming, looked at him angrily, and said, 'Go to the devil! I don't +want anything of yours.' + +At this speech of Mother Gâteau's, Marie, who was sitting in front of +me, lifted her head, saying that this was no time to quarrel. Then she +stared at me from head to foot. + +'I am not mistaken,' she said, addressing me by name--'_mon pays_, is +it you?' + +'It is, Marie, really.' + +I had just recognised her, too, by her voice, not by her face, for +poor Marie's freshness had disappeared; cold, hardship, fire, and the +smoke of the bivouac had made her unrecognisable. It was Marie, our +former _cantinière_, whom I thought dead, and whose deserted cart with +two wounded I had come upon on the night of November 22nd. This is her +history: + +Marie came from Namur; that is why she called me her _pays_. Her +husband belonged to Liége, a fencing-master, and rather a bad lot. +Marie was a good sort, thinking nothing of herself, retailing her goods +to the soldiers--to those who had no money as well as to those who had. + +In every one of our battles she had shown herself most devoted in +helping the wounded. One day she herself was wounded; it did not +prevent her from going on with her help, careless of the risks she was +running, for the bullets and grape-shot were falling all round her. +Besides all these good qualities, Marie was pretty; she had a number of +friends, too, and her husband was not jealous. + +In 1811, while encamped before Almeida (Portugal), some months before +leaving for the Russian campaign, the poor fellow must go plundering +in a village. He entered a country-house, carried off a clock not +worth twenty francs, was foolish enough to bring it into camp, and was +arrested. There were very severe orders against marauders, and General +Roguet, our Commandant, court-martialed him. He was condemned to be +shot within twenty-four hours. Marie therefore became a widow. In a +regiment, particularly during a campaign, if a woman is pretty, she +is not long without a husband; so at the end of two months' mourning +Marie was consoled and married again, as they marry in the army. + +Some months after, her new husband was transferred as non-commissioned +officer to a regiment of the Young Guard, so she left us to follow him; +she had been with us for four years. + +In Russia she met with the fate of all the _cantinières_ in the army: +she lost horses, carts, money, furs, and also her protector. As for +herself, she had the luck to get back. Four months and a half later, at +the Battle of Lutzen, May 2nd, 1813, chance brought us together; she +had just been wounded in the right hand, while giving drink to a sick +man. + +I learned afterwards that she returned to France, and reappeared in the +Hundred Days. She was taken prisoner at the Battle of Waterloo, but, +being a Belgian subject, she was released.[64] + +I asked Marie where her husband was. + +'Why, you know very well,' she answered, 'that he was killed at +Krasnoë.' (I had not heard this before.) 'He was a good fellow; I miss +him very much.' + +Then she frowned and bent her head. A moment afterwards she raised +it again, and, my eyes being still fixed upon her, she looked at me +smiling, but it was a sad smile. I asked her what she was thinking +about. + +'About eating, as you can guess. I used to have a friend who got me +food; now I eat whenever I have anything given me, or when I find +something, and that doesn't happen often. There is only drink to be +had.' + +And as she spoke she took a pinch of snow, and carried it to her mouth. +I saw her rise with great difficulty to set off on the march; she gave +me her hand, and said 'Farewell.' I noticed that she was worn out with +fatigue and privation; that she walked with difficulty, leaning on a +stick. Mother Gâteau followed her, sheepskin on head, swearing and +mumbling between her teeth. I concluded that it was still about the old +Chasseur. + +Just then there might have been about forty of us, and our number +was continually increasing. I caught sight of Humblot, one of our +sergeants. Seeing me, he asked what I was doing there. I answered that +I was resting, and considering whether I should not do well to pass the +night where I was, and start the first thing in the morning. + +Humblot, a good fellow who liked me, observed, first, that the weather +was bearable; then what advantage it would be to me to have crossed the +forest: for, he said, on the other side we should find houses where we +could spend the night. The next day early we could reach Wilbalen, a +small town, from three to four leagues distant. There we should find +our comrades, and be able to buy the necessaries of life. In fact, +he said so much that I took up musket and knapsack and set off with +Sergeant Humblot. While walking, Humblot told me that, although we were +in Pomeranian Prussia, it was not wise to walk alone or lag behind, for +several thousand Cossacks had crossed the Niemen on the ice. + +Then he told me that he had left Kowno the day before with many others +who had not troubled about anything, for Marshal Ney was still there to +keep the Russians off the town, with a rear-guard composed of Germans +and some French. The Germans, he told me, had formed part of the +garrison of Kowno, and were in excellent condition, having wanted for +nothing; but they were poor soldiers, and but for the few French among +them, they would have thrown down their arms and fled. + +'I am going to tell you,' he went on, 'what happened to me yesterday, +and you will see if I am not right in persuading you to get out of this +cursed country as soon as possible. + +'After having crossed the Niemen and come within a quarter of a league +of the town, we saw, some distance off, more than 2,000 mounted +Cossacks and others. We halted to decide what was to be done, and +also to wait for those who were behind. Shortly afterwards we found +ourselves about 400 men strong, of all equipments. We formed into a +column, so as, if need be, to re-form into a square. Some officers who +were among us took the command. Twenty-two Poles afterwards joined us. +About fifty of the strongest men, who possessed good weapons, took up a +position as sharp-shooters, in front and on our flanks. + +'We marched resolutely upon the cavalry, who at the approach of the +sharp-shooters drew off to right and left of the way. On reaching the +level of the Russians, the column halted to wait for some men still in +the rear. Only a few would be able to rejoin us, it seemed, for a party +of Cossacks detached themselves to cut off those farthest off. + +'A man of the name of Boucsin,[65] who played the big drum in our band, +was in the rear, and was doing his utmost to join the column with +(marvellous to relate!) his drum still on his back, and in his hands +a bag of five-franc pieces. This load hindered him from getting along +quickly; he was attacked by the Cossacks at fifty paces to the rear +and to the left of the column. He received a lance-thrust between the +shoulders, and fell full length into the snow, the drum being thrown +over his head. Two Cossacks instantly dismounted to strip him, but a +Polish officer and three men ran upon them, took one prisoner with his +horse, and freed the drummer of his instrument, which he left in the +field. He got off with a lance-thrust and half of his money, which he +distributed among those who had saved his life. + +'After this the column set off again to the shouts of "Long live the +Emperor!" with the Cossack and his horse in the middle of them.' + +Humblot had barely finished his story before I was forced to stop, in +the same trouble again. Meantime he walked slowly, so that I could +catch up with him. When I resumed my march, I found a great crowd +preventing me from getting along. I regained the road, but had hardly +done so, when I heard repeated shouts: 'Look out for the Cossacks!' I +imagined it was a false alarm, when I caught sight of several officers, +armed with muskets, who halted and bravely stationed themselves in the +road, facing the noise, and crying out: 'Never mind! Let the dogs come +on!'[66] I looked behind me; they were so close that one of the horses +touched me--three were ahead, others followed. + +I had only just time to fling myself into the wood, where I thought +I should be in safety; but the three Cossacks entered it almost at +the same moment, and, unhappily, just at this spot the wood was very +open. I tried to get further in, but by a bad stroke of luck one of +my attackers came on. Imagine my position! I wanted to stop, but it +was impossible, two of the three Cossacks being only a few steps away. +Happily, a few steps further on the trees were closer together. The +Cossacks were delayed by them, while I went on at the same pace; but, +stopped short by some branches embedded in the snow, I fell full +length, my head remaining buried. I tried to rise, but I felt myself +held by one leg. I feared one of my Cossacks was gripping me, but it +was only briars and thorns. Making a last effort, I rose and looked +behind me. The Cossacks had halted; two were looking for a spot wide +enough to get their horses through. Meanwhile, I dragged myself on with +extreme difficulty. + +A little further on I was stopped by a fallen tree, but I was so weak +that I found it impossible to lift my legs over it, and I was obliged +to sit down. + +I had not been there five minutes, when I saw the Cossacks dismount +and fasten their horses to a bush. I thought they were at last coming +to take me, and I had already tried to make an effort to save myself, +when I saw that the two were busying themselves with a third, who had +received a furious sword-stroke on the face. The wounded man lifted up +a piece of his cheek that was hanging down on to his shoulder, while +the others got ready a handkerchief, which they passed under his chin +and tied on the top of his head. + +All this took place about ten paces away from me, the Cossacks looking +at me while they talked. + +When they had finished pasting their comrade's face, they bore down +directly on me. But now, thinking myself lost, I made a last effort, +mounted the tree-trunk, took up my loaded musket, and determined to +fire on the first who came near. I had only the two men to deal with, +as the third, after being bandaged, seemed to suffer like one of the +damned, walking up and down, and banging the hind-quarters of his horse +with his fists. + +Seeing my fighting position, the two Cossacks stopped, and made signs +that I was to go to them. I understood that they meant no ill towards +me, but I remained as I was, all the same. + +I heard on my left, in the direction of the road, shouts and oaths, +accompanied by musket-shots, which made my enemies uneasy, for I saw +them looking frequently in the direction of the sound. I hoped they +would leave me, for the sake of their own safety; but a fourth savage +now came up, as if making his escape. Seeing some of his comrades, he +then caught sight of me, and, on account of the underwood, dismounted, +fastened his horse up beside the others, and, pistol in hand, advanced +towards me, under cover of the trees; the two others followed in the +same fashion. It hardly needed all that ceremony for vanquishing me, +but, as luck would have it, at that moment the shouts on the right grew +louder, accompanied by shots; the horses, terrified, and not being +very securely fastened, escaped in the direction of the road, and the +Cossacks set off to pursue them. + +Considering my deplorable condition, I felt it would be impossible to +walk further without changing my clothes. It may be remembered that in +a portmanteau found on the mountain of Ponari I had some shirts and +white cotton breeches--clothes belonging to an army commissary. + +Having opened my knapsack, I drew out a shirt, and hung it on my +musket; then the breeches, which I placed beside me on the tree. I took +off my jacket and overcoat, and my waistcoat with the quilted yellow +silk sleeves that I had made out of a Russian lady's skirt at Moscow. +I untied the shawl which was wrapped round my body, and my trousers +fell about my heels. As for my shirt, I had not the trouble of taking +it off, for it had neither back nor front; I pulled it off in shreds. +And there I was, naked, except for a pair of wretched boots, in the +midst of a wild forest, at four o'clock in the afternoon, with eighteen +to twenty degrees of cold, for the north wind had begun to blow hard +again. + +On looking at my emaciated body, dirty, and consumed with vermin, I +could not restrain my tears. At last, summoning the little strength +that remained, I set about my toilet. With snow and the rags of my +old shirt I washed myself to the best of my power. Then I drew on my +new shirt of fine longcloth, embroidered down the front. I got into +the little calico breeches as quickly as I could, but I found them so +short that even my knees were not covered, and my boots only reaching +half-way up my leg, all this part was bare. Finally, I put on my yellow +silk waistcoat, my riding-jacket, my overcoat, over this my belts and +collar; and there I was, completely attired, except for my legs. After +this I got down from my tree-trunk, and going a hundred steps or so, I +caught sight of two people, a man and a woman, and I recognised that +they were Germans. They seemed to be frightened. I asked them if they +would like to come with me, but in a trembling voice the man answered +'No,' and, pointing in the direction of the road, he uttered the single +word 'Cossack!' + +They were a canteen man and his wife, belonging to the Rhine +Confederation, probably one of the Kowno garrison, who were following +up the retreat, and being, like myself, surprised in the forest by the +noise, had taken to flight. The woman advised her husband to join me, +but the man would not consent, and, in spite of all I could say to him, +I was obliged, to my regret, to go on alone. + +After having wandered haphazard for about half an hour, I stopped to +take my bearings, for night was coming on. In this part of the forest +there was a great deal of snow--neither track nor beaten road, nor +even a trace of one. Sometimes I sat down to rest upon trees lying +uprooted by the great winds. I had to grasp at the twigs of the bushes +in fear of falling, I was so weak. My legs were buried in the snow +above my boots, so that they got filled. However, I was not cold--on +the contrary, drops of sweat fell down my face; but my legs refused to +carry me. In consequence of the efforts I was making to drag myself +out of the snow, in which I sank often up to my knees, I felt an +extraordinary lassitude in my thighs. I will not attempt to describe +what I suffered. For more than an hour I was walking in the dark, +lighted only by the stars. Not succeeding in getting out of the forest +at that point nearest to the road, and able to do no more, exhausted, +breathless, I resolved to rest. I propped myself up against the trunk +of a tree and remained motionless. A moment afterwards I heard a dog +barking. I looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a light +shining. Sighing hopefully, and summoning all the strength I had, I +turned towards this new quarter. But thirty paces further on were four +horses, and, seated around a fire, four Cossacks. Three peasants were +there too. Amongst them were the canteen man and his wife whom I had +met, taken, no doubt, by those Cossacks who had wanted to make off with +me. I easily recognised the one with the sabre-cut across the face, for +I was not twenty steps away. + +I watched them for some time, wondering if it would not be better to +go and give myself up rather than die like a brute in the midst of the +wood. The light of the fire tempted me; but for some unknown reason +I did the exact opposite, and drew back. Still I watched them, and +noticed that several earthen pots were around the fire. They had straw +to lie on, and the horses had hay to eat. + +The number of trees made it impossible for me to follow the exact +direction I wished to take. I was obliged to bear to the left, +fortunately for me, for, after taking a few steps, I found the forest +clearer, but the snow in greater quantities, so that I fell several +times. One last time I rose and reproached God for my misfortunes, +who was yet watching over me. I now found myself at the end of the +forest and on the high road. There I fell upon my knees and thanked Him +against whom I had just rebelled. + +I walked straight on. The road was good, and no doubt the right one; +but the wind, which I had not felt in the forest, was too keen for my +bare legs. My coat, being long, kept off a little of the cold. + +Oddly enough, I was not hungry. I do not know whether the excitement I +had been through since the Cossacks' attack were the cause, or if it +were the effect of my sickness, but since leaving the stable where I +had had some soup and meat I had no desire to eat. However, fancying +that there ought to be a piece of meat still left in my bag, I searched +for it, and was lucky enough to find it, and, although hardened by the +frost, I ate it as I went along. My meal over, I raised my head, and +saw two men on horseback on my left, apparently advancing with caution, +and further on, along the road, was a man who seemed to be getting +along better than I was. I doubled my pace to join him, but all at once +he disappeared. + +Looking to the left, I caught sight of a little hut, and went in. But +hardly was I inside, when I heard the click of a musket, and a deep +voice said: + +'Who goes there?' + +'A friend,' I answered, and added: 'A soldier of the Imperial Guard!' + +'Ah, ah!' came the answer. 'Where the devil do you come from, comrade, +that I haven't met you while I've been walking all alone?' + +I related to him a part of what had happened to me since the Cossacks' +attack, of which he knew nothing. + +We resumed our march. I saw that my new comrade was an old Chasseur of +the Guard, and that he carried on his knapsack and around his neck a +pair of cloth trousers that apparently were of no use to him, but could +be of the greatest benefit to me. I begged him to let me buy them of +him, and showed him the naked state of my legs. + +'My poor comrade!' he said, 'I would willingly oblige you if I could, +but I must tell you that the trousers are burnt in several places, and +are full of great holes.' + +'Never mind that; let me have them. They may perhaps save my life.' + +He pulled them off his knapsack, saying: 'Take them.' + +Then I took two five-franc pieces from my bag, asking him if it was +enough. + +'Quite,' he answered. 'Make haste and let us be off, for I see two men +on horseback coming down this way. They may be Cossack scouts.' + +While he was speaking I had put on the trousers--I kept them in place +as I had the former ones, with the shawl wrapped round my body--and +we set off. We hadn't taken a hundred steps before my companion, who +walked faster than I did, was already twenty yards in front of me. I +saw him stoop and pick something up. At first I couldn't distinguish +what it was, but coming to the spot, I saw a dead man, and recognised +him as a Grenadier of the Royal Dutch Guard that, from the beginning +of the campaign, had formed part of the Imperial Guard. He had neither +knapsack nor bearskin, but he still had his musket, cartridge-pouch, +sabre, and great black gaiters on his legs, reaching above the knee. I +took the gaiters and put them over my trousers to cover the holes. Then +I set off walking again, rather faster than usual, as if the dead man +were running after me. + +Meanwhile the Chasseur had gone on, and I could not see him. Soon +afterwards I came to a great building, and recognising it as a +posting-house, I made up my mind to pass the night there. An infantry +soldier, the sentinel, called out: 'Who goes there?' + +'A friend,' I answered, and entered. + +The first thing I saw was about thirty men, some of them sleeping, +others cooking horseflesh and rice, round several fires. To the right +were three men, sitting round a bowl of rice. I sank down beside them. +After a moment I tried to speak to one of them, pulling him by his +coat. He looked at me without a word. Then, in a piteous tone, I said +in a low voice, that the others might not hear: 'Comrade, I entreat +you, let me eat some spoonfuls of rice. I will pay you. You will do me +a great service; you will save my life.' + +At the same time I offered him two pieces of five francs, which he +took, saying, 'Eat.' + +He handed me his spoon and an earthenware plate, and also gave up +his place near the fire. For my ten francs there were about fifteen +spoonfuls of rice still left. + +I looked about me when I had eaten to see if the old Chasseur were +there. I discovered him near a hayrack, busy cutting up a bearskin to +make ear-lappets of. This bearskin belonged to the Dutch Grenadier; he +had picked it up when I saw him stoop. I went over to him to rest, but +hardly was I stretched on the straw when the sentinel exclaimed, 'Look +out!' saying that he had caught sight of Cossacks. + +Immediately everybody jumped up and seized their arms. A shout was +heard, 'A friend--Frenchman!' + +Two cavalrymen entered the barn, and, dismounting, showed themselves. +But several began questioning them, in particular the old Chasseur, who +said: + +'How is it you are on horseback, and dressed like a Cossack? Probably +to rob and pillage our sick and wounded.' + +'Nothing of the sort,' replied one of the two troopers; 'when you see +us you will believe it. We can prove it, and when we are settled we +will tell you all about it.' + +The speaker, after having tied up the two horses and given them +some straw, of which there was plenty in the barn, returned to his +companion, who seemed to walk with difficulty, and, taking him by the +arm, led him up to a place beside me. After eating some bread and +drinking brandy, and having also given a pull to the old soldier and +myself, the man who had spoken before began: + +'Yesterday evening I saved my brother from the Cossacks, who had +wounded and taken him prisoner. I must tell you about it, as it is a +most wonderful story. + +'The evening before the arrival at Kowno, dying of cold and hunger, and +spent with fatigue, I wandered from the road with two officers of the +71st, armed, like myself, with muskets, to find some village in which +we could spend the night. But after having walked about half a league, +we were able to go no further without running the risk of perishing in +the snow, so we decided to pass the night in a deserted, tumble-down +house, where, most luckily, we found both wood and straw, and, as I +still had some flour left from Wilna, we made a good fire and had some +broth. + +'The next day, early in the morning, we set about finding our way back +to the high road; but just as we were about to leave the house we were +surrounded by about fifteen Cossacks. We stopped in front of the door +to reconnoitre them; they made signs to us to approach, but we did the +opposite. We re-entered the house, closed the door, and, opening the +two little windows, began a fire which made the Cossacks fly. At long +musket-shot they stopped, but we had reloaded our weapons and left +the house, firing a second volley, at which a horse and rider fell. +The latter freed himself of the horse and left it. We set off at our +quickest pace, but had hardly taken fifty steps before we saw them +bearing down upon us. + +'Directly afterwards they went to the right to pick up a portmanteau +off the horse we had shot. Soon they were lost to sight, and we gained +the road to Kowno, which we were to reach that same day. We were now +in the midst of over 6,000 stragglers, and, as it always happened amid +this rabble, I was separated from my comrades. + +'I walked all day, and it was hardly dark when I found myself near the +Niemen, and about a league from Kowno. As there were houses to be seen +on the other side, I decided to cross the river on the ice, so as to +find a shelter, as I did the night before. + +'On gaining the bank, I saw two or three houses about half a league +to the right, where I was received fairly well by the peasants, and +passed a quiet night. The next morning at daylight I took to the road, +to rejoin the column on the other side of Kowno; but hardly had I gone +a couple of hundred steps, when I was suddenly surrounded by a dozen +Cossacks, who, without doing me any harm, or even thinking of disarming +me, made me march in front of them in exactly the direction I had +wanted to take. I was a prisoner, though I could not realize it. + +'After an hour's walking, we came to a village. There I was relieved +of my arms and of my money, but I was lucky enough to save some pieces +of gold hidden in the lining of my waistcoat. I took off my shako and +covered my head with a cap of black sheepskin I had found. I noticed +that the Cossacks were laden with gold and silver, and that they +did not pay much attention to me, so I decided to take the first +opportunity of escaping. + +'It might have been about ten o'clock when we left the village. We met +another detachment of Cossacks escorting prisoners, some of whom were +men belonging to the Imperial Guard, taken in the sortie from Kowno. I +was placed among these. + +'We marched, with frequent stoppages, till about three o'clock. I +noticed that the leader was uncertain of the way, not knowing the +country. Before nightfall we had reached a little village, and were +put into a barn, where we all went through a very minute inspection. I +trembled for my gold, but I trembled for nothing. + +'The search was barely over when I heard my name called by a prisoner +unknown to me. "Here," I answered. Another prisoner at the far end +answered too. Then, moving in the direction whence the voice had +come, I asked who answered to the name of Dassonville. "I!" replied +my brother, whom you see here. Think of our surprise on finding each +other! We embraced, weeping. He told me that he had been wounded in the +leg on November 28th, near the Bérézina bridge. I told him my plan was +to make our escape before they forced us to recross the Niemen; for +being now in Pomerania, a country belonging to Prussia, we must take +the opportunity that offered. + +'The peasants brought us potatoes and water, a piece of good luck we +were far from expecting. They were distributed among us--four for each +of us. We threw ourselves upon them ravenously, and almost all declared +that just then it was better to be a prisoner eating potatoes than to +be free, but dying of hunger and cold on the high road. But I said +that, all the same, it would be better to get out of their clutches. +"Who knows," I said, "that they will not take us to Siberia!" I showed +them a possibility of escape, for, close to where I was lying beside +my brother, I had found out a place where, by taking down two boards, +we could get out easily. They agreed with me; but an hour afterwards, +as ill-luck would have it, we were told we must leave. Night had come +on; many of the men, worn out with fatigue, had fallen asleep. The +Cossacks, seeing their orders were not obeyed quickly, struck those +still lying down with the knout. They would have struck my brother, who +could not rise quickly enough because of his wound, but I placed myself +before him and warded off the blows, meanwhile helping him to rise, +and, instead of leaving the barn like the others, we hid ourselves +behind the door, and were lucky enough not to be seen. + +'The Cossacks and all the prisoners were gone; we did not dare to +breathe. Three Cossacks on horseback crossed the barn at a gallop, +looking to right and left to see if there was anyone left. When they +had gone, I dragged myself along to peep outside; I saw a peasant +coming, and crept back to my place. He entered the barn on the side +opposite to us; we had just time to cover ourselves with straw. Very +luckily for us, he did not see us, and shut the two doors. We were now +alone. + +'It might have been six o'clock. We rested for another hour, and then I +rose to open the door; but I couldn't manage it, so I had to return to +my first project, that of getting out by removing the two boards. This +I did. I told my brother to wait for me, and got out. + +'I went as far as the entrance to the village. At the first house I +saw a light coming through a window, and, peeping in, there were three +great Cossack rascals counting money at a table, a peasant holding a +light for them. + +'I was just going back to rejoin my brother in the barn, when I saw +one of them make a movement towards the door, open it, and come out. +Luckily for me, a sledge laden with wood was near, so I lay flat on my +stomach in the snow behind it. + +'The Cossack then re-entered the house and closed the door. Instantly I +rose to fly, but, afraid of being seen, instead of crossing in front of +the window, I took a turn to the right. I hadn't gone ten steps, when a +door opened, and to escape notice I crept into a stable, and hid myself +under the trough from which the horses were eating. I had hardly done +so, when a peasant entered with a lantern, followed by a Cossack. I +thought it was all over with me. + +'The Cossack was carrying a portmanteau; he fastened it upon his horse +and went out, closing the door. + +'I was just going myself, when I thought of taking a horse with me. As +quickly as possible, I seized the one with the portmanteau, but, in +turning his head round to get him out of the stable, something fell +on my shoulder; it was the Cossack's lance, propped up against his +horse. I took it away with me for defence, and went out. I reached the +barn, helped my brother to mount, and, taking the bridle in my hand, +proceeded in the direction of the road. + +'When we had gone a couple of hundred steps, I looked round to see +if anything was coming. I handed my brother the Cossack's lance, and +covered him with the great camel's-hair cape that I found on the horse. +After half an hour's walking, we reached the road; then, turning in the +direction of Gumbinnen, we saw some peasants busy removing the wheels +of a deserted waggon. To avoid passing near them, we took a road to +our left, leading to the entrance of a village. We wished we could +have avoided the village, so fearful were we of falling again into the +enemy's clutches. God only knows what would have happened to us, for, +seeing us with a horse and weapon belonging to one of their people, +they would have made sure we had killed the owner. + +'We had stopped to consult, when we heard a noise behind us; we thought +at once of flight, but there was no chance, for the masses of snow +on each side of the road prevented our getting into the ditches. Our +situation became critical, and I did not dare tell my fears to my +brother on account of his wound. + +'We were starting again straight on, when we saw in front of us the +cause of our fright--some men only a few steps away from us. They came +to a stop, calling to us in German: "Good-evening, friend Cossacks!" + +'"Listen," I said to my brother: "you are a Cossack, and I am your +prisoner. You can speak a little German, so only keep cool." + +'As he had only a dilapidated sergeant's cap upon his head, I exchanged +it for mine, which was like a Cossack's. We recognised these people for +the peasants we had seen a while before busy round the wheel on the +road. There were four of them, dragging two of the wheels behind them +with ropes. My brother inquired if there were any fellow-Cossacks in +the village. They said, "No." + +'"Then," said he, "take me to the burgomaster, for I am cold and +hungry, besides being wounded and obliged to look after this French +prisoner." + +'One of them then told us that they had been waiting for the Cossacks +since morning, and that they would have done well to come, for more +than thirty Frenchmen had lodged with them the previous night, and they +had almost all of them been disarmed as they were leaving. + +'On hearing this we wished ourselves at the devil; but just then +some more peasants came up, who, seeing me being led by a Cossack, +threatened and insulted me. They were reproved by an old man, who, I +learned afterwards, was a Protestant minister, the curé of the place. + +'We were led before the burgomaster, who made my brother exceedingly +welcome, telling him that he should be quartered with him, and his +horse taken care of; but as for the Frenchman, he would have him sent +to the prison. + +'"That is to say," he said, "if you do not want to keep him about you +as a servant." + +'"I would like that," answered my brother, "especially as I am wounded, +and this Frenchman is a Surgeon-Major. He will dress my leg." + +'"Surgeon-Major!" replied the burgomaster; "that is lucky, for we have +here a good fellow in the village who had his arm broken this morning +by a Frenchman. The Surgeon-Major will set his arm for him." + +'We were taken into a very warm room, where there was a bed intended +for the Cossack; but he refused it, and asked for some straw for +himself, and some for me, which he had put to one side so as not +to awaken suspicion. For brother Cossack they brought bread, lard, +sauer-kraut, beer, and gin; potatoes and water for me. The burgomaster +showed my brother a quantity of weapons in a corner of the room; they +had belonged to the Frenchmen whom the peasants had disarmed that +morning. There were pistols, carbines, five or six muskets, as well as +cavalry swords and several packets of cartridges. + +'While we were at our meal, a peasant with his arm in a sling entered +the room, accompanied by a woman; it was the man with the broken arm. +He came and sat down near me, so I decided to go in for bravado. I +asked for linen bandages, and a little splint of pine-wood. The arm +was broken clean between the wrist and the elbow. During the last five +years, I had seen so many operations that I did not hesitate to set +to work. There was no wound to be seen. I signed to a peasant to hold +the sick man by the shoulders, and to the wife to hold his hand. Then I +set, and pretty well, too, I think, the broken bone, just as I should +have set a piece of wood. To begin with, I felt my way a little, while +the devil of a fellow shouted and made villainous faces. Then I applied +compresses, sprinkled with schnapps; afterwards four splints that I +bound up with linen bandages. The man felt better, and told me I was a +good fellow. His wife and the burgomaster complimented me, and I was +able to breathe. They gave me a large glass of gin to reward me. + +'But this was not all. The burgomaster gave me to understand I must go +and see a woman who for the last few days had been suffering horribly; +it was a case of a young woman in labour. They had been to Kowno for an +accoucheur, but all was in such disorder because of the Russians and +French that one could not be found. + +'"As a general thing," he said, "it is a service the old women render, +but it seems this is a complicated case." + +'I tried to make the burgomaster understand that, having lost my +surgical instruments, I could undertake no operation; that, moreover, I +was no accoucheur--I understood nothing about it. But I couldn't make +myself understood; they thought it was simply ill-will on my part. I +was obliged to go. Conducted by two peasants and three women, I was led +to the end of the village. I do not know if it was my having left such +a warm room, but I was as cold as death. Finally we reached the place. + +'I was taken into a room where I found three old women, just like the +three Fates; they were round a young woman lying on a bed, who was +shrieking every now and again a great deal louder than the man with +the broken arm. One of the old women took me up to the sick woman, +and a second lifted the coverlet. Imagine my embarrassment! Saying +nothing, I looked at the three old crones, to gather from their looks +what they wanted me to do. But they were waiting likewise, looking at +me to see what I intended. The sick woman, too, had her eyes fixed upon +me. Finally, I understood one of the old women to say I must find out +whether the child still lived. I made up my mind, and placed my great +paw, as cold as ice, on the patient. The touch made her leap up and +utter a scream enough to make the house shake. This cry was followed +by a second; the three old cronies seized her, and in less than five +minutes all was over--a Prussian subject was born. + +'Then, proud of my fresh cure, I rubbed my hands; and as I knew what +was usual in my village under similar circumstances, the infant being +bathed in warm water and wine, I ordered some to be brought in a basin. +Afterwards I asked for some schnapps. They gave me a bottleful of it. I +tasted it several times; then, taking a piece of linen which I wetted +in the warm water, I sprinkled the schnapps upon it, and applied the +compress to the patient, who was feeling extremely comfortable, and who +thanked me, pressing my hand. + +'I left, escorted by the two men who had brought me, and by two of the +old duennas. I was reconducted before the burgomaster, and praised up +to the skies. My Cossack brother had been in a fearful fright, but was +delighted to see me again. + +'I had still one wounded man to patch up, and that was himself. I +bathed the wound with warm water, and dressed it with a little more +knowledge of what I was about. We were left alone. When I was certain +that everyone was asleep, I picked out two pairs of pistols, as well as +a beautiful infantry sword, and two lots of cartridges of the right +size for our pistols. We took the precaution to load these at once. +Mine were hidden while awaiting the time of our departure, and then we +rested. + +'In the morning they brought us something to eat. This time I was +treated to the same food as the Cossack. While we were breakfasting, +the burgomaster complimented me on my skill, asked me if I would +like to remain with them, and said that he would give me one of his +daughters in marriage. I told him that that could not be, as I was +already married and had children. Then, turning to the Cossack, he +asked him in what direction he was going. "I am going to rejoin my +brother and my comrades, who are following the road to the town; I do +not remember its name, but it is the first I should come to along the +road." "I know," said the burgomaster, "you mean Wilbalen. Well, we +will go together. I will guide you to a place about a league from here, +where you will find more than 200 Cossacks; for I have just received +orders to send there everything in the way of hay and flour, and to +follow afterwards myself. We will set out in half an hour. I will get +your horse ready with my own." + +'Hardly had he gone from the room, when I thrust my pistols into my +belt, and about thirty cartridges into my pockets. My Cossack brother +fastened on the sword I had chosen for him, and also put a pair of +pistols in his belt. A moment afterwards they came to tell us that all +was ready for our departure. I took the Cossack's portmanteau, and we +went out. + +[Illustration: BESIDE THE ROAD, NOT FAR FROM PNÉWA, NOVEMBER 8, 1812. + + _From a sketch made at the time by an officer of Napoleon's army. The + Emperor stands in front of the fire, which is made of broken wheels + and bits of gun-carriages._] + +'We found the burgomaster at the posting-station in travelling dress. +He wore a long coat lined with fine sheepskin, a fur cap, and boots of +the same. His servant wore a sheepskin coat. I helped my brother the +Cossack to mount; and, as I was fastening on the portmanteau, I said +softly, so as not to be heard, that, should the opportunity offer, he +must seize the burgomaster's horse and coat, and that of his servant as +well, so that by means of these disguises we might escape; and that, in +our present position, we must act promptly, as it meant life or death. + +'We set off on our march, the servant in front as guide, I next and +between the two on horseback, as a prisoner would. A little before the +end of the village we took a road to the left, and after a quarter of +an hour's walking we reached a little pine-wood. While crossing it, +I thought of putting my project into execution. After we had crossed +the wood, I looked in front of me and to right and left, looking +out for anything likely to harm us. Seeing nothing, I strode to the +burgomaster's side, and seizing the horse's bridle with one hand, and +presenting a pistol with the other, I ordered him to dismount. As you +may imagine, he was terribly taken aback; he looked at the Cossack as +if to tell him to run me through the body. Meanwhile the servant, with +a great stick, rushed to knock me down; but, without letting go of +the horse's bridle, I struck him such a violent blow across the chest +with the butt-end of the pistol that I sent him sprawling yards off, +and threatened to kill him if he made the slightest movement towards +getting up. + +'While this was happening, my brother told the burgomaster that he +had better dismount; but he was so stupefied that the order had to be +repeated several times. Finally he dismounted, and I gave his animal to +my brother to hold. + +'Immediately I took off the servant's boots, coat, and cap. Then, +taking off my own cloak and coat and my cap, I threw them down on him, +forcing him to put on the coat, so that in his turn he looked like the +prisoner. + +'Imagine the burgomaster's face at seeing his servant dressed up in +such a fashion! But that was not all. Telling my brother, who had +dismounted, to keep an eye on the servant, I effected a change of +costume in his master, who, at my invitation and without much trouble, +gave me his overcoat, boots, and cap. I gave him in exchange my coat +and his servant's cap. Then I made my brother put on the servant's +coat and boots, and when he was completely attired and remounted, and +in a position to mount guard over our two prisoners, I dressed myself +in my turn in the burgomaster's clothes. Mounting his horse, I took +possession of his sword, and we set off at a gallop, leaving our two +Prussians thunderstruck, and probably not knowing whether my brother +was really a Cossack or not. We did not feel comfortable, either, for, +although disguised, we were afraid of falling into the clutches of the +Cossacks of whom the burgomaster had spoken before our setting out. + +'After advancing at a gallop for about ten minutes we reached a little +village, where the inhabitants, on seeing us, began shouting out: +"Hurrah! hurrah! Our friends the Cossacks! Hurrah!" + +'They told us that our comrades had slept at a large village a quarter +of a league away, and that they had left to cut off the French in their +retreat before they should have reached the wood which intersected the +route. They wanted to make us dismount and drink, but as we were not +easy in our minds, we were satisfied with some glasses of schnapps +without dismounting. Then my brother shouted "Hurrah!" and we decamped, +carrying off the bottle of schnapps, and accompanied by the hurrahs of +the whole population. + +'It might have been about three o'clock when we saw the wood in front +of us and heard firing. A fight was going on between the French and +the Russian cavalry near a house on the borders of the road. So the +peasants had not lied to us: the Cossacks had really intended to cut +off the retreat of the column of stragglers before they could reach the +wood. + +'On seeing this we set our horses to a gallop, and, without thinking +of our resemblance to the Cossacks, we stationed ourselves along the +road, in order to try and gain the entrance of the wood towards which +the stragglers were rushing. They took us for Cossacks, and ran faster. +The Cossacks, on their side, taking us for some of themselves, and +thinking we were pursuing the French, came a dozen strong to support us +and follow us into the wood. I had a Cossack to my right, my brother to +my left; behind me, the remaining Cossacks. Anyone would have thought I +was their chief. + +'The road was hardly wide enough to allow three horses to go abreast. +After having trotted forward about fifty yards, we saw several of our +officers barring the way with crossed bayonets, and shouting to those +in flight, "Don't mind these dogs! let them come on!" + +'I seized the opportunity, and, slackening my horse's pace, I slashed +at the face of the Cossack to my right with my sword.'[67] He took +another step and stopped, turning his head in my direction; but, seeing +that I was preparing to go on, he turned and escaped, bellowing. Those +who were following did the same, and our horses imitated the movement, +so that there we were, going in our turn after the Cossacks, who ran as +if all the devils were after them. + +'I caught sight of a road to the right, with a Cossack in front of us. +Seeing us, he slackened speed, stopped, and spoke to us in a language +we did not understand. I hit him a violent blow on the head with my +sabre, which I believe would have severed it had it not been for the +bearskin cap he wore. Astonished at this manner of reply, he made his +escape, and being the better horseman, was soon out of sight. A quarter +of an hour later we had reached the other side of the wood. There was +the Cossack again, who, seeing us, set off at a gallop, and we had no +desire to follow him. We skirted the wood to its extremity. Afterwards +we manoeuvred about till evening to find the right road, and we got +here with much difficulty. + +'Now,' concluded the sergeant, 'we must rest a little, and set off, for +at daybreak we may have to be off again.' + +On this we each of us settled down to take a little rest, while six men +of the Kowno garrison, soldiers in good condition, voluntarily offered +to take a turn at watching at the door of the barn. + +We had not been resting an hour, when we heard a shout, 'Who goes +there?' Directly afterwards a man came in and fell down full length. +Some of the men rose to help him. He was a gunner in the Imperial +Guard, who had been found at the bivouac I had missed. He had more than +twenty wounds on his body, lance-thrusts and sword-cuts. They asked for +linen to bandage him with. I hastened to give one of my best shirts. +The sergeant, one of the two brothers, made him swallow some drops of +gin; the old Chasseur gave some lint that he drew out of the depths of +his bearskin. The wounded man was made more comfortable, and settled as +well as could be. Happily, his wounds were mainly on the back and head; +a few on the right arm, but his legs were sound. + +I went up to ask him how he was. Almost before looking at me, he +exclaimed: 'It is you, sergeant! You were wise not to stay at the +house by the wood where you had made up your mind to pass the night, +for a quarter of an hour after your departure more than 400 Cossacks +came up.[68] We took up arms to defend ourselves, being then about 400 +men. Seeing that we were ready to give them a reception, they halted; +a detachment was formed, with an officer at their head, who advanced, +telling us in good French to surrender. + +'But a Chasseur of the Guard, named Michaut--the old _cantinière's_ +friend--left the ranks, and advancing so as to be heard by the Russian +officer: "Tell me, you _lapin_, how long have Frenchmen surrendered +with arms in their hands? Come on, we are waiting for you!" The officer +instantly retired. They prepared to charge; we waited for them, and +when they were about five-and-twenty yards off half our men fired. +Some of them fell. Then, thinking that we all had discharged our +weapons, and that we should not be able to reload, they advanced again, +shouting and hurrahing. But they were met by another volley, that put +the greater number of their men _hors de combat_. At this they took +to flight, and we thought we were rid of them; but five minutes later +they returned in greater numbers, and just at the moment when we were +retreating to the wood, not having had again time to reload, we were +overcome by the blows of lance and sword. Almost all were killed or +wounded. + +'I remained on the ground, wounded, and pretending to be dead; and, +finding myself on the edge of a ditch bordering the road, I rolled into +it. The peasants came up, and set to work to despoil the dead and +wounded, accompanied by some Cossacks whose horses had been killed. I +was lucky enough to escape notice, and when they had withdrawn, raising +myself with difficulty, I gained the wood and crossed it. And, finally, +my friends, I am so lucky as to have met you. But what is to become of +me?' + +'We will lead you,' replied the soldiers of the garrison. 'And I,' said +the sergeant brother, 'will lend you my horse.' + +In spite of the sleep which overwhelmed me, I began to think of setting +off, for, not being strong, I took a great deal of time to go a very +little way. A young soldier offered to accompany me, if I wanted to set +out at once; I accepted his offer, especially as this young man, who +had suffered nothing, was strong and would be able to help me. And so +we took our departure. + +We entered a wood, through which the road lay. Here the soldier, who +was unarmed, wished to carry my gun; I gave it up to him, as, in my +feeble condition, he was better able to make use of it than I. After +walking I do not know how long, supported by my young companion's arm +(for I often dozed while marching), we reached the extremity of the +wood; it might have been about four o'clock in the morning, December +16th. + +We walked on, haphazard, for about another half-hour; very luckily, the +moon rose. But with it came a high wind and so fine a snow that it cut +our faces and prevented our seeing before us. + +I suffered greatly from the longing to sleep, and without the help +of the little soldier, who held me all the time by the arm, I should +certainly have fallen down sleeping. My companion pointed out to +me a large group of buildings some way in front. I saw it was a +posting-station, and concluded from that that we had gone about three +leagues. In a quarter of an hour's time we had reached the doors. +Entering, I threw myself down near a fire. There were several left by +the soldiers, almost all of the Imperial Guard, who had marched on +to Wilbalen. Some gunners, also of the Guard, were still there, but +getting ready to leave. + +I had slept peacefully for about ten minutes, when I felt myself shaken +by the arm. I tried to resist, but someone raised me by my shoulders; +I awoke at last and heard a shout coming from an old gunner: 'The +Cossacks! Get up, my boy! Courage a little longer!' + +Eleven Cossacks had come to a standstill, and were probably only +awaiting our departure to come and take our places. 'Come,' said the +gunner, 'we must give up the position and beat a retreat on Wilbalen. +We have only another league; so come, let us be off!' + +We had to take to the road again; there were six of us--four gunners, +the little soldier and myself. We left the barn. It was December 16th, +the fifty-ninth day's march since leaving Moscow. The wind was high +and the cold terrible. All at once, in spite of all that my comrade +could do to hold me, I sank down, overcome with sleep and fatigue. The +efforts of my companion and two gunners were necessary to get me on my +feet, although when there I was still asleep. I awoke, however, when +a gunner rubbed my face with snow. Then he made me swallow a little +brandy; that pulled me together a little. + +They each took an arm, and so made me walk much faster than I could +have done alone. It was in this way that I reached Wilbalen. On +entering the town, we learned that King Murat was in it with all the +remnant of the Imperial Guard. + +In spite of the great cold there was plenty of bustle going on in the +town on the part of the soldiers, who were in hopes of buying bread +and brandy from the numerous Jews in the place. At the door of each +house, too, there was a sentinel, and whenever anyone presented himself +for admission he was answered that some General lodged there, or some +Colonel, or that there was no more room. We were told by others to go +and 'look for our own regiment.' The gunners found some comrades of +their own, and went off with them. I was beginning to be in despair, +when I was told by a peasant that in the first street to the left there +were only a few people. We went there, but always found a sentinel at +every door, and everywhere the same response. I saw for myself that +inside the houses the men were heaped up on one another. However, we +could not remain very long in the street without dying of cold. + +It would be difficult to express how much I suffered on this day from +cold, but still more from disappointment at seeing myself repulsed +everywhere, and that, too, by comrades. + +At last I spoke to a Grenadier, who told me there were people +everywhere, but ill-will and selfishness as well, and that no attention +must be paid to the houses being sentinelled; that one must go in, 'For +I see,' he continued, 'that you are in a bad way.' + +Making a sign to my comrade to follow me, I turned to enter the first +house I came to. An old fellow barred the way with his musket, saying +that it was the Colonel's quarters, and that there was no more room. +I answered that, even were it the Emperor's lodging, there would have +to be room for two, and that I should go in. Just then I caught sight +of another Grenadier busy fastening a pair of officer's epaulettes on +to the shoulders of his overcoat. To my great surprise I recognised +Picart, my old companion, whom I had not seen since leaving Wilna, on +December 6th. Instantly I said: + +'Tell Colonel Picart that Sergeant Bourgogne is asking him for room.' + +'You are mistaken,' he answered. + +But without listening to him, I forced my way past the sentry; the +other followed me, and we entered. + +No sooner did Picart recognise me, than he threw his big epaulettes on +to the straw, exclaiming: + +'_Jour de Dieu!_ it is _mon pays_, my sergeant! How is it that you are +alone? Have you been in the rear-guard?' + +Without replying, I let myself fall upon the straw, exhausted with +fatigue, want of sleep, and hunger, and suffocated as well with the +heat of a great stove. Picart ran to his knapsack, brought out a bottle +of brandy, and made me swallow a few drops, which brought me round a +little. Then I begged him to let me rest. It might have been about +eight o'clock in the morning: it was two in the afternoon when I awoke. + +Picart placed between my knees a little earthen plate of soup with +rice, which I ate with pleasure, looking meanwhile all round me, trying +to collect my thoughts. Finally everything became clear to me, so that +I could remember all that had happened during the last twenty-four +hours. + +Picart broke into my reflections to tell me all that had happened to +him since we were separated at Wilna: + +'After having driven away the Russians who showed themselves on the +heights of Wilna, we were brought back to the square; from there we +were led to the suburb on the Kowno road, to act as guard to King +Murat, who had just left the town. There I looked round for you, +thinking you had followed, and was astonished not to see you. At +midnight we had to set out for Kowno, to accompany Murat and Prince +Eugène, who also was lodged in the suburb. But on reaching the foot +of the mountain we found it impossible to cross it on account of the +quantity of snow and the number of carriages and waggons along the road. + +'When the day had broken, the King and Prince, by making a sweep around +the mountain, succeeded in continuing on their way; but I and many +others, having no horses, began to climb the road again. Lucky for +us, for we had the opportunity to _monter à la roue_ and make a few +five-franc pieces ... at your service, you hear, _mon pays_.' + +Picart gave me the details of his journey up to the moment when chance +had brought about our meeting. I then told him that every time I met +him it gave me the same pleasure, but that this time I was especially +pleased at finding him a Colonel. He began to laugh, telling me it was +a _ruse de guerre_, which he had played to get a good lodging. He had +appointed himself Colonel the day before, and was recognised as such by +those about him, who showed him all respect. + +Picart told me that at three o'clock a review was to be held by Murat, +when orders would be given, telling the remnants of the different corps +the places at which they were to meet. I decided to go, so as to meet +my comrades there. Picart shaved me with a blunt razor that we had +found in the kit of the Cossack killed on November 23rd. It was my +first shave since leaving Moscow, and although he ground the razor on +his scabbard, and then passed it over his hand to give it an edge, he +none the less rasped my face. + +At the appointed hour we left our lodging to repair to the rendezvous. +The muster was to take place in a large street. Soldiers of all +ranks and regiments came. Several of the veterans of the Guard, to +draw attention to themselves, had dressed themselves as if for grand +parade: to see them one would have thought they had come from Paris, +rather than from Moscow. At the rendezvous I had the luck to meet all +those with whom I had been on the preceding day, as well as a good many +others whom I had not seen since leaving Wilna; but our numbers had +diminished. Grangier said to me: + +'I hope you will not leave us again; you must come to our quarters, and +as we are allowed to make use of sledges or carts to travel in, we will +try to find one.' + +We stopped in the street a long time waiting for King Murat. Meanwhile +there were many surprises at meeting friends, in finding those living +whom one had long thought dead. I had the pleasure of meeting Sergeant +Humblot, with whom I had been travelling the evening before, and from +whom I had been separated in the wood at the time of the Cossack +attack. I learned also that the _cantinières_, Marie and Mother Gâteau, +had got into good quarters. + +As Murat did not come, the names of those men unable to walk were +taken, these to be despatched the next day at six o'clock in the +morning on sledges furnished by the authorities. We could not find one +for ourselves, however, and had to comfort ourselves by preparing to +pass a good night, so as to be fit to march the following day. + +Picart had said that he wanted to speak to me before we separated. +Hardly was the order for departure given, when I felt a smart tap on my +shoulder. I turned and saw Picart. He made a sign to me, and Grangier +also, to follow him, and when we had moved away a little, he said: + +'You are going to do me the kindness of accepting a good pull of white +wine--Rhine wine.' + +'Is it possible?' I exclaimed. + +For only answer he said: 'Follow me.' + +He then told us that the evening before he had made the acquaintance of +a Jew with the idea of selling him things he wanted to dispose of--his +Colonel's epaulettes, for instance--and as he had been often taken for +a Jew, he passed himself off as one, saying that his mother was the +daughter of the Rabbi at Strasbourg, and that he was called Salomon. +The Jew was delighted at the hope of making a good bargain, and had +pointed out to him his house, assuring him that he would find some good +Rhine wine there. + +We went to the back of the synagogue. To one side was a little house, +where Picart stopped. He looked all round to see if anyone was there; +then, pinching his nose, he called out in a nasal voice, 'Jacob! Jacob!' + +At a barred opening we saw a figure appear in a long fur cap and +adorned with a dirty beard. Recognising Picart, he said to him in +German: 'Ah, my dear Salomon, it is you. I will open the door.' + +We entered a very warm room, stinking and disgusting. As soon as we +were seated on a bench around the stove, we saw three other Jews, who, +Jacob said, constituted his family. + +Picart, who knew how to go to work with his pretended co-religionists, +began by opening his knapsack and drawing out, to begin with, a pair +of epaulettes--not a Colonel's, but a Field-Marshal's--and a parcel of +lace stripes, the whole of it new, picked up on the Wilna mountain out +of the deserted waggons. + +There were also some silver covers that had come from Moscow. The Jews +opened their eyes wide. Picart now asked for wine and bread. Some +excellent Rhine wine was brought. The bread was not exactly of the same +quality, but just then it was better than one could have hoped for. + +While we were drinking, the Jews were inspecting the articles spread +out upon the bench. Jacob asked Picart how much he wanted for all that. + +'Name it yourself,' answered Picart. + +The Jew mentioned a price very far from what Picart wanted. + +He said: 'No.' + +Jacob went a little higher. + +This time Picart, on whom the wine was beginning to take effect, looked +at the Jew sneeringly, and answered him by laying a finger on the side +of his nose, and humming the Rabbi's chant in the synagogue on the +Sabbath. + +The four Jews began to rock like Chinamen, and chant verses. Grangier +looked at Picart, thinking he was tipsy, and I, in spite of my +sufferings, was almost dying of laughter. At last Picart stopped +singing to pour us out some drink. Meanwhile the Jews talked together +about the price of the articles. Jacob offered a still higher price; +but it was not yet as much as Picart wanted, so he recommenced his +chant, till finally a bargain was concluded, on condition that he +received gold. Jacob paid Picart in Prussian gold pieces. He was +probably satisfied with his bargain, for he gave us nuts and onions. +The wine had gone to our heads, for when Picart received his money we +began to 'perform the Sabbath' like him. + +This charivari would have gone on a long time if there hadn't been a +knocking at the door made by the butt-ends of muskets. Jacob looked +through the grating and saw several soldiers, who told him they were +billeted on him, and that if he didn't open at once the door would be +beaten in. He opened directly. We made up our mind to retire, and I +said good-bye to Picart, with a promise to meet again at Elbing, the +place to which we were under orders to march. + +On reaching our lodging we had some rice bouillon; then I attended to +my feet and shoes and stockings, and, as we were in a warm room and on +fresh straw, I soon fell asleep. + +The next day--the 17th--by five o'clock in the morning the town looked +deserted. Men who had not been under a roof for two months, and who now +slept warmly, were in no hurry to leave their quarters. Two or three +drummers, still remaining among those belonging to the Guard, beat +the _grenadière_ for us, and the _carabinière_ for the infantry. When +in the street, we noticed that it was less cold than on the preceding +evening. A sledge drove up, drawn by two horses, and stopped. It was +driven by two Jews, and laden with groceries. I proposed that they +should drive us--for payment, of course--as far as Darkehmen, our day's +destination, or that we should seize the sledge if they refused. + +At first, under one pretext or another, they made a good many +difficulties. We offered half the price down, the other half on our +arrival. The Jews then agreed. The price was fixed at forty francs, +we paying them the half at once; but as they reckoned the five-franc +pieces at the value of only a thaler each (worth no more than four), +that cost us an additional ten francs. We made no difficulty, however, +and to win their confidence we foolishly let them see we had a great +deal of money. A sergeant-major named Pierson showed them several +pieces of silver plate he had. On this they began to speak in Hebrew, +so that we could not understand what they were saying. + +There were five of us--Leboude, Grangier, Pierson, Oudict, and myself. +The sledge was unloaded, the horses rested, and we prepared to start. +We placed our muskets in the bottom of the sledge, our knapsacks upon +them, and off we went. It was past six o'clock; the entire remnant of +the army was already in motion, but without order or organization, +so that we could hardly get out of the town. Those who had not the +strength to walk tried to seize the sledges. + +Our drivers made us understand that they were going to take us round a +road to the left, where there was not a soul to be seen, and that in +less than an hour we should have rejoined the highway and overtaken the +head of the column. We ought to have inquired why other sledge-drivers, +who ought to have known of the road, did not take it, as it was such a +good one; but this we did not think of. After we had been travelling +at a fast trot a good quarter of an hour, I saw that the way we were +following was turning imperceptibly towards the left, separating us +from the road the army was following, and that the ground over which we +were gliding, and which they made us believe was a road, was nothing +but an embankment between a canal on our right and a ditch on our left. +I wanted to point this out to my comrades, so I shouted as loud as I +could several times, 'Halt! Stop!' + +Grangier asked me what I wanted. + +I redoubled my cries: 'They are tricking us! We are with rascals!' + +Then Pierson, who was on the front seat, carrying a silver urn that +he had brought from Moscow, and which he continually made use of for +brewing tea, began to shout 'Halt!' in his turn. + +The rascal Jews jumped down from the bundle of hay on which they were +seated, and, still going on, but not so rapidly, they took the horses +by the bridle, turned the sledge, and upset us from the top to the +bottom of the bank into the ditch. Happily for me, I was sitting at the +back, with my legs hanging over the side of the sledge, so I had been +able to see their intention, and letting myself slip down, I avoided +the fall; but my comrades rolled to the bottom, more than twenty-five +feet, and came down, bruised all over, on the ice. As their feet and +hands were frozen, they shouted loudly. These cries changed into cries +of rage against the Jews, who, keeping their hold upon the horses' +bridles, had prevented the sleigh, although overturned, from rolling +to the bottom, and had by now already dragged it to the edge of the +bank. They were preparing to escape with our baggage; but I drew my +sword, and gave one of the Jews a cut on his head. He had to thank his +fur cap that his head wasn't split in two. I struck him a second blow, +which he parried with his left hand covered with sheepskin. They would +have escaped us, but Pierson came up to help me, while the others, +still at the bottom of the embankment--which they had not the strength +to climb--were swearing and shouting to us to kill the Jews. The one +whom I had struck escaped by crossing the canal; the other, who was +holding the horses, asked for mercy, saying it was his comrade's fault. +Pierson, however, gave him a few blows with the flat of his sword, +while he entreated pardon, calling us 'General' and 'Colonel.' + +Pierson, taking the horse's bridle, ordered the Jew to go down and +help our comrades to climb out. He hastened to obey, and was rewarded +by blows of the fist very forcibly applied. When they were all up +again, Leboude announced that we had acquired a right to the sledge and +horses, as these two rascals had attempted to kill us in order to make +off with our possessions. + +We ordered the Jew to drive us at a gallop, and by the shortest way, to +where we might rejoin the army, but we had to go back the whole way we +had come. + +When we got near the town, the Jew wanted to go there under pretext of +fetching something from his house; no doubt it was to give us up to +the Cossacks, who were now filling the town. We gave him a taste of +sword-point in his back, and threatened to kill him if he took another +step in the direction of the town. Accordingly, he hastened to turn to +the right, the road the army had taken; we caught sight of the last +stragglers a long distance ahead. We got up with them a quarter of an +hour later, and then, rapidly descending a hill, left them behind. + +I was at the back of the sledge; the pole of one of the sledges, +descending, caught me on the right side, and threw me six feet out +on the snow. I lay unconscious. A quarter-master belonging to the +Mamelukes, who knew me, hurried to lift me up and seat me upon the +snow.[69] My comrades came running up, too; they imagined the pole had +wounded me, but my clothes, fortunately, had deadened the blow. Also, +as luck would have it, the edge of the pole was covered with sheepskin. + +I was lifted up and placed again upon the sledge, and, except for some +sickness, I was no worse for the accident. + +It might have been about nine o'clock when we arrived at a large +village; a great many men were already there. We turned into a house to +warm ourselves; we left our sledge at the door, after having taken the +precaution to unload our baggage and make the Jew come in with us, for +fear that he might make off with our conveyance. + +The soldiers who were warming themselves told us that herrings and gin +were on sale in the village. As the others had been very kind to me, +and as they all, except myself, had frozen feet, I undertook to go for +them, and on leaving I recommended them to keep their eyes upon the +sledge. + +'Don't bother about that,' said Pierson; 'I'll answer for it.' + +I went off with our Jew as guide and interpreter. He led me to the +house of one of his friends, where I found some herrings, some gin, +and some poor rye-cakes. While I was warming myself over a glass of +gin, I noticed my guide had disappeared with another Jew, with whom he +had been talking a moment before. Seeing that he did not come back, +I returned to rejoin my friends with the provisions; but on nearing +the house I saw that the sledge was gone. My comrades, calmly warming +themselves, asked me for the provisions. I asked them for the sledge. +They looked into the street; the sledge was gone! Without saying a +word, I threw the provisions down, and, feeling miserable, lay on the +straw beside the stove. Half an hour afterwards there was a call to +arms, and we were told that two short leagues away there were sledges +for everybody, so that Gumbinnen should be reached the same day. + +On reaching the place, we found a great number of sledges, and directly +afterwards they made us set off. During the journey I felt ill; the +movement of the sledge made me sea-sick. I chose at last to march +for a while on foot, but I nearly perished with the cold, which had +now become almost unbearable. My comrades happily saw my wretched +condition, had the sledge stopped, and came to fetch me. I couldn't go +a step further. We reached Gumbinnen none too soon. We all five of us +received a billet, and had a very warm room and some straw. + +The first thing we did after we were installed was to inquire if +anything to eat and drink was to be had for money. The villager, who +looked like a good fellow, said he would do his best to get us what we +wanted; an hour later he brought us soup, roast goose and potatoes, +beer and gin. We devoured it with our eyes, but, unhappily, the goose +was so tough that we could eat only very little of it, and that little +nearly choked us; we were reduced to potatoes. + +With Sergeant-Major Oudict, I went into the town to see if we could +find anything to buy. Chance led us to a house where Oudict met a +Surgeon-Major, a fellow-countryman. He was quartered with the remnant +of the regiment, two officers, and three soldiers. They were in a +pitiable condition; they had almost all lost their toes and hands. +While we were here a man offered to sell us a horse and sledge, which +we eagerly purchased for the sum of eighty francs. + +The next day, the 18th, after having made an attempt to eat our goose, +which was no more tender than the day before, we mounted our sledge +and set out for Wehlau, where we were to sleep; but we were hardly +outside the town before Pierson, who drove the sledge, and understood +nothing about it, turned a somersault with it, broke the shaft, and +threw us out upon the snow. We were near a house, which we entered to +get the sledge mended; while the peasant was busy at the job, we warmed +ourselves, but when we came to set out again our weapons were gone. The +Prussians had taken our muskets, piled up against the door. We shouted, +we swore: 'We will have our arms, or we will set fire to the house!' +But the peasant swore in his turn that he had seen nothing of them. We +had to make up our minds to leave without them. Happily, after about an +hour's progress, we met a waggon which had left Gumbinnen that morning +with a consignment of muskets for the Imperial Guard, so we were able +to get others. Finally, at three o'clock we reached Wehlau. + +We saw more than 2,000 soldiers gathered together near the Hôtel de +Ville, waiting for their billets. A big Prussian rascal came up to us, +and told us, if we cared about it, we could lodge with him for a small +sum; he had a well-warmed room, straw for us to sleep on, and a stable +for our horse. We accepted eagerly. On reaching his house, he put the +horse in the stable, and made us mount to the second floor, and there +showed us a room only passably clean; it was the same with the straw, +but it was warm--that was the essential. + +A woman appeared, nearly six feet high, with a veritable Cossack face. +She told us that she was the mistress of the house, and that if we +needed anything we had only to give her some money, and she would go +and fetch it. This was just what we wanted, for we had none of us any +inclination to go out. I gave her five francs to bring us some bread, +meat, and beer. She brought us all three shortly afterwards. Soup was +made, and after having eaten, and seen that the horse was cared for, we +slept till the following morning. + +Before leaving, we gave our hostess a five-franc piece for the night, +but she told us that was not enough. We gave her a second; but still +this did not meet her reckoning. She required five francs a head for +each man, and one more for the horse. + +At that I told her that she was a cheat, and that she should have no +more. She passed her hand over my face, and answered: 'Poor little +Frenchman! Six months ago that was all very well--you were the +stronger; but to-day things are different. You are going to give me +what I ask, or I will keep my husband from putting the horse into the +sledge, and have you taken by the Cossacks!' For reply, I told her that +I snapped my fingers at the Cossacks and at the Prussians. 'Oh yes,' +she answered; 'but you wouldn't say so if you knew they were close at +hand.' On this, seeing the whole wickedness of the woman, I caught her +by the neck to strangle her, but she was the stronger; she threw me +down upon the straw, and tried, in her turn, to strangle me. Luckily, +a kick behind from one of my comrades made her get up. Just then the +husband came in; but he received a great blow from his dear wife's +fist. She was like a fury, telling him he was no more than a great +coward, and that if he did not instantly go and fetch the neighbours +and the Cossacks she would tear his eyes out. As we were five against +two, we prevented them leaving the house, and forced them to harness +the horse to the sledge. But we had to give what this female scoundrel +demanded; there was no time for bargaining, the Cossacks being close +by. Before leaving, I told this she-devil that, should I come back, I +would make her return the money we had given her, with interest. She +replied to this by spitting in my face. I wanted to strike her with the +butt-end of my musket, but my comrades kept me back. + +We mounted the sledge to get away as quickly as possible. + +This day, December 19th, we were to sleep at Insterbourg, where we +arrived by nightfall. We were quartered with some worthy people. + +The next day, the 20th, fell on a Sunday. We left at daylight, in order +to sleep at Eylau. There we repaired at once to the town-hall, and +without any difficulty obtained our billets. We were with good people +again; we found a fire in the room, and each of us was offered a glass +of gin. Afterwards our hostess went in search of our rations, taking +our billet with her, for the inhabitants had just received orders to +supply us with provisions. + +When we were warmed and had rested a little, we made up our minds, +while waiting for our soup, to pay a visit to the field of battle. +We walked over most of it, and saw several simple wooden crosses. We +noticed one in particular, with this inscription: + + 'Here rest twenty-nine officers of the brave 14th (line regiment), + who died on the field of honour.'[70] + +After making some notes on the placing of the troops the day of this +terrible battle, we entered the town, which appeared to us deserted. + +It was Sunday, and on account of the season the inhabitants were shut +up in their houses, and we were the only Frenchmen about, the others +having taken another direction. + +Returning to our lodging, we stretched ourselves out on the straw while +waiting for our meal. + +Hardly were we settled down, when a Prussian veteran entered to warn +us that Cossacks had been seen on a hill about a quarter of a league +from the town, and that he advised us to be off as quickly as possible. +As it was only too true, we made hasty preparations for departure. Our +meat, barely half cooked, we packed up in straw. + +Our peasant set off with us to put us in the right road. On reaching +it, he pointed the Cossacks out to us, upon a hill. There were more +than thirty. The weather was foggy; the snow had not ceased to fall +since our departure. We had not gone half a league before night +overtook us. We met two peasants and asked them if there was still +far to go before we got to a village. They told us a large wood would +have to be crossed first; but that we should find to the right, about +twenty-five paces from the road, an inn, owned by a forest-keeper, +and that we might be able to lodge there. After about half an hour's +progress, we reached the house indicated. It was nine o'clock; we had +gone four leagues. + +Before the door was opened we were asked who we were and what we +wanted. We answered that we were Frenchmen, soldiers of the Imperial +Guard, and that we wanted, for payment, lodging, food, and drink. The +door was instantly opened, and we were made welcome. We first put up +our horses in the stable. Then we were shown into a large room, where +we saw three Chasseurs of the Guard laid on the straw. They had arrived +during the day, but in worse plight than ours, for they had lost their +horses, and, although their feet were frozen, they were thus forced to +go on foot. Something was brought us to eat, and then we lay down and +slept like the blessed. + +On waking, we were surprised not to see the Chasseurs, but we learned +from the master of the house that about an hour previously a Jew, +travelling with a sledge, had offered to drive them three leagues for +two francs, and that they had eagerly accepted. We heard this news with +delight. After paying five francs--all that was asked--for our horse +and ourselves, we set out, our host advising us to follow the track of +the sledge in front of us. + +We had a nine leagues' journey that day, and reached Heilsberg, where +we were to sleep, by nightfall. + +We first repaired to the burgomaster for our billets; we were lucky +enough to find ourselves all told off to the same house, where we were +fairly well received. Six Chasseurs of the Guard were there already. +They gave us soup, meat, a quantity of good potatoes, and beer; we +asked for wine, which of course we paid for. They procured us some at +a thaler (four francs) a bottle, which was good and not dear. Before +lying down to sleep on some good straw, we asked our hostess to have +something ready for us by five o'clock in the morning, for we had a +long stretch between us and our next halting-place. + +The next day, December 22nd, we rose very early. A servant appeared, +bringing us a candle; we ordered him to see to the horse, promising +him a _pourboire_ when he was ready harnessed to the sledge. Soup was +brought us--in fact, everything we asked for. So each of us flattered +our hostess, calling her 'Good woman! beautiful creature!' and giving +her little slaps on the back and arms. When our meal was over, we +prepared to set off; the sledge was ready, and we were bidding good-bye +to the woman, when she suddenly said: + +'This is all very well, gentlemen, but before leaving don't forget to +pay me.' + +'What! pay you! We are billeted on you! You have to feed us!' + +'Yes,' she answered, 'that holds good for yesterday, but for what you +have had to-day I must have two thalers (ten francs).' + +I declared I would not pay; but when the woman saw that we were getting +ready to leave without giving her any money, she ordered the door to be +shut, and a dozen great Prussian rascals entered, armed with big sticks +the thickness of my arm. It was not a case for discussion; we paid and +went away. _Autre temps, autre moeurs._ Now we were the weaker. + +The Chasseurs had left while we were breakfasting. We had still two +days' journey to Elbing, twelve leagues; and, as we did not wish to +tire our horse, we made up our minds to put up at three leagues from +the town. + +After going about a league, we saw several sledges coming on our +left, also going towards Elbing. This made us think we could not have +followed the road taken by the remnant of the army, and that, instead +of going to Eylau, we ought to have taken the direction of Friedland. + +A large-sized sledge, drawn by two powerful horses, passed close by us. +It was going so swiftly that we could not distinguish to what regiment +the men in it belonged. In about half an hour's time we caught sight of +a good house. It turned out to be a posting-station, and an inn also. +There were several soldiers of the Guard at the door, setting out on +sledges that had been procured for them. + +We dismounted and entered, asking for wine, as we had been just told +that there was plenty of it and very good. The men who told us seemed +to have themselves partaken copiously; they were both in a state of +wild gaiety. This happened to almost all those who, like ourselves, had +endured so much misery and privation. The least amount of drink went +to our heads. One of them asked us if we had met the regiment of Dutch +Grenadiers who had formed a part of the Imperial Guard. + +We said, 'No.' + +'It passed you,' said the Vélite, 'and yet you didn't see it? That big +sledge that overtook you contained the entire Dutch regiment! There +were seven of them!' + +The posting-master told the two soldiers that there was a sledge at +their disposal, and that he would drive them the three leagues to +Elbing for fifteen francs. As they had a driver, we decided to go with +them, and five minutes later we were on the way. + +Grangier and I were unwell and dreadfully sick. This was the result +of our being unaccustomed to nourishing food; we ought to have taken +it quietly, by degrees. We resolved to do this in future. On reaching +a village, we each took a glass of Dantzig gin, and went on again +till we reached the village where we were to put up. It was night; we +presented ourselves at the burgomaster's to get our billet, but were +brutally refused, and told that the only place for us to sleep in was +the street. We had something to say about this, but the door was shut +in our faces. We went to several inns where we asked for a lodging, +offering payment, but everywhere we met with the same reception. + +We decided, and the Chasseurs also, that we would keep together, that +they should make use of our sledge, and that, as it was not big enough +to hold us all, two should each go on foot in turn. + +In this way we meant to try and reach some village where we might find +the inhabitants more hospitable. At about a gun-shot off, we caught +sight of a house a little way back from the road. We made up our mind +to force a lodging, if they would not take us in with a good will. +However, the peasant told us that he would lodge us with pleasure; but +that if it was known to the villagers, he would suffer for having given +us shelter. If no one had seen us enter, he would risk putting us up. +We assured him that no one had seen us, that he could take us without +any fear, and that before we left we would give him two thalers. He +seemed very pleased, and his wife still more so, and we established +ourselves round the stove. + +While the man was out, putting our horse up in the stable, the woman +came up to us and told us in a low voice, and all the time looking to +see if her husband was coming, that the peasants were ill-disposed +towards the French, for this reason: When the army passed through in +May, some Chasseurs of the Guard had been quartered for a fortnight +in the village; and one of them, who stayed at the burgomaster's, was +so young and handsome that all the women and girls flocked to their +doors to see him. He was quarter-master. It happened one day that the +burgomaster caught him kissing and embracing his wife, with the result +that the lady got a thrashing. The quarter-master, in his turn, beat +the burgomaster. The lady is now in a certain condition, and the fault +is put down to the quarter-master. We all listened, and smiled at the +way in which the woman related the story. + +'That is not all,' she continued; 'there are three other women in the +village in the same condition as the burgomaster's wife, and that is +why they mean mischief towards the French, such handsome fellows as +they are.' She had scarcely uttered the words before the old soldier +had risen, caught her round the neck, and kissed her. + +'Take care! here is my husband!' she cried. + +And in he came, telling us that he had fed the horse, and would give +him something to drink presently; but that, if we wanted to oblige him, +we would set off before daybreak, so that no one might know that he had +taken us in. + +'I have a sledge,' he said, 'and for a small consideration I will drive +those of you who have none.' + +The Chasseurs accepted. + +They now served us with milk, soup, and potatoes; afterwards we lay +down to sleep fully dressed, with our arms loaded. + +The next day, the 23rd, the peasant came to awaken us before four in +the morning, saying that it was time we set out. We paid the woman, +kissed her, and took our leave. + +At a second village the inhabitants mobbed us, throwing stones and +snowballs. We reached one of the suburbs of Elbing, and stopped at an +inn to warm ourselves, for the cold had increased. We had some coffee +there, and at nine o'clock we entered the town with the rest of the +army who had arrived, like ourselves, but by other roads. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 59: This Sergeant Daubenton was a veteran who had been +through the Italian campaigns.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 60: This dwelling was a Gothic castle, of which many are to +be found in Spain.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 61: _Ruban de queue_: a soldier's expression to designate a +long march.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 62: _Monter à la roue_: an expression used by old soldiers to +indicate the taking of money from the waggons abandoned on the mountain +of Ponari.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 63: It was the convent that I had visited on June 20th, at +the time of the passage of the Niemen.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 64: I have learnt that Marie is still living, and is a member +of the Legion of Honour, and decorated with the St. Helena medal. She +resides at Namur.--_Author's Note._ Bourgogne died in 1867.] + +[Footnote 65: Boucsin is the slang for noise (_tapage_). In this case +the drummer's nickname was his real one.] + +[Footnote 66: Colonel Richard, ex-commanding officer at Condé, was one +among them. He and I have often spoken of the incident.--_Author's +Note._] + +[Footnote 67: This Cossack, whose face the sergeant cut with his +sabre, was the one I saw in the wood, and whose face his comrades +bandaged.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 68: The gunner was mistaken as to the number of Cossacks, +for I learned from one of my friends who was there that they were not +more than 250, probably those whom the burgomaster spoke of to the two +brothers.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 69: This Mameluke was named Angelis, and we knew each other +in Spain. He was one of the Mamelukes whom the Emperor had brought from +Egypt; only a few of this fine body escaped the fatalities of this +campaign.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 70: Besides 590 non-commissioned officers and +soldiers.--_Author's Note._] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + OUR STAY AT ELBING--MADAME GENTIL--AN UNCLE'S HEIR--JANUARY 1ST, + 1813--PICART AND THE PRUSSIANS--FATHER ELLIOT--MY WITNESSES. + + +Without losing time, we went to the town-hall for our billet; it was +crowded with soldiers. + +We noticed several cavalry officers far more wretched than we were, for +nearly all had lost fingers and toes, and others even their noses: it +was distressing to see them. The magistrates of the town did all they +possibly could do for their comfort, giving them good lodging, and +ordering that every care should be taken of them. + +After half an hour's waiting, we were given a billet for the five of +us, and for our horse; we hurried off to the place at once. + +It was a large tavern, or, rather, a low smoking den. We were very +ill-received; they showed us a large corridor without fire for our +rooms, and some bad straw in it. We expostulated, and were told that +it was good enough for Frenchmen, and that, if that didn't suit us, +we could go into the street. Indignant at such a reception, we left +the house, expressing all our contempt to the brute who had received +us in such a way, and threatening to make him give an account of his +behaviour to the town magistrates. + +We decided that we must try to get our billet changed, and I was +charged with the mission, my comrades waiting for me at an inn. + +On reaching the town-hall, I found there were not many people there. +I addressed myself to the Mayor, who spoke French, and told him how +brutally we had been received. I showed him my right foot, wrapped +up in a piece of sheepskin, and my right hand, from which the first +joint of the middle finger was nearly coming off. He spoke to the man +in charge of the billeting, who then said that we could not all be +quartered together. 'Here,' he said, 'is a billet for four and a horse, +and here is another which I advise you to keep for yourself. It is at a +Frenchman's who has married a woman in the town.' After thanking him, I +returned in search of my companions. + +On reaching the suburb, we went to the quarters for four men and a +horse. It was a fisherman's house on the border of a canal, in the +direction of the port; we were received well enough. When we were +settled, I offered the billet for one to anyone who would have it, but +as no one wanted it, I inquired if it was far from the place where we +were, and found there was only a bridge to cross. + +I thought the house looked very imposing. The first person whom I met, +as I went in, was the servant, a stout German with florid cheeks. I +showed her my billet. She said there were four soldiers quartered in +the house already, but at the same time she went in search of the lady +of the house, who told me the same thing, pointing to their room. They +were men of our regiment, who, like ourselves, had just arrived, but +separately. I determined to return to the first quarters and rejoin my +comrades. But the lady, having just read upon the billet that I was a +non-commissioned officer of the Imperial Guard, said: + +'Listen, my dear sir: you seem to be in such suffering that I do not +want to turn you out. Follow me; I will give you a room to yourself, +and you shall have a good bed, for I see that you have need of rest.' + +I answered that it was very kind of her to take pity on me, but that +all I asked was some fire and straw. + +'You shall have all that,' she answered. + +While speaking, she showed me a small room, warm and clean, with a bed +in it covered with an eider-down. But I begged as a favour that she +would give me some straw, with some sheets and some warm water to wash +myself in. + +All I asked for was brought me, besides a great wooden tub to bathe my +feet in. I was in want of it, and more besides. My head, my face, and +my beard had not been attended to since December 16th. I begged the +servant, whose name was Christian, to fetch a barber. He shaved me, +or, rather, flayed my face, saying that my skin was hardened by the +continued cold, but his razors felt like saws. + +This operation over, I had my hair cut. After well paying the barber, +I asked him if he knew of some dealer in old clothes, for I wanted +some trousers. When he had gone, a Jew arrived with some trousers in a +bag. They were there in all colours--gray and blue--but all either too +small, too big, or not clean. The son of Israel, seeing he had nothing +to fit me, told me that he would go and come back with something that +would please me. He soon returned with some trousers _à la Cosaque_, +dark red in colour, and of fine cloth. They were a trooper's trousers, +probably belonging to an aide-de-camp of King Murat. I tried them on, +and, foreseeing they would be very warm, I kept them. The mark was +still there of a wide stripe down each side, which the Jew had taken +the precaution of removing. In exchange I gave him the doctor's little +case mounted in silver that I had taken from the Cossack on November +23rd. He demanded five francs besides, which I paid. + +Three fine shirts belonging to the Commissary were still left, so I +made up my mind to change my linen; but, looking myself over, I saw +to do it properly I ought to have a bath, for there were traces of +vermin still all over my body. I inquired of the servant if there were +any baths near, but, not able to understand me, she went in search +of her mistress, who came immediately. It was then I noticed that my +hostess was a young and beautiful woman. For the moment, however, my +observations went no further, for in my present position I was too much +occupied with myself. She asked me what I wanted, and I said that I +wanted a bath, and begged her to be so good as to tell me where I could +get one. She answered that there were public baths, but that they were +too far away; that, if I liked, one could be got ready for me in the +house. She had hot water and a large tub; if I could content myself +with that, it should be prepared for me. As may be well imagined, I +accepted with joy, and shortly after the servant made signs to me to +follow her. So, taking my knapsack and my red trousers, I went into a +sort of wash-house, where I found everything necessary, even soap. + +I cannot express the comfort I felt in that bath. I stayed in it so +long that the servant came to see if anything had happened to me. As +she came in she saw that I was at a loss in washing my back. Without +asking my permission, she went out and brought a large piece of red +flannel, and coming up to the tub, she put her left hand on my neck, +and with the other she rubbed me on the back and arms and chest. As may +be imagined, I allowed her to do it. She asked me if it was doing me +good, so I said yes. On that she redoubled her zeal, until I was tired. +Finally, after having thoroughly curry-combed, scrubbed, and dried me, +she ran off laughing, without giving me time to thank her. + +I put on one of the War Commissary's shirts, then afterwards the +trousers _à la_ Cossack, and, bare-footed, went back to the bedroom and +dropped on the bed. It was not too soon, for I felt very weak and lost +consciousness. I do not know how long I remained in this condition, +but when I opened my eyes I saw beside me the lady of the house, and +also the servant and two of the soldiers who were billeted there, and +who heard that something serious was amiss with me; but it was only +weakness caused by the bath, and also by the privations and fatigue I +had undergone. + +Madame Gentil--this was the lady's name--fed me with some broth, +supporting my head on her left arm. I made no resistance, as it was so +long since I had been petted. Madame Gentil was remarkably beautiful: +her figure was slender and supple, her eyes were black, and her pink +and white colouring was that of a beautiful Northern woman. She was +four-and-twenty. I remembered having been told that she was married to +a Frenchman, and she said it was so. + +'In 1807 a convoy of wounded Frenchmen had arrived at Elbing from the +neighbourhood of Dantzig, and as the hospital was filled with the sick, +the new-comers were billeted among the inhabitants. A Hussar, wounded +by a musket-ball in the breast, was sent to us. He also had a sword-cut +in the left arm. My mother and I nursed him, and he soon got well.' + +'And so,' I said, 'he married you in gratitude for your care.' + +Laughing, she answered that it was the case. I told her that I should +certainly have done the same, as she was the most beautiful woman I had +ever seen. Madame Gentil began to laugh, to blush, and to talk, and +she was talking still when I fell asleep, and did not awake till nine +o'clock the next morning. + +For some little time I could not remember where I was. The servant +entered, accompanied by Madame Gentil, who was bringing me coffee, tea +and rolls. It was a long time indeed since I had had such a feast! I +forgot the past; I thought only of the present and Madame Gentil. I +even forgot my comrades. + +Madame Gentil looked at me attentively; then, passing her hand over my +face, asked me what was the matter. I replied there was nothing wrong. + +'But there is,' she said; 'your face is swollen.' + +Then she told me that a non-commissioned officer of the Imperial +Guard had come the preceding afternoon to inquire if she had not a +non-commissioned officer lodging with her. She had said yes, there was +one, and had shown him my room; but he had gone away again, saying I +was not the man he was looking for. + +While Madame Gentil was relating this, my friend Grangier came in, but +was going out again, saying: + +'I beg your pardon, but ever since yesterday I have been looking for +one of my comrades, and can't find him. And yet this is certainly the +street and the number of the house marked upon his billet.' + +I said: 'It's I you are looking for, isn't it?' + +Grangier then burst out laughing. He hadn't recognised me. This was not +surprising. I had no _queue_, my face was swollen, I was as white as a +swan, in consequence of my bath, or, rather, of the way the servant had +curry-combed me; I was wearing fine white linen, my head well brushed, +my hair curled. He told me that he had called the day before, but +seeing a pair of red trousers over a chair, he had gone away convinced +he had made some mistake. He had just been informed, he said, that +there was to be a muster of the remnant of the Guards at three o'clock, +and that everyone must do his utmost to appear. He would come back for +me. + +At two o'clock he came to fetch me, as he had promised, accompanied by +my other comrades, who on seeing me began to laugh so much that their +poor lips bled, cracked as they were with frost. + +I had a pleasant surprise ready for them, in the shape of some old +Rhine wine, and some little cakes Madame Gentil had had the kindness to +get for me. She was most thoughtful, and anticipated everything that +could give me pleasure. I inquired about her husband, adding that, as +he was a Frenchman, it would give me great pleasure to meet him and +drink some wine with him. She said he had been away for some days. He +had gone with her father to the Baltic, where they both did business in +fruit, which they exported to St. Petersburg.[71] + +It was December 24th. A little before three o'clock we repaired to the +great square facing the palace in which Murat was lodged. I caught +sight of Adjutant-Major Roustan, who came to me and asked who I was. I +began to laugh. + +'Hello!' he said; 'it isn't you, Bourgogne? Devil take me! No one would +ever say you had come from Moscow, for you are looking big and fat and +fresh. And where's your _queue_?' + +I told him it had come off. + +'Well,' he replied, 'if it has come off, I shall put you under arrest +when we get to Paris, till it has grown again.' + +There were very few present at this first muster, but we were pleased +to meet again, for since December 17th, at Wilbalen, we had hardly seen +each other at all. Everyone had gone his own way, and taken a different +route. + +The following days passed in the same way--a muster each day. On the +fourth after our arrival we heard of the death of one of the superior +officers of the Young Guard. He had died of grief at the tragic end +of a Russian family of French origin, and dwelling at Moscow, whom he +had invited to follow him on the retreat. I have already related their +terrible fate. + +By December 29th I was really better. The swelling in my face had +disappeared; my frozen foot was going on well, also my hand, and all +thanks to the care of Madame Gentil, who nursed me like a child. Her +husband returned from his journey, but only remained at home two days, +leaving again with goods to rejoin his father-in-law, who would forward +the things on sledges into Russia. Communication was opened again with +that country since we had left. He told me that he had served three +years in the 3rd Hussars, but that after receiving two severe wounds +near Dantzig he had obtained his discharge as disabled. But he had +preferred remaining in this country and marrying there, where he had +made friends, to returning to Champagne-Pouilleuse, his own country, +where he had no property. + +The next day, December 30th, I went with Grangier to pay a visit to +my brave Picart, who had had an accident. A Grenadier who had been +quartered with him showed me the place. + +On reaching it, a woman dressed in black, and with a melancholy air, +showed us to his room, at the end of a long corridor. We saw that the +door was half open. We stopped to listen to Picart's deep voice singing +his favourite piece to the tune of 'The _Curé de Pomponne_': + + 'Ah! tu t'en souviendras, la-ri-ra, + Du départ de Boulogne!' + +Great was our surprise at seeing him with a face as white as snow, a +mask of skin covering his whole face. He told us about his accident, +speaking of himself as a raw recruit, an old stupid. 'Listen, _mon +pays_,' he said. 'It was just like the musket-shot in the wood the +night of November 23rd. I see I am good for nothing. This miserable +campaign has done for me. See,' he continued, 'if something horrible +doesn't happen to me.' So saying, he laid hold of a bottle of gin that +was on the table, and taking three cups from the chimney-piece, filled +them, to drink, as he said, to our safe arrival. 'Look here,' he said: +'we will spend the day together, and I will invite you to dinner.' + +He at once called the woman, who came in weeping. I asked Picart what +was the matter with her, and he replied that an uncle of hers had been +buried that morning, an old bachelor, a coaster or privateer, very +rich, as it seemed, and that there were great doings in the house. He +had been invited, and for that reason he had invited us too, as there +would be _noisettes à croquer_. But on second thoughts, he said that +it would be much better to have the dinner brought to his room than to +spend our time with a heap of blubbering creatures who were pretending +grief--the usual result of the death of a rich uncle who had something +to leave. He told the woman he should not be able to dine with her, +on account of friends having come to see him; and, besides, he was so +sensitive he should do nothing but weep. So saying, he pretended to +wipe away a tear. The woman began to cry again, and at such a comedy +we were obliged to cover our faces with our handkerchiefs so as not to +burst with laughter. The good woman thought that we were all crying, +and called us first-rate fellows, saying we should be served at once. +On this she withdrew, and two female servants brought us dinner. There +were so many things we couldn't have eaten them in three days. + +As may be imagined, our dinner was of the gayest; still, when we +remembered our miseries, the fate of those friends whom we had seen +perish, and others who had disappeared, we grew sad and thoughtful. + +Night was coming on, and we were still smoking and drinking, when +the mistress of the house came in to tell us that they were waiting +for us to have their coffee. She led the way, and after a good many +turnings we reached a large room, Grangier in front, I second; Picart +had stayed behind. On entering, we saw a long table, well lighted by +several candles. Around it were fourteen women, more or less old, +and all dressed in black. In front of each was a cup, a glass, a +long clay pipe and tobacco, for in this country almost all the women +smoke, particularly the sailors' wives. The remainder of the table was +furnished with bottles of Rhine wine and Dantzig gin. + +Picart had not yet come in; we thought he did not dare put in an +appearance because of his face. But suddenly we saw a movement among +the women; they all shrieked, and looked towards the door. It was +old Picart, with his mask of white skin muffled in his cloak of the +same colour, a cap of black Russian fox on his head, and smoking a +meerschaum pipe with a long tube, which he carried gravely in his right +hand; the cap and the pipe belonged to the deceased. Passing down the +corridor, he had seen them hanging up in the dead man's room, and had +taken them for a joke. Hence the fright of the women, who had taken him +for the dead man coming to his own wake. They begged Picart to accept +the cap and pipe, as a reward for the tears he had shed that morning, +before the mistress of the house. + +The conversation grew livelier and livelier, for all the women smoked +and drank like troopers. Soon one could not make one's self heard. + +Before breaking up a psalm was sung, and a prayer said for the repose +of the dead man's soul; it was all sung and said with much unction, and +we took part silently. + +Afterwards they left us, wishing us good-evening; it was snowing and +blowing a furious gale, so we decided to sleep at our old comrade's. +There was plenty of straw and a warm room, and more we did not want. + +The next morning coffee was brought us by a young servant. She was +accompanied by the mistress of the house, who wished us good-day, and +asked if there was anything else we wanted. We thanked her. She began +to chat with the servant; the latter told her she had just been assured +the Russian army was not more than four days' march from the town, and +that a Jew, arrived from Tilsit, had met Cossacks near Eylau. + +As I spoke enough German to understand part of the conversation, I +heard the lady exclaim: 'My God! what will become of all these brave +young fellows?' I showed my gratitude to the good German for the +interest she took in us by telling her that, now we had had food and +drink, we could snap our fingers at all the Russians. + +If the men were hostile, the women were always on our side. + +I reminded Picart that the next day was New Year's Day, 1813, and that +I wished to spend the day at my own lodgings. He looked into a glass to +see what his face was like, then decided that he would come too. As +he did not know my lodgings, it was arranged that I should meet him at +eleven o'clock in front of Murat's palace. We now thought of getting +home, but so great a quantity of snow had fallen that we were obliged +to hire a sledge. We reached our lodgings, I with a splitting headache +and a little fever, the result of the festivities the evening before. + +My absence had made Madame Gentil uneasy; her servant had waited up +till midnight. I told her how sorry I was, and made the bad weather +my excuse. I said that the following day I should have two friends to +dinner. She replied that she would do all she could to please me, which +meant that it was to be at her expense. She gave me afterwards some +grease that she said was very good for chilblains, and wished me to +use it at once, I obeyed her. How good Madame Gentil was! But all the +German women were good to us. + +I spent the rest of the day in the house--in bed almost the whole +time--cared for and comforted by my charming hostess. + +When evening came, I began to think what I could give her for a present +on New Year's Day. I resolved to get up early, and see if I could not +find something among the Jews. Thereupon I went to bed, as I wanted a +good night's rest, for the party the evening before had tired me. + +The next day, January 1st, 1813, the ninth after our arrival at Elbing, +I got up at seven o'clock to go out, but first I looked to see how much +of my money was left. I found that I had 485 francs left, of which more +than 400 francs was in gold, the rest in five-franc pieces. On leaving +Wilna I had 800 francs. Could I have spent 315 francs? The thing was +impossible. I must have lost some. That was not surprising, but I was +still rich enough to spend twenty or thirty francs on a present for my +charming hostess. + +At the very moment when I was opening the door, I met the fat servant +Christian, who had scrubbed me so thoroughly in the bath. She wished +me a 'Happy New Year,' and as she was the first person I had seen, I +kissed her and gave her five francs. She went off, saying that she +would not tell Madame I had kissed her. + +I turned in the direction of the palace square. I had not reached it, +when I saw two soldiers belonging to the regiment walking slowly and +painfully, bowed down under the weight of their accoutrements, nearly +spent with fatigue. + +Seeing me, they came up, and to my great surprise I recognised two men +of my company, whom I had not seen since the passage of the Bérézina. +They were in such a wretched state that I made them follow me to an +inn, where I ordered hot coffee to warm them. + +They related that on the morning of November 29th, a little before the +departure of the regiment from the banks of the Bérézina, they had been +ordered on fatigue-duty to bury several men belonging to the regiment, +who had been killed the preceding evening, or who had died of exposure. +When they had finished they started off, thinking they were following +the route the regiment had taken; but, unfortunately, they obeyed the +direction of some Poles, who guided them towards their own country. +They did not find it out till the following day. + +'The end of it was,' they told me, 'that for a whole month we were +walking about in an unknown, deserted country, always under deep snow. +We were unable to make ourselves understood, not knowing where we +were, nor where we were going. Our money was of no use to us, and we +could only procure such things as milk or dripping at the cost of our +clothes, by parting with our "eagle" buttons, or some handkerchiefs +that we had kept by chance. We were not alone in this; there were many +others of different regiments going the same way, and like ourselves, +not knowing where they were going, for the Poles we had been following +had disappeared, and it is only by chance, sergeant, that we have got +here, and have had the good luck to meet you.' + +I told them how glad I was to see them again; they had been in my +company four years. Suddenly one of them exclaimed: + +'Why, sergeant, I have something to hand over to you! You remember that +when we were leaving Moscow you entrusted me with a parcel? Here it is +just as you gave it me; it has never been taken out of my knapsack.' + +The parcel consisted of a military overcoat of fine dark-gray +cloth that I had had made for me during our stay in Moscow by the +Russian tailors whose lives I had saved, and of another article--an +inkstand--that I had taken from a table in the Rostopchin Palace, +thinking it was of silver (that it was not, however). + +The year was beginning well for me. I hoped that it would prove the +same for this man. I gave him twenty francs, and then I made haste to +get into my new overcoat. + +I now had a second delightful surprise. Putting my hands into the +pockets of the new coat, I drew out an Indian silk handkerchief, and in +one of its corners, tightly knotted, I found a little cardboard box, +containing five rings, set with beautiful stones. I thought I had lost +this box with my knapsack, and now here it was all ready for a present +for Madame Gentil. The finest one was to be for her. + +Telling my two soldiers to wait till roll-call to be re-entered in the +company and receive a billet, I returned to my own lodging. + +On the way I bought a large sugar-cake, which I presented to my +hostess, with the ring, begging her to keep it as a souvenir from +Moscow. She asked me how I had bought it. I told her that I had paid +for it very dearly, and that not for a million would I go on a similar +search for another. + +At eleven o'clock I returned to the square in front of the palace. +There were already a good many men there; in three days our numbers +were almost doubled. One would have said all those one believed dead +had come to life again to wish each other a 'Happy New Year.' But it +was a melancholy sight, for a great number were without nose or fingers +or toes; some had suffered all three misfortunes combined. + +The rumour that the Russians were advancing was confirmed. The order +was given that we should hold ourselves in readiness, as if on the +eve of a battle, and to sleep with one eye open, to avoid a surprise; +to keep our arms primed and ready, to supply ourselves with new +cartridges, and to attend the roll-call with all our weapons and +accoutrements. + +The muster was not yet over, when I felt a tap upon my shoulder and a +loud laugh in my ears. It was Picart, in fine array and without his +mask, who threw himself on my neck, embraced me, and wished me a 'Happy +New Year.' On the other side there was Grangier doing the same, and +putting thirty francs into my hand. My travelling companions had just +sold our sledge and the horse for 150 francs. This was my share. After +a great many questions about my new overcoat, we set out to dine at my +place, as had been arranged. On our arrival we found two other ladies, +so there was one for each. Shortly afterwards we sat down informally to +table. + +It was late enough when our dinner ended, as it had begun, very +joyously. + +I heard one of the ladies on leaving say to Madame Gentil: '_Tarteifle +des Franzosen!_' She added: 'They are always gay and amusing.' + +The next day, at the muster, Picart came to look for me and tell me +that on returning to his lodging he had found the whole family of +his hostess gathered together and swearing at the defunct uncle. The +mistress told him that during the day a woman had arrived from Riga, +accompanied by a little boy of nine or ten, whom she said she had had +by M. Kennmann, the deceased, and that he had acknowledged him as his +heir. Everything was to be sealed up, and Picart had asked if they were +going to seal up the cellar. They told him to bring up some bottles +for his own consuming as a precaution. He answered that he would get +as many as possible, and thereupon had set to work on the job, and had +already fetched more than forty, which he had hidden under the bundle +of straw he used as a bolster, and that after the muster he was going +to empty his knapsack to fill it with bottles. As a matter of fact, he +arrived an hour later, knapsack on back. He told me we must make haste +to drink up the wine, as everyone in the town was talking of the speedy +arrival of the Russians. + +During the short time we remained in the town he brought me some wine +every day. He must have ended by emptying the cellar, as he said. But +one day--January 11th--he came to my place early in the morning in +marching order, and told me that he did not think that he should return +to sleep at his lodging; he was holding himself in readiness to hear +the alarm sounded, and he advised me to do the same, and to begin +saying farewell to Madame Gentil. + +Grangier came in, also in marching order. He arrived just in time to +breakfast with me, as there was plenty of wine. + +It was perhaps eight o'clock in the morning when we sat down to table; +at half-past eleven we were still there, when Picart, who was just +emptying his glass, stopped short, and said: 'Listen! I fancy I hear +artillery!' + +The noise indeed grew louder, the alarm sounded, the men ran to take up +their arms. Madame Gentil rushed into the room exclaiming: + +'Gentlemen, the Cossacks!' + +'We are just going to make them dance,' said Picart. + +Hurriedly I arranged my things, and directly afterwards I was embracing +Madame Gentil, while Picart and Grangier, like proper soldiers, were +emptying the last bottle. I tossed off a final glass, then rushed into +the street behind my friends. + +We had not taken thirty steps, when I heard someone calling me. I +turned, and saw the fat Christian, who was making signs to me to stop, +saying I had forgotten something. Madame Gentil was standing in the +passage. As soon as she caught sight of me, she cried out: + +'You have forgotten your little kettle.' + +My poor little kettle that I had carried from Wilna, that I had bought +from the Jew who tried to poison me--I had really not given it a +thought. I went in to embrace this dear woman once more, who had nursed +me and cared for me as if I had been her brother or her child. I told +her to keep my kettle as a remembrance of me. + +'You can use it to boil water in for tea, and every time you do so you +will think of the young sergeant-vélite of the Guard. Farewell!' + +I heard the roar of artillery still louder; again I rushed out into the +street, this time not to return. + +I caught sight of Grangier waiting impatiently for me on a little +bridge. We took the shortest road along the quay to the place of +muster. We had not been walking five minutes, when we saw Picart in +the middle of the street, swearing in a rage, holding a Prussian down +with his foot, and in front of him four Prussian soldiers commanded by +a corporal under the orders of a police superintendent. The reason was +this: several people had thrown snowballs at Picart in front of a café. +He stopped, threatening to enter the house and have them arrested, +but they took no notice; one of them, coming down into the street and +advancing behind Picart, rested a billiard-cue on his shoulder, and +began to cry: 'Hourra! Cossack!' Picart, turning rapidly, gripped +hold of him and flung him flat on his face in the snow. Then, placing +his right foot on his back, he fixed his bayonet, and, turning in the +direction of the café, defied all those within. + +The guard was fetched; Picart had in the meantime made his man +understand that if he made the least movement he would be bayoneted. He +said the same to those who were in the café; no one stirred, and then +the guard came up with the superintendent of police. + +The guard did not frighten Picart. He was just then like a lion holding +his prey in his claws, and looking proudly at his hunters. He did not +see us; the superintendent was trembling with fear. The women said, 'He +is right; he was going quietly on his way, and they insulted him.' + +Finally a Protestant minister, who had seen everything, and who spoke +French, came forward and explained to the superintendent how the whole +thing had happened. On this they told Picart that he might let the man +go, that justice would be dealt him. Picart said, 'Get up!' He did not +require to be told a second time. + +When he had risen, Picart gave him a sound kick behind, saying, 'This +is justice on my own account.' The man made off amid the hootings of +all the women present, holding his hand to the place where he had been +kicked. + +Meanwhile the superintendent was exacting a fine of twenty-five francs +from all those persons who had insulted Picart, as well as from the one +who had had the kick. He pocketed half of it 'for the King,' he said, +'and to defray the expenses of justice.' The other half he presented +to Picart, who at first refused, but on second thoughts offered half +of it to the policemen, the other half to the Protestant minister, +saying, 'If you should ever meet the wife of an old soldier, give +her that from me.' We had to explain to them what Picart meant, for +they could not understand so much disinterestedness on the part of a +soldier. They would have liked to say flattering things to him; even +the superintendent of police began jabbering compliments. We pursued +our way in the direction of the palace, Grangier making remarks upon +the Prussian character, Picart singing his refrain: + + 'Ah! tu t'en souviendras, la-ri-ra, + Du départ de Boulogne!' + +We reached the square, and we saw a regiment of negroes opposite the +palace where Murat was staying. It was really comical to see the +contrast of their faces against the snow-covered square. The officers +commanding them were black also. I could not find out what route this +corps took in the retreat, but I think they crossed the Vistula at +Marienwerder. + +The artillery had almost ceased firing; the Russians had been driven +from the neighbourhood of the town by a body of fresh troops, who had +not been on the Russian campaign. A little grape-shot scattered among +their cavalry had been quite enough for them. + +We were stopped by the service waggons of the different corps leaving +the town. We were now near Picart's quarters, so he exclaimed, 'Halt, +friends! I must say adieu to my landlady, and get my white cloak and +the pipe and cap belonging to the deceased uncle, and there are still +some bottles of wine under my straw bolster that we must empty.' + +We went into the house and straight to his room without meeting anyone. +Picart then got out five bottles, two of wine and three of Dantzig gin. +He told us to each put one in our knapsacks, an order we obeyed at +once. Then he called the landlady. + +'Allow me to embrace you,' said Picart, 'and say adieu, for we are +going.' + +'So I suppose,' she said; 'and you will be hardly out of the town +before the dirty Russians will come to take your place. What a pity! +But before leaving us you must take something. You must not go away +like this.' + +And she went in search of two bottles of wine, some ham and bread, and +we sat down to table. + +Presently the noise of artillery was heard quite near. The woman cried, +'_Jésus! Maria!_' and we ran out. + +I was a little in front of my two comrades. A few steps before me I saw +a man I fancied I recognised, who had stopped. I went up and found I +was not mistaken; it was the oldest man in the regiment, who had sword, +musket, and cross of honour, and who had disappeared since December +24th--Père Elliot, who had been through the Egyptian campaign. He was +in a pitiable condition: both his feet were frozen and wrapped in bits +of sheepskin; his ears, also frozen, were covered with the same; his +beard and moustache were bristling with icicles. I looked at him, so +much surprised I was unable to speak. + +At last I said, 'Well, Père Elliot, and here you are! And where the +devil have you come from? And how you are dressed! You seem to be in +terrible suffering.' + +'Ah, my good friend,' said he, 'I have been a soldier now for twenty +years, and I have never wept; but I am shedding tears to-day more from +rage than misfortune, for I shall be taken by these brutes of Cossacks +without being able to strike a blow. For nearly four weeks I have been +going about alone, ever since the passage of the Niemen, all across the +snow in a savage country, and unable to get any news about the army. I +had two companions; one died a week ago, and the second is very likely +dead, too. Four days ago I had to leave them in the house of some poor +Poles, where we had been sleeping. I have travelled more than 400 +leagues in the snow since leaving Moscow, unable to rest, my feet and +my hands frozen, and even my nose.' + +I saw great tears flowing from the old soldier's eyes. + +Picart and Grangier just then rejoined me. Grangier recognised Père +Elliot instantly; they belonged to the same company; but Picart, +although he had known him for seventeen years,[72] could not remember +him. + +We entered the nearest house, and were made very welcome; it belonged +to an old sailor, and these people are generally kind. + +Picart made his old comrade in arms take a seat beside the fire; then, +drawing one of the two bottles of wine from the pocket of his overcoat, +he filled a big bumper. + +'Come, my old comrade of the 23rd Brigade, swallow this! Good! And now +this! Very good! And now a morsel of bread, and you will feel better.' + +Since leaving Moscow he had not tasted wine, nor eaten such good bread, +and he seemed to forget his miseries at once. The sailor's wife bathed +his face with a linen cloth soaked in warm water; this melted the +icicles on his beard and moustache. + +'And now,' said Picart, 'we'll have a little chat. Do you remember when +we embarked at Toulon on our way to Egypt?...' + +Grangier, meanwhile, had been out to see if the march had begun again, +and now came in to tell us that a conveyance, laden with heavy baggage +belonging to Murat, had stopped before the door. A fine chance for Père +Elliot. He must get into it at once. 'Forward!' cried Picart; and with +the help of the sailor we soon had the old sergeant perched on the +vehicle. + +Picart put the other bottle of wine between his knees, and the white +mantle over his back to keep him from the cold. Shortly afterwards we +began to march, and half an hour later we were outside Elbing. + +The same day we crossed the Vistula on the ice, and marched on, without +accident, till four o'clock, when we halted at a large town where +Marshal Mortier, who was in command, decided we should spend the night. + + * * * * * + +I have not written my memoirs either out of vanity or from a desire to +talk about myself. I have merely wished to recall the memory of this +gigantic campaign, so fatal to us and those fellow-soldiers who went +through it with me. Their ranks, alas! are thinning day by day. The +facts I have related appear incredible, sometimes impossible; but no +one must imagine I have added anything which is not true, or have tried +to make my narrative interesting by embellishing it. On the contrary, +I must ask my readers to believe I have not told all, for I scarcely +can believe it myself. I made a note of everything while I was prisoner +in 1813, and in 1814 on my return from captivity, while the impressions +of such disasters were still fresh in my mind. + +Those who went through this lamentable but glorious campaign proved, as +the Emperor said, that they must have been made of iron to bear so many +privations and so much misery; this was surely the very greatest test +to which men were ever exposed. + +If I have omitted anything, such as a date or the name of a place, +which I think unlikely, I owe it to myself to say I have added nothing. + +Several witnesses to what I have written, who were in the same regiment +with me, and some in the same company, are still living. I will quote +some in particular: + +M. CÉSARISSE, Grenadier-Vélite, now Field-Marshal in the service of the +King of Holland, a native of St. Nicolas in Brabant. He was Lieutenant +in the same company in which I was then sergeant. + +ROSSI, Quarter-master in the same company, a native of Montauban, and +whom I had the pleasure of meeting again at Brest in 1830. We had not +seen each other for sixteen years. + +VACHAIN,[73] then a Lieutenant in the same battalion, now living at +Auzin (Nord). I met him again after an interval of twenty years. + +LEBOUDE, then Sergeant-Major, now Lieutenant-General in Belgium, +belonged also to the same battalion. + +GRANGIER, Sergeant, who came from Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne. He was +my intimate friend. On more than one occasion he saved my life. His +constitution was weak, his courage equal to any trial. He died of +cholera in 1832. + +PIERSON, also Sergeant-Vélite, now Captain on the staff at Angers.[74] +He was very ugly, but a good fellow, as were all the Vélites. There +never was a face like his; he was so different from everyone else. One +need only set eyes on him once to remember him. In this connection I +will relate a fact that bears me out in what I have been saying. + +At the beginning of this campaign, when we were at Wilna, the capital +of Lithuania, Pierson was one day mounting guard at the works. It was +July 4th, and big ovens were being constructed for the baking of bread +for the army. The Emperor came to see how the work was getting on. +Pierson thought he would take advantage of the occasion to beg for a +decoration, and, going up to His Majesty, he made his request. 'Very +good,' answered the Emperor, 'after the first battle!' After that came +the siege of Smolensk, the great battle of the Moskowa, as well as +several others during the retreat. But during the disastrous retreat +no opportunity arrived of reminding the Emperor of his promise. It +was not till March 16th, 1813, some days after our return to Paris, +at Malmaison, where a review was being held--the same day I was made +Lieutenant--that Pierson was able to remind the Emperor of the promise +he had made him. Seeing him approaching, the Emperor asked him what he +wanted. 'Sire,' he replied, 'I want the cross your Majesty promised +me.' 'True,' answered the Emperor, smiling, 'at the works at Wilna!' It +was ten months since the promise had been given. The man had certainly +an unforgettable face, but what a memory the Emperor had! + +I will quote some further witnesses: + +M. PÉNIAUX, of Valenciennes, superintendent of the Emperor's relays and +stages, who saw me almost dying, laid upon the snow, on the banks of +the Bérézina. + +M. MELLÉ, a Dragoon of the Guards, whom I often met during the retreat, +leading his horse by the bridle, and making holes in the ice of the +lakes to give him drink. He was from Condé, the place I came from. He +might be called, with truth, one of the best soldiers in the army. +Before entering the Guard, M. Mellé had already gone through the +Italian campaign. With the same weapons and the same horse he went +through the campaigns of 1806 and 1807 in Prussia and Poland, 1808 in +Spain, 1809 in Germany, 1810 and 1811 in Spain, 1812 in Russia, 1813 in +Saxony, and 1814 in France. + +After the departure of the Emperor for the Isle of Elba, he remained +in the Royal Guard, awaiting his pension, and always keeping his horse +with him. On the return of the Emperor from Elba, he reappeared again +in the same corps as one of the Imperial Guards at Waterloo. He was +wounded, and his horse killed--the horse which had gone through so many +campaigns with his master, and had taken part in more than fifteen +great battles commanded by the Emperor. + +Had the Emperor remained in France this brave soldier would have +been worthily rewarded. Although Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, +he is now in great want. During the retreat from Russia he sometimes +penetrated alone at night into the enemy's camp to get hay or straw for +Cadet, the name of his horse. He never returned without killing one +or two Russians, or bringing back what he called a witness, viz., a +prisoner. + +MONFORT, trooper, now a retired officer of Cuirassiers at Valenciennes. +Although from the same country, and also belonging to the Imperial +Guard, I only knew him in the army by reputation, by the manner in +which he distinguished himself in the different combats we had in +Spain. In Russia, he crossed the Bérézina on horseback over the blocks +of ice. But he left his horse behind. At Waterloo, on Mount St. Jean, +during a charge against the Queen of England's Dragoons,[75] he killed +the Colonel with a thrust in the chest, sending him to sup with Pluto. + +PAVART, retired Captain at Valenciennes, belonging during the Russian +campaign to the infantry of the Imperial Guard. All that he relates of +their campaign, of what happened to him, and of what he saw, is very +interesting. + +During the retreat, at Krasnoë, we were fighting for three days, +November 15th, 16th, and 17th, against the Russian army of 100,000 men. +On the night of the 16th, the eve of the battle of the 17th, Pavart, +then a corporal, was in command of a patrol of six men. Making his +rounds, he caught sight of another patrol of five men upon his right. +Imagining--indeed, almost certain--that they belonged to us, he said +to his men, 'Wait for me. I am going to speak with the one in command, +so that we may both move in the same direction, and avoid the Russian +outposts. The men halted instantly, and he went up to the second +patrol, who, seeing a man coming alone, no doubt believed he was one of +them. But Pavart now saw they were Russians. It was too late to draw +back. He advanced resolutely, and, without giving the Russians time +to reflect, he fell upon them and put three of them _hors de combat_ +with the bayonet. The others took to flight. After this bold stroke he +turned to rejoin his men, but found them close at hand, running to help +him. + +WILKÉS, non-commissioned officer in a line regiment, a native of +Valenciennes; taken prisoner on the banks of the Bérézina; led in +captivity 1,400 leagues from Paris, where he was kept three years. + +CAPTAIN VACHAIN, of whom I have spoken above, had a very lively +discussion while we were in Spain with my sergeant-major, which ended +in a duel and a sword-cut which divided my sergeant-major's face in two +from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his chin. He did as much +on various occasions for Austrians, Prussians, Spaniards, Russians, +and English, against all of whom he was fighting for ten years without +stopping, for during this time he took part in more than twenty great +battles commanded by the Emperor Napoleon. + +At the Battle of Esslingen, May 22nd, 1809, Vachain was carrying +a skin filled with wine, hung at his side. One of his friends, a +non-commissioned officer like himself, signed to him that he would very +much like a drink. Vachain called to him to come near, and, stooping to +one side, he offered him some wine. This took place during the action, +when bullets and grape were flying on all sides. The man had hardly +swallowed it, when a brute of an Austrian ball carried away his head as +well as the gourd of wine. + +Two days before they had dined together at Vienna, and there they had +made each other gifts of what they possessed in the way of watch, belt, +etc., in case of the death of one or the other. But Vachain had no +desire to put his promise into execution. He drew back and fell into +rank, thinking himself lucky not to have been struck by the same ball, +but reflecting that at any moment as much might still happen to him, +for it was warm work just there. I was wounded that same day. + +Besides the old soldiers whom I knew individually, I can quote others +who made a glorious and terrible fight with Russia: + +MM. BUOY, retired Captain at Valenciennes, and a native of that place, +Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. + +HOUREZ, retired Captain at Valenciennes, and a native, Chevalier of the +Legion of Honour. + +PIÈTE, Sub-Lieutenant, Valenciennes. + +LEGRAND, ex-gunner of Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, Chevalier of +the Legion of Honour. + +FOUCART, Barrack-Master, wounded and taken prisoner, Chevalier of the +Legion of Honour. + +IZAMBERT, former non-commissioned officer of the Museum Guard, +Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. + +PETIT, Sub-Lieutenant of the Young Guard. + +MAUJARD, of the Engineers, retired at Condé (Nord), Chevalier of the +Legion of Honour. + +Boquet, of Condé. + + Bourgogne, + + _Ex-Grenadier-Vélite of the Imperial Guard, + Chevalier of the Legion of Honour._ + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 71: This fruit was despatched from Tournai in +Belgium.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 72: Since the Italian campaigns.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 73: Died at Valenciennes in 1856.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 74: That is to say, in 1835, the date when I was arranging my +Memoirs.--_Author's Note._] + +[Footnote 75: Queen's Own.] + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59489 *** |