Long before Napoleon assumed the imperial title his hopes of offspring from the union with Josephine were at an end, but the Empress lived for a time in hope that the Emperor would be content to adopt her son Eugene. Louis Bonaparte married Hortense Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine, and an infant son became so much the favorite of Napoleon that the Empress, as well as others, come to regard this boy as the heir of France. But the child died early and the Emperor then began to direct his thoughts towards the best means of dissolving his marriage with Josephine, in order that he might form an alliance with some daughter of Russia, or other imperial family. The Emperor Alexander was approached on this subject, and informed that one of his sisters, the Grand Duchess Anne, would be acceptable, but the Empress-mother hesitated, and this being taken by Napoleon as a refusal, he sought the hand of the Archduchess Marie Louise, daughter of the Emperor Francis of Austria.

On the 15th of December, 1809, the Emperor summoned his council and announced to them, that at the expense of all his personal feelings, he, devoted wholly to the welfare of the State, had resolved to separate himself from his most dear consort. "Arrived at the age of forty years" he said, "I may conceive the hope of living sufficiently long to elevate, in my mind and after my ideas, the children with which it shall please Providence to bless me. God knows how much this resolution has cost my heart; *** I should also add, that, far from ever having to complain, I have on the contrary, only had cause to laud the attachment and tenderness of my beloved wife. She has adorned fifteen years of my life. The recollection thereof will always remain graven on my heart."

Josephine then appeared among them, and not without tears, expressed her acquiescence in the decree. "I believe I acknowledge all these sentiments," she said, "by consenting to the dissolution of a marriage which, at present, is an obstacle to the welfare of France, which deprives it of being one day governed by the descendants of a great man, so evidently raised by Providence to efface the ills of a terrible revolution, and re-establish the altar, the throne, and social order."

The council, after addressing the Emperor and Empress on the nobleness of their mutual sacrifice, accepted and ratified the dissolution of marriage. The title of Empress was preserved to Josephine for life and a pension of two million francs, to which Napoleon afterwards added a third million from his privy purse. She then retired from the Tuileries, residing thenceforth mostly at Malmaison, and in the course of a few weeks Austria was called upon for her daughter.

Having given her hand at Vienna on the 11th of March, 1810, to Berthier, who had the honor to represent the person of the Emperor, the young Archduchess set out for France on the 13th.

On the 28th, as her carriage was proceeding towards Soissons, Napoleon rode up to it, in a plain dress, altogether unattended, and introduced himself to his proxy bride. She had never seen his person till then, and it is said her first exclamation was, "Your Majesty's pictures have not done you justice."

They spent the evening at the chateau of Compiegne and a religious marriage was celebrated on the 1st of April at St. Cloud amidst every circumstance of splendor; the next day they made their entry into the capital. Napoleon in his exile said that "the Spanish ulcer" and the Austrian match were the two main causes of his ruin;—and they both contributed to it largely, although by no means equally. The Exile's own opinion was that the error lay, not in seeking a bride of imperial birth, but in choosing her at Vienna. Had he persisted in his demands, the Czar, he doubted not, would have granted him his sister; the proud dreams of Tilsit would have been realized, and Paris and St. Petersburg become the only two capitals of Europe. Possibly, then, he would not have had occasion to say that he "set his foot upon an abyss of roses" when he married Marie.

Had he married a daughter of France, or even an imperial princess of Russia, he could have done so without the sacrifice of the prestige of the nobility, and even the divinity of the people he had so gloriously contended for; but when it was announced that he had contracted an alliance with the House of Hapsburg,—that hated race against whom and whose principles he had fought a hundred battles, they were convinced that no good would come of it—and they were right.

The war, meanwhile, continued without interruption in the Peninsula; whither, but for his marriage Napoleon would certainly have repaired in person, after the peace of Schoenbrunn left him at ease. So illy was that Spanish campaign conducted during Napoleon's absence that not an inch of soil could be counted by the French beyond their outposts. Their troops were continually harassed and thinned by the indomitable guerrillas who acted singly or in bands as occasion offered.

The Emperor's marriage was speedily followed on the 20th of April, 1811, by the birth of a son and heir whom Napoleon announced to the waiting courtiers in these words: "It is a King of Rome!" The happy event, announced to the populace by the firing of one hundred and one guns, was received with many demonstrations of loyal enthusiasm. Even Josephine joined in expressing her satisfaction at the event which seemed to portend so much for the founding of a Napoleonic dynasty which the Emperor now saw possible by direct lineage.

When the Emperor of Russia was informed of Napoleon's approaching nuptials with the Austrian princess his first exclamation was, "Then the next thing will be to drive us back into our forests." In truth the conferences at Erfurt had but skinned over a wound which nothing could have cured but a total alteration of Napoleon's policy. The Russian nation suffered so much from the continental system that the Czar soon found himself compelled to relax the decrees drawn up at Tilsit in the spirit of those previously declared at Berlin and Milan. Certain harbors were opened partially for the admission of colonial produce and the export of native productions; and there ensued a series of indignant reclamations on the part of Napoleon, and haughty evasions on that of the Czar, which, ere long, satisfied all near observers that Russia would not be slow to avail herself of any favorable opportunity of once more appealing to arms.

During the summer of 1811 the relations of Russia and France were becoming every day more dubious and when towards the close of it the Emperor of Austria published a rescript granting a free passage through his territories to the troops of his son-in-law, England, ever watchful of her great enemy, perceived clearly that France was about to have an ally. Alexander had long since ceased to regard the friendship of the great man as a blessing of heaven. Of the solemn cordiality of Tilsit, and the more recent meeting at Erfurt, there remained in the soul of the Czar naught but the displeasure and resentment arising from extinct affection and deceived hopes.

From the moment in which the Russian government began to reclaim seriously against certain parts of his conduct, Napoleon increased by degrees his military force in the north of Germany, and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and advanced considerable bodies of troops nearer and nearer to the Czar's Polish frontier. These preparations were met by similar movements on the other side; yet, during many months, the hope of terminating the differences by negotiations was not abandoned. The regulations of the Continental System were especially objected to by Russia, and the Czar having lent his ear to the representations of the English cabinet, asked that they be dispensed with as he declared he could no longer submit to see the commerce of an independent Empire trammeled for the purpose of serving the policy of a foreign power.

Napoleon admitted that it might be necessary to modify the system complained of, and expressed his belief that it would be found possible to devise some middle course by which the commercial interests of France and Russia might be reconciled. A very considerable relaxation in the enforcement of the Berlin code was at last effected, and a license system arranged which admitted Alexander to a share in the pecuniary advantages. Had there been no cause of quarrel between these powers except what appeared on the face of their negotiations, it is hardly to be doubted but a new treaty might have been effected. The Czar, however, from the hour of Marie Louise's marriage, felt a conviction that the diminution of the Russian power in the north of Europe would form the next great object of Napoleon's ambition. The Czar therefore assured himself that if war must come, there could be no question as to the policy of bringing it on before Austria had entirely recovered from the effects of the campaign of Wagram, and, above all, while the Peninsula continued to occupy 200,000 of Napoleon's troops.

As concerned the Spanish armies, it might still be said that King Joseph was in military possession of all but some fragments of his kingdom. The English had been victorious in Portugal and the French troops in Spain lost more lives in this incessant struggle, wherein no glory could be achieved, than in any similar period spent in any regular campaign; and Joseph, while the question of peace or war with Russia was yet undecided, became so weary of his situation, that he earnestly entreated Napoleon to place the crown of Spain on some other head. Such were the circumstances under which the eventful year of 1812 began.

Most persuasive appeals were made to Napoleon by his ministers to refrain from entering into a campaign of aggression against Russia. To FouchÉ, minister of police, Napoleon is reported to have said, in reply, "Is it my fault that the height of power which I have attained compels me to ascend to the dictatorship of the world? My destiny is not yet accomplished,—the picture exists as yet only in outline. There must be one code, one court of appeal, and one coinage for all Europe. The states of Europe must be melted into one nation, and Paris be its capital."

In the arguments used by Napoleon's advisers at this time they attempted to show him, among other things, the great extent of Alexander's resources,—his 400,000 regulars, and 50,000 Cossacks, already known to be in arms—and the enormous population on which he had the means of drawing for recruits; the enthusiastic national feeling of the Muscovites; the distance of their country; the severity of their climate; the opportunity which a war would afford to England of urging her successes in Spain; and the chance of Germany rising in insurrection in case of any reverses.

With the greater part of the population of France, and especially with the army, the threatened war was exceedingly popular. Russia, the most extensive Empire in Europe, it was fondly imagined, was on the point of falling before the power of the Great Nation; and England would then be left to struggle, unaided, for mastery with France. It was deemed a certain pledge of victory, since the Emperor himself was to lead his veteran legions to the new scene of triumph.

Cardinal Fesch, uncle of the Emperor, appealed to him on other grounds. The Cardinal had been greatly affected by the treatment of the Pope, and he contemplated this new war with dread,—as likely to bring down the vengeance of heaven upon the head of one who had dared to trample on its vice-regent. Napoleon led the Cardinal to the window, opened it, and pointing upwards, said, "Do you see yonder star?"

"No Sire," replied the Cardinal. "But I see it," answered Napoleon; and the churchman was dismissed.

Trusting to this star,—his "Star of Destiny" in which he yet firmly believed,—he was far from being awed when in April, 1812, Russia declared war against France. It was an indefensible violation of the treaty of Tilsit, but it showed Napoleon that Europe was determined to crush him, and he rallied the forces of his Empire for a more terrible conflict than he had yet been summoned to.

Not satisfied with disposing everything for war in the bosom of the Empire, Napoleon, who wished to march into Russia at the head of his vast army of Europe, busied himself in forming and cementing, externally, powerful allies. Two treaties were concluded to this effect; the one with Prussia and the other with Austria on the 24th of February and 14th of March, 1812.

Alexander's minister was ordered in the beginning of April to demand the withdrawal of the northern troops, together with the evacuation of the fortress in Pomerania, in case the French government still entertained a wish to negotiate. Napoleon replied that he was not accustomed to regulate the distribution of his forces by the suggestions of a foreign power. The ambassador then demanded his passports and quitted Paris.

The Emperor of France was confident, and seems to have entertained no doubt of his success in the coming campaign. "The war" he said, "is a wise measure, called for by the true interests of France and the general welfare. The great power I have already attained compels me to assume an universal dictatorship. My views are not ambitions. I desire to obtain no further acquisition; and reserve to myself only the glory of doing good, and the blessings of posterity."

Leaving Paris with the Empress on the 9th of May, 1812, on his way to join the Grand Army then forming on the Polish frontier, the imperial pair were accompanied by a continual triumph. Not merely in France but throughout Germany the ringing of bells, music and the most enthusiastic greetings awaited them wherever they appeared. On May 16th, the Emperor arrived at Dresden where the Emperor of Austria, the Kings of Prussia, Naples, Wirtemberg, and Westphalia and almost every German sovereign of inferior rank had been invited to meet him. He had sent to request the Czar also to appear in this brilliant assemblage, as a last chance of an amicable arrangement, but the messenger could not obtain admission to Alexander's presence.

Marie Louise was now sent back to France and the Russian campaign began. Marshal Ney, with one great division of the army, had already passed the Vistula; Junot, with another, occupied both sides of the Oder. The Czar was known to be at Wilna, collecting the forces of his immense Empire and entrusting the general arrangements of the approaching campaign to Marshal Barclay de Tolly, an officer who had been born and educated in Germany. The season was advancing and it was time that the question of peace or war should be forced to a decision.

Napoleon, before leaving the gay court of Dresden, where he was hailed as "the king of kings," dispatched Count de Narbonne to the Emperor Alexander to make a fresh attempt at negotiation in order to spare the shedding of more blood. On his return Narbonne stated that "he had found the Russians neither depressed nor boasting; that the result of all the replies of the Czar was, that they preferred war to a disgraceful peace; that they would take special care not to risk a battle with an adversary so formidable; and, finally, that they were determined to make every sacrifice to protract the war, and drive back the invader."

Napoleon arrived at Dantzic on the 7th of June, and during the fortnight which ensued, it was known that the final communications between him and Alexander were taking place. On the 22nd the French Emperor broke silence in a bulletin in which he said: "Soldiers, Russia is dragged on by her fate; her destiny must be accomplished. Let us march; let us cross the Niemen, let us carry war into her territories. Our second campaign of Poland will be as glorious as the first; but our second peace shall carry with it its own guarantee. It shall put an end forever to that haughty influence which Russia has exercised for fifty years over the affairs of Europe."

The Czar announced the termination of the negotiations by stating the innumerable efforts to obtain peace and concluded in these words: "Soldiers, you fight for your religion, your liberty and your native land. Your Emperor is amongst you; and God is the enemy of the aggressor."

Napoleon reviewed the greater part of his troops on the battlefield of Friedland, and having assured them of still more splendid victories over the same enemy, issued his final orders to the chief officers of his army. The disposition of his forces when the campaign commenced was as follows:—The left wing, commanded by Macdonald, and amounting to 30,000 men, had orders to march through Courland, with the view, if possible, of outflanking the Russian right, and gaining the possession of sea coast in the direction of Riga. The right wing, composed almost wholly of Austrians, 30,000 in number, and commanded by Schwartzenberg, was stationed on the Volhynian frontier. Between these moved the various corps forming the grand central army under the general superintendence of Napoleon himself, viz., those of Davoust, Ney, Jerome Bonaparte, Eugene Beauharnais, Prince Poniatowski, Junot and Victor; and in numbers amounting to 250,000 men. The communication of the centre and the left was maintained by the corps of Oudinot, and those of the centre and the extreme right by the corps of Regnier, who had with him the Saxon auxiliaries and the Polish legion of Dombrowski. The chief command of the whole cavalry of the host was assigned to Murat who was in person at the headquarters of the Emperor, having immediately under his order three divisions of horse—those of Grouchy, Montbrun and Nantousy. Augereau, with his division was to remain in the north of Germany to watch over Berlin and protect the communications with France. Napoleon's base of operations, as will be seen by the map, extended over full one hundred leagues, and the heads of his various columns were so distributed that the Russians could not guess whether St. Petersburg or Moscow formed the main object of his march.

The Russian army, under de Tolly, had its headquarters at Wilna, and consisted, at the opening of the campaign, of 120,000 men. Considerably to the left lay "the second army," as it was called, of 80,000 men under Bagration with whom were Platoff and 12,000 of his Cossacks; while at the extreme of that wing, "the army of Volhynia," 20,000 strong, commanded by Tormazoff, watched Schwartzenberg. On the right of de Tolly was Witgenstein with 30,000 men and between these again and the sea, the corps of Essen 10,000 strong. Behind the whole line two armies of reserve were rapidly forming at Novogorod and Smolensk, each, probably, of about 20,000 men. The Russians actually in the field at the opening of the campaign were, then, as nearly as can be computed, 260,000; while Napoleon was prepared to cross the Niemen at the head of 470,000 men.

The Czar was resolved from the beginning to act entirely on the defensive and to draw Napoleon, if possible, into the heart of his own country ere he gave him battle. The various divisions of the Russian force had orders to fall back leisurely as the enemy advanced, destroying whatever they could not take with them, and halting only at certain points where intrenched camps had already been formed for their reception.

The difficulty of feeding half a million men in a country deliberately wasted beforehand, and separated by so great a space from Germany, to say nothing of France, was sure to increase at every hour and every step. Alexander's great object was, therefore, to husband his own strength until the Polar winter should set in around the strangers, and bring the miseries which he thus foresaw to a crisis.

Napoleon, on the other hand, had calculated on being met by the Russians at, or even in advance of their own frontier, (as he had been by the Austrians in the campaign of Austerlitz and by the Prussians in that of Jena); of gaining a great battle, marching immediately either to St. Petersburg or Moscow, and dictating a peace within the walls of one of the Czar's own palaces.

On June 24th the Grand Imperial Army, consolidated into three masses, began their passage of the Niemen,—Jerome Bonaparte at Grodno, Eugene at Pilony, and Napoleon himself near Kowno. The Emperor rode on in front of his army at two o'clock in the morning to reconnoitre the banks, escaping observation by wearing a Polish cloak and hat; his horse stumbled and he fell to the ground. "A bad omen—a Roman would return," some one remarked. After a minute investigation he discovered a spot near the village of Poinemen, above Kowno, suitable for the passage of his troops, and gave orders for three bridges to be thrown across at nightfall. The first who crossed the river were a few sappers in a boat. All was deserted and silent on the foreign soil, and no one appeared to oppose their proceedings with the exception of a single armed Cossack, who asked, with an appearance of surprise, who they were and what they wanted. "Frenchmen," was the reply; "we come to make war upon your Emperor; to take Wilna, and deliver Poland."

The Cossack struck spurs into his horse and three French soldiers discharged their pieces into the gloomy depths of the woods, where they had lost sight of him, in token of hostility. There came on at the same moment a tremendous thunder storm. Thus began the fatal invasion.

The passage of the troops was impeded for a time; as the bridge over the Vilia, a stream running into the Niemen, had been broken by the Russians. The Emperor, however, despising this obstacle, ordered a Polish squadron of horse to swim the river. They instantly obeyed; but on reaching the middle the current proved too strong for them, broke their ranks, and swept away and engulfed many of them. Even during their last struggles the brave fellows turned their faces towards the shore, where Napoleon was watching their unavailing efforts with the deepest emotion, and shouted with their dying breath, "Vive l'Empereur!"

Three of these noble-spirited patriots uttered this cry when only a part of their faces was above the waters. The army was struck with a mixture of horror and admiration. Napoleon watched the scene apparently unmoved, but gave every order he could devise for the purpose of saving as many of them as possible, though with little effect. It is probable that his strongest feeling, even at the time, was a presentiment that this disastrous event was but the beginning of others, at once tremendous and extensive.

As these enormous hosts advanced into the Russian territory Alexander withdrew his armies as deliberately as the invader pushed on. Wilna, the capital itself, was evacuated two days before the French came in sight of it, and Napoleon took up his quarters there on the 28th of June. Here it was found that all the magazines, which he counted on seizing, had been burnt before the Russians withdrew. Already the imperial bulletins began to denounce the "barbarous method" in which the enemy resolved to conduct his defense.

Napoleon remained twenty days at Wilna during which time he redoubled his efforts to secure quantities of provisions which were to be conveyed along with his army; these were to render him independent of the countries through which he might pass. The destruction of the magazines at Wilna reassured him that he had judged well in departing from the old system of marauding, which had been adopted in previous campaigns with success. At the end of this period Napoleon became aware that while the contracts entered into by his war minister were adequate for the army's needs, the handling of such enormous quantities of provisions, under the most favorable circumstances, must be slow and in some degree uncertain. Thus the Emperor found himself under the necessity, either of laying aside his invasion for another year, or of urging it in the face of every difficulty, all of which he had forseen except the slowness of a commissariat department.

When Napoleon arrived at Wilna, he was regarded by the people as their liberator. A deputation was sent to him by the Diet of Warsaw entreating his assistance towards the restoration of their ancient kingdom, the re-establishment of Poland having been proclaimed. They came, they said, to solicit Napoleon the Great to pronounce these few words: "Let the kingdom of Poland exist!" and then it would exist; that all the Poles would devote themselves to the orders of the fourth French dynasty, to whom ages were but a moment, and space no more than a point.

Napoleon's reply was not satisfactory, "In my position, I have many interests to reconcile," he said "and many duties to fulfill." His answer was so extremely guarded, that the Poles became dissatisfied and offered little or no support to the French. "Had Poland been regenerated" says Bourrienne, "Napoleon would have found the means of succeeding in his expedition. In his march upon Moscow, his rear and supplies would have been protected, and he would have secured that retreat which subsequent reverses rendered but too needful."

During this delay Alexander was enabled to withdraw the troops which he had been maintaining on the flanks of his European domains and bring them all to the assistance of his main army. The enthusiasm of the Russian nation appeared in the extraordinary rapidity with which supplies of every kind were poured at the feet of the Czar. From every quarter he received voluntary offers of men, money, and whatever might assist in the prosecution of the war. The Grand Duchess Anne, whose hand Napoleon had solicited, set the example by raising a regiment on her estate. Platoff, the veteran hetman of the Cossacks, promised his only daughter and 200,000 rubles to the man by whose hand Napoleon should fall. Noblemen everywhere raised troops, and displayed their patriotism by serving in the ranks themselves and entrusting the command to experienced officers chosen by the government.

Napoleon at length re-entered the field without having done much to remedy the disorders of his commissariat. He at first determined to make St. Petersburg his mark, counting much on the effects which a triumphal entry into the capital would produce throughout the country, but his troops meeting with some reverses at Riga and Dunaburg, he changed his plans and resolved to march on Moscow instead.

The centre of the army was now thrown forward under Davoust with the view of turning Barclay's position and cutting off his communication with Bagration. This brought about an engagement with the latter on the 23rd of July near Mohilow, the French remaining in possession of the town. The Russian commander in retreating informed Barclay that he was now marching, not on Vitepsk, but on Smolensk.

During the three days of the 25th, 26th and 27th of July the French were again victorious. Napoleon halted at Vitepsk for several days in order to allow his troops to recuperate. On the 8th of August the Emperor quitted Vitepsk and after a partial engagement at Krasnoi on the 14th, came in sight of Smolensk on the 16th. On the 10th of August Napoleon was observed to write eight letters to Davoust, and nearly as many to each of his commanders. "If the enemy defends Smolensk" he said in one of his letters to Davoust, "as I am tempted to believe he will, we shall have a decisive engagement there, and we cannot have too large a force. Orcha will become the central point of the army. Everything induces me to believe that there will be a great battle at Smolensk."

The day on which the combat at Krasnoi was fought happened to be the Emperor's birthday. There was no intention of keeping it in these immense solitudes, and under the present circumstances of peril and anxiety. There could be no heartfelt festival without a complete victory. Murat and Ney, however, on giving in the report of their recent success, could not refrain from complimenting the Emperor on the anniversary of his nativity. A salute from a hundred pieces of artillery was now heard,—fired according to their orders.

Napoleon, with a look of displeasure, observed, that in Russia it was important to be economical of French powder; but he was informed in reply, that it was Russian powder, and had been taken the night before. The idea of having his birthday celebrated at the expense of the Russians made Napoleon smile.

Prince Eugene also paid his compliments to the Emperor on this occasion, but was cut short by Napoleon saying, "Everything is preparing for a battle. I will gain that, and then we will see Moscow." SÉgur says that Eugene was heard to observe, on leaving the imperial tent, "Moscow will destroy us!"

The first and second armies of the Czar, under Bagration and Barclay, having at length effected a junction, retired with 120,000 men behind the river which flows at the back of this town.

As soon as Napoleon saw these masses of men approaching from the distance he clapped his hands with joy, exclaiming, "At last I have them!" The moment that was to decide the fate of Russia or the French army, had apparently arrived.

Napoleon passed along the line, and assigned to each commander his station, leaving an extensive plain unoccupied in front between himself and the Dneiper. This he offered to the enemy as a field of battle, but instead of accepting the challenge Barclay and Bagration were seen next morning in full retreat.

During the night the Russian garrison had withdrawn and joined the army across the river. Before they departed they committed the city to flames, and, the buildings being chiefly of wood, the conflagration, according to the French bulletin, "resembling in its fury an eruption of Vesuvius." "Never," said Napoleon, "was war conducted with such inhumanity; the Russians treat their own country as if it were that of an enemy." It now, however, began to be difficult in the extreme to extinguish the flames created by the retreating Russians. The Emperor in person used every effort to stop the progress of the devouring element and render succor to the wounded. "Napoleon," says Gourgaud, "is of all generals, whether ancient or modern, the one who has paid the greatest attention to the wounded. The intoxication of victory never could make him forget them, and his first thought, after every battle, was always of them."

It was very evident that the Russian commander had no desire that Napoleon should establish himself in winter quarters at this point. From Smolensk the Russians retreated to Dorogoburg, and thence to Viasma; halting at each of these towns and deliberately burning them in face of the enemy. Having returned to Smolensk, Napoleon became a prey to the most harassing reflections on the opportunity which had so lately escaped him of destroying the whole of the Russian army, and attaining a speedy conclusion of peace. Uncertainty began to gain ground with him; vague presentiments made him desire to terminate as soon as possible this distant campaign. "We are too far engaged to fall back," said the Emperor on arriving at Ougea; "and if I only proposed to myself the glory of warlike exploits, I should have but to return to Smolensk, there plant my eagles, and content myself with extending my right and left arms which would crush Witgenstein and Tormasoff. These operations would be brilliant; they would finish the campaign very satisfactorily, but they would not terminate the war. Our troops may advance, but are incapable of remaining stationary, motion may keep them together: a halt or retreat would at once dissolve them. Ours is an army of attack, not of defense; of operation, not of position. We must advance upon Moscow, gain possession of that capital, and there dictate terms of peace to the Czar! Peace is before us; we are but eight days march from it; when the object is so nearly attained, it would be unwise to deliberate. Let us, therefore, march upon Moscow!"

At this period Barclay was appointed to the war ministry at St. Petersburg, and Kutusoff, who assumed the command in his stead, was beginning to doubt whether the system of retreat had not been far enough persisted in. Napoleon ordered a vigorous pursuit of the enemy, hoping to come up with and crush him, before he could reach his ancient capital. The honor of marching with the advance guard devolved upon Marshal Ney, who gloriously justified the confidence of Napoleon by the intelligence and bravery which he displayed at the battle of Valoutina. This was a most sanguinary fight. Four times were the Russians driven from their positions, and on each occasion, brought up reinforcements, and retook them; at length they were finally overthrown by the valorous Gudin who charged at the head of his division, the vigor and impetuosity of which led the enemy to believe that they were exposed to the shock of the Imperial Guard. Thirty thousand men were brought into action on either side, and the slaughter was terrible. Much individual bravery was also displayed on this occasion. But for the failure of Junot,—who had begun to show signs of approaching insanity,—to faithfully execute his orders, the victory might have been decisive. The Emperor was much gratified, however, at the conduct of his troops at Valoutina. He repaired in person to the field of battle and passed in review the divers regiments which had distinguished themselves there. "Arrived at the 7th light infantry" says Gourgaud, "he ordered the captains to advance, and said to them, 'Show me the best officer of the regiment.' 'Sire, they are all good—' 'that is no answer; come at least to the conclusion of Themistocles; 'I am the first; the second is my neighbor.'"

At length Captain Moncey, who was absent on account of his wounds, was named. "What," said the Emperor, "Moncey who was my page! the son of the marshal! Seek another!" "Sire, he is the best." "Ah, well!" said Napoleon, "I shall give him the decoration."

Up till this time the 127th regiment had marched without an eagle, having had no opportunity of distinguishing itself. The Imperial ensign was now delivered to it by Napoleon's own hands.

The new Russian general at length resolved to comply with the clamorous entreaties of his troops and fixed on a strong position between Borodino and Moskowa on the highroad to Moscow, where he determined to await the attack of Napoleon who was pushing the war vigorously, sword in hand, in the hopes of closing hostilities by one pitched battle.

On the 5th of September Napoleon came in sight of the position of Kutusoff and succeeded in carrying a redoubt which had been erected to guard the high-road to Moscow. This was effected at the bayonet point, though not without great slaughter on either side.

The next day the two armies lay in presence of each other preparing for a great contest. On the eve of, and before daybreak on the 6th, the Emperor was on horseback, wrapped in his gray coat, and exhibited all the alacrity of his younger days. On his return to headquarters he found a courier had arrived with dispatches announcing Marmont's defeat and the deliverance of Salamanca into the hands of Wellington. M. de Beausset also arrived bringing from Paris a portrait of Napoleon's son which deeply moved the Emperor. He caused the picture to be placed outside his tent where it was viewed by his officers. He then said to his secretary, "Take it away, and guard it carefully; he sees a field of battle too early."

The Russians were posted on an elevated plain; having a wood on their right flank, their left on one of the villages, and a deep ravine, the bed of a small stream, in front. Extensive field-works covered every prominent point of this naturally very strong ground; and in the centre of the whole line, a gentle eminence was crowned by an enormous battery, serving as a species of citadel. The Russian army numbered about 120,000 men against which were opposed almost an equal number of French troops. In artillery, also, the armies were equal. The Emperor fixed his headquarters in the redoubt whence he had issued the order for battle in the morning; the elevation of the ground permitted him to observe the greatest part of the Russian line, and the various movements of the enemy. The young guard and the cavalry were before him, and the old guard in his rear.

Before the engagement Napoleon addressed his troops: "Here is the battle you have looked for,"—he said, "for it brings us plenty; good winter-quarters, and a safe retreat to France. Behave yourselves so that posterity may say of each of you,—'He was in that great battle beneath the walls of Moscow.'"

At 4 o'clock on the morning of the 7th the French advanced under cover of a thick fog, and assaulted at once the centre, the right, and the left of Kutusoff's position. Such was the impetuosity of the charge that they drove the Russians from their redoubts but this was for a short time only as they rallied under every line of the fire from the French, and instantly advanced. Russian peasants who, till that hour, had never seen war, and who still wore their usual rustic dress, distinguished only by a cross sewed on it in front, threw themselves into the thickest of the combat. As they fell, others rushed on and filled their places. Some idea may be formed of the obstinacy of the contest from the fact that one division of the Russians which mustered 30,000 in the morning only 8,000 survived. These men had fought in close order, and unshaken, under the fire of eighty pieces of artillery. The Russians had the advantage of ground, of speaking but one language, of one uniform, of being a single nation, and fighting for the same cause. By 2 o'clock, however, according to the imperial bulletin, all hope had abandoned the enemy; the battle was at an end, although the cannonade was not yet discontinued. The Russians fought for their retreat and safety, but no longer for the victory.

The result of this terrible day, in which the French fired sixty-six thousand cannon balls, was that while the Russians were defeated they were far from routed. "However great may have been the success of this day," says SÉgur, "it might have been still more so if Napoleon, instead of finishing the battle at 4 o'clock in the afternoon had profited by the remainder of the day to bring his Guard into the field, and thus changed the defeat of the enemy into a complete rout."

That the Emperor suffered intensely during the day is well-known. He had passed a restless night and a violent and incessant cough cut short his breathing.

As to his desire of preserving a reserve uninjured, and forming it from a chosen and devoted body, such as his Guard, Napoleon explained it to his marshals by saying: "And if there should be a second battle tomorrow, what could I oppose to it?"

General Gourgaud has added: "If the Guard had been destroyed at the battle of Moskowa, the French army, of which their guard constantly formed the core, and whose courage it supported during the retreat, could scarcely have ever repassed the Niemen."

This refusal of Napoleon to engage his Guard is generally held to have been one of his greatest military lapses. At the time they were demanded by Ney and others the enemy was all but beaten and the appearance of the Emperor at their head would in all probability have closed the day with a great victory to his credit, and, according to the opinions of many military men of this day, have ended the Russian campaign by this one battle.

Night found either army on the ground they had occupied at daybreak. The number of guns and prisoners taken by the French and the Russians was about equal; and of either host there had fallen not less than 40,000 men. Some accounts give the total number of the slain as 100,000.

The Russian commander fought desperately but was at last compelled to retire. His army was the mainstay of the country and had it been destroyed, the Czar would have found it difficult to form another. Having ascertained then the extent of his loss and buried his dead, among whom was the gallant Bagration, the Russian withdrew from his intrenchment and marched on Mojaisk. Marshal Ney was rewarded for the noble share he had in the success of this battle, by the title of Prince of the Moskowa.

The small number of prisoners taken at Moskowa,—or Borodino as the battle is frequently called,—the circumstance of the Russians being able to carry away their wounded, and many other considerations amply prove that such another contest would have ruined Napoleon. The Russians ordered Te Deums to be chanted at Moscow in honor of what they termed a victory for themselves and Napoleon sent similar instructions to his bishops in France.

Napoleon was so fortunate as to be joined exactly at this time by two fresh divisions from Smolensk which nearly restored his muster to what it had been when the battle began, and thus reinforced commanded that the pursuit be pushed. On the 9th the French vanguard came in sight of the Russian rear again and Napoleon prepared for battle but once more Kutusoff fled precipitately in the direction of the capital.

The Emperor reached the "Hill of Salvation,"—so called because from that eminence the Russian traveler obtains his first view of the ancient metropolis affectionately called "Mother Moscow," and hardly less sacred in his eyes than Jerusalem. The soldiery beheld with joy and exultation the magnificent extent of the place; its mixture of Gothic steeples and oriental domes; and high over all the rest the huge towers of the Kremlin, at once the palace and citadel of the old Czars. The cry of "Moscow! Moscow!" ran through the lines. Napoleon himself reined in his horse, and exclaimed, "Behold, at last, that celebrated city!"

It was soon observed that no smoke came from the chimneys, and again, that no military appeared on the battlements of the old walls and towers. Murat, who commanded the van, now came riding up and informed the Emperor that he had held a parley with Milarodowitch, general of the Russian rear-guard, and that he had declared that unless two hours were granted for the safe withdrawing of his troops, he would at once set fire to Moscow. Napoleon immediately granted the armistice. When the Emperor halted at the barrier he had the exterior of the city reconnoitred; Eugene was ordered to surround it on the north, and Poniatowski to embrace the south, whilst Davoust remained near the centre; the Guard was then ordered to march, and, under the command of Lefebvre, Napoleon entered Moscow, and prepared to establish himself in the city. He found the capital deserted by all but the very lowest and most wretched of its vast population. The French soldiers soon spread themselves over its innumerable streets filling the magnificent palaces, the bazaars of the merchants, the churches, convents and public buildings of every description. The meanest soldier clothed himself in silk and furs and drank at his pleasure the costliest wines. Napoleon, perplexed at the abandonment of so great a city, had great difficulty in keeping together 30,000 men under Murat, who followed Milarodowitch, and watched the walls on that side.

At midnight the Emperor, who had retired to rest in a suburban palace, was awakened by the cry of "Fire!" The chief market-place was in flames and it was some hours before it could be extinguished. While the fire still burned Napoleon established his quarters in the Kremlin, and wrote by that fatal light, a letter to the Czar, containing proposals for peace. In his letter he assured the Czar, "that whatever might be the vicissitudes of war, nothing could diminish the esteem entertained for him by his friend of Tilsit and Erfurt."

The letter was committed to a prisoner of rank but no answer was ever received to it. On the next day the flames broke out again and in a short time various detached parts of the city were in flames, combustibles and matches were found in many places, and the water-pipes cut so that attempts to control the spreading flames were almost useless. The wind changed three times in the course of the night and the flames always broke out again with new vigor in the quarter from which the prevailing breeze blew right on the Kremlin. It was now found that the governor, in abandoning the city, had set all the malefactors in the numerous jails at liberty.

For four days the fire continued with more or less fury and four-fifths of the city was wholly consumed. "Palaces and temples," says Karamsin the Russian author, "monuments of arts and miracles of luxury, the remains of ages long since past, and the creation of yesterday, the tombs of ancestors, and the cradles of children were indiscriminately destroyed. Nothing was left of Moscow save the memory of her people, and their deep resolution to avenge her fall."

On the third night the equinoctial gale arose, the Kremlin itself, from which point Napoleon had witnessed the spread of this fearful devastation, took fire and it became doubtful whether it would be possible for the Emperor to withdraw in safety.

About 4 o'clock in the morning, one of Napoleon's officers awoke him, to inform him of the conflagration. He had thrown himself on the bed only a few minutes before, after having dictated orders to the various corps of his army, and labored with his secretaries. He watched from the windows the course of the fire which devoured his fair conquest, and the exclamation burst from him: "This is then how they make war! The civilization of St. Petersburg has deceived us; they are indeed Scythians!"

During several hours he remained immovable at the Kremlin. The palace was now surrounded by the flames and he consented to be conducted out of the city. He rode out through streets in many parts arched over with flames, and buried, where this was not the case, in one dense mantle of smoke. "It was then" says SÉgur, "that we met the Prince of Eckmuhl (Davoust). This marshal, who had been wounded at the Moskowa, had desired to be carried back among the flames to rescue Napoleon, or to perish with him. He threw himself into his arms with transport; the Emperor received him kindly, but with that composure which in danger he never lost for a moment."

"Not even the fictions of the burning of Troy" said the Emperor, "though heightened by all the powers of poetry, could have equalled the destruction of Moscow."

It was in the afternoon of the 16th that Napoleon left Moscow and before nightfall had reached Petrowsky, a country palace of the Czar, about a league distant, and where he fixed his headquarters.

On the 20th, the flames being at length subdued, or exhausted, Napoleon returned to the Kremlin still hoping that the Czar would relent on learning of the destruction of his ancient and sacred metropolis. Day after day passed and still there came no answer from Alexander. The Emperor's position was becoming hourly more critical. On every side there was danger; the whole forces of Russia appeared to be gathering around him. Then, too, the season was far advanced; the stern winter of the North was at hand and the determined hostility of the peasants prevented the smallest supplies of provisions from being introduced into the capital.

Daru advised the Emperor to draw in all his detachments, convert Moscow into an intrenched camp, kill and salt every horse, and trust to foraging parties for the rest—in a word to lay aside all thoughts of keeping up communication with France, or Germany, or even Poland; and issue forth from Moscow, with his army entire and refreshed, in the commencement of the Spring. But Napoleon feared, and not without reason, that were he and his army cut off from all communication, during six months, the Prussians and the Austrians might throw off the yoke; while, on the other hand, the Russians could hardly fail, in the course of so many months, to accumulate, in their own country, a force before which his isolated army, on re-issuing from their winter quarters would appear but a mere speck.

Another letter was now sent by Napoleon to the headquarters of Kutusoff for Alexander. Count Lauriston was received by the commander in the midst of his generals and answered with such civility that the envoy doubted not of success. In the end, however, he was informed that no negotiations could be entertained and he declared his inability to even sanction the journey of any French messenger to St. Petersburg, without the authorization of his master. Kutusoff offered, finally, to send Napoleon's letter by one of his own aides-de-camp, and to this Lauriston was obliged to agree. The interview occurred on the 6th of October; no answer could be expected before the 20th. There had already been one fall of snow, and the dangers attendant on a longer sojourn in the ruined capital were increasing every hour.

It was under such circumstances that Napoleon lingered on in the Kremlin until the 19th of October when he decided to depart from Moscow. That evening several divisions were put in motion and the metropolis was wholly evacuated on the morning of the 22nd. This sudden departure was due in part to Murat's engagement with Bennigsen at Vincovo on the 18th, the day on which the suspension of arms expired, causing him to lose 3,000 prisoners and forty pieces of artillery. General Milarodowitch, during a conversation with Murat a few days before, talked very frankly of the situation. Murat looked upon peace as indispensable to Russia, and was enlarging upon "the continued success of the French" and having opened for them the gates of Moscow. "Yes General," replied Milarodowitch, briskly, "the campaign is over with the French, and it is now time it should commence with the Russians."

On the 19th of October the Emperor with 6,000 chosen horse began his journey towards Smolensk, the care of bringing up the main body being given to Eugene Beauharnais, while Ney commanded the rear.

As Napoleon left Moscow he said to Mortier: "Pay every attention to the sick and wounded. Sacrifice your baggage,—everything to them. Let the wagons be devoted to their use, and, if necessary your own saddles. This was the course I pursued at St. Jean d' Acre. The officers will first relinquish their horses, then the sub-officers, and finally the men. Assemble the generals and officers under your command, and make them sensible how necessary, in their circumstances, is humanity. The Romans bestowed civic crowns on those who preserved their citizens; I shall not be less grateful."

From the commencement of this march hardly a day elapsed in which some new calamity did not befall those hitherto invincible legions. The Cossacks of Platoff came upon one division at Kolotsk, near Borodino, on the 1st of November, and gave them a total defeat. A second division was attacked the day after and with nearly equal success, by the irregular troops of Count Orloff Denizoff. The French now became separated by attacks made by Milarodowitch and the soldiers began to suffer from extreme hunger. On the 6th of November their miseries were heightened by the setting in of the Russian winter. Thenceforth, between the heavy columns of regular troops which on every side watched and threatened them, the continued assaults of the Cossacks who hung around them in clouds by day and by night, rushing on every detached party like the Mamelukes of Egypt, disturbing every bivouac, breaking up bridges before, and destroying every straggler behind them, to the terrible severity of the climate, the frost, the snow, the wind—the sufferings of this once magnificent army were such as have hardly been equalled in the world's history.

The enormous train of artillery which Napoleon brought from Moscow was soon diminished and the roads were blocked up with the spoils of the city, abandoned of necessity, as the means of transport failed. The horses, having been ill-fed for months, were altogether unable to resist the united effects of cold and fatigue. They sank and stiffened by hundreds and by thousands. The starving soldiery slew others of these animals that they might drink their warm blood and wrap themselves in their yet reeking skins! All discipline had vanished.

They were able to keep together some battalions of the rear-guard, and present a bold aspect to the pursuers, the heroic Marshal Ney not disdaining to bear a firelock, and share the meanest fatigues of his brave followers.

The main Russian army, having advanced side by side with the French, was now stationed to the southwest of Smolensk, in readiness to break the enemy's march whenever Kutusoff should choose. Milarodowitch and Platoff were hanging close behind, and thinning every hour the miserable bands which had no longer heart, nor, for the most part, arms of any kind wherewith to resist them. All the reports brought to headquarters by the officers, represented Kutusoff as disposed to oppose the French army and risk a battle, rather than abandon his positions which were on the road he wished to close against the continued retreat of the Emperor. Napoleon was not convinced by these reports. At daybreak, mounted on horseback, he started out to reconnoitre the camp and disposition of the enemy who was preparing to dispute Kalouga. As the Emperor arrived near Malojaroslawetz a body of Cossacks was seen approaching. Napoleon and his escort prepared to defend themselves. Rapp had scarcely time to seize his chief's bridle and say, "It is the Cossacks, turn back!" ere a fierce band galloped towards them. The Emperor, scorning flight, drew his sword, and reigned his horse to the side of the road. The troop dashed past wounding Rapp and his horse. "When Napoleon saw my horse covered with blood," says Rapp in his "Memoirs," "he demanded if I had been wounded. I replied that I had come off with a few bruises, upon which he began to laugh at our adventure, although I, for my part, found it anything but amusing." The appearance of Marshal Bessieres, who arrived at the head of some squadrons of grenadiers of the Guard, sufficed to stay the disorder and put the Cossacks to flight.

The Grand Army had mustered 120,000 men when it left Moscow. Including the fragments of various divisions which met the Emperor at Smolensk it was with great difficulty that 40,000 men could now be brought together in anything like fighting condition. These Napoleon divided into four columns, nearly equal in numbers; of the first which included 6,000 of the Imperial Guard, he himself took the command, and marched with it towards Krasnoi. The second corps was that of Eugene Beauharnais; the third Davoust's; and the fourth destined for the perilous service of the rear, and accordingly strengthened with 3,000 of the Guard, was intrusted to the guidance of Marshal Ney.

Eugene and Ney at length entered Smolensk. The name of that town had hitherto been the only spell that preserved any hope within the soldiers of the retreat. There, they had been told, they should find food, clothing, and supplies of all kinds, and there being once more assembled under the eye of Napoleon, speedily reassume an aspect such as none of the northern barbarians would dare to brave.

These expectations were far from realized. Smolensk had been almost entirely destroyed by the Russians in the early part of the campaign. Its ruined walls afforded only a scant shelter to the famished and shivering fugitives, and the provisions assembled there were so inadequate to the demands of the troops, that after the lapse of a few days Napoleon found himself under the necessity of once more renewing his disastrous march. While at Smolensk Napoleon received dispatches from France, informing him that a false report of his death had occasioned an outbreak and which threatened for a brief period the colossal Empire he controlled. On receiving the news he exclaimed, with deep feeling, and in the presence of his generals: "Does my power then, hang on so slender a thread? Is my tenure of sovereignty so frail that a single person can place it in jeopardy? Truly my crown is but ill-fitted to my head if, in my very capital, the audacious attempt of two or three adventurers can make it totter. After twelve years of government,—after my marriage—after the birth of my son—after my oaths—my death would have again plunged the country into the midst of revolutionary horrors. And Napoleon II., was he no longer thought of?"

Napoleon left Smolensk on the 13th of November, 1812, having ordered that the other corps should follow him on the 14th, 15th and 16th respectively thus interposing a day's march between every two divisions.

It seems to be generally accepted that the name of Napoleon saved whatever part of his host finally escaped from the territory of Russia. Kutusoff appears to have exhausted the better part of his daring at Borodino and thenceforth adhered to the plan of avoiding battle. He seems to have been unable to again shake off that awe which had been the growth of a hundred of Napoleon's victories;—had he been able to do so the Emperor would probably have died on some battlefield between Smolensk and the Beresina, or been taken a prisoner in the country which three months before he had invaded at the head of half a million of men. The army of Napoleon had been already reduced to a very small fragment of its original strength, and even that fragment was now split into four divisions against any one of which it would have been easy to concentrate a force overwhelmingly superior.

The Emperor reached Krasnoi unmolested although the whole of the Russian army, moving on a parallel road, were in full observation of his march; Eugene, who followed him, was, however, intercepted on his way by Milarodowitch, and after sustaining the contest gallantly against very disproportionate numbers, and a terrible cannonade, was at length saved only by the fall of night. During the darkness Eugene executed a long and hazardous detour, and joined the Emperor at Krasnoi on the 17th; the two leading divisions now united, mustered scarcely 15,000 men. It was then thought advisable to await the arrival of Davoust's and Ney's divisions before proceeding. Kutusoff was again urged to seize this opportunity of pouring an irresistible force on the French position, and although he thinned the ranks of the enemy with 100 pieces of artillery well placed, he ventured on no closer collision than one or two isolated cavalry charges. Napoleon, therefore, held his ground in face of all that host, until nightfall, when Davoust's division, surrounded and pursued by innumerable Cossacks, at length was enabled to rally once more around his headquarters. Ney, however was still at Smolensk.

The Emperor now pushed on to relieve Eugene who was in command of the van with orders to march on Liady and secure the passage of the Dneiper at that point.

Davoust and Mortier were left at Krasnoi with orders to hold out as long as possible in the hope of being there joined by Ney. Long, however, before that gallant leader could reach this point, the Russians, as if the absence of Napoleon had at once restored all their energy, rushed down and forced on Davoust and Mortier the battle which Napoleon had in vain solicited. On that fatal field the French left forty-five cannon and 6,000 prisoners, besides the slain and wounded. The remainder with difficulty effected their escape to Liady, where Napoleon once more received them, and crossed the Dneiper.

Ney, meanwhile, having as directed by the Emperor, blown up whatever remained of the walls and towers of Smolensk, at length set his rear-guard in motion and advanced to Krasnoi, without being harassed by any except Platoff whose Cossacks entered Smolensk ere he could wholly abandon it. Ney continued to advance on the footsteps of those who had thus shattered Davoust and Mortier and met with no considerable interruption until he reached the ravine in which the rivulet Losmina has its channel. A thick mist lay on the ground and Ney was almost on the brink of the ravine before he perceived that it was manned throughout by Russians, while the opposite banks displayed a long line of batteries deliberately arranged, and all the hills behind covered with troops.

A Russian officer appeared and summoned Ney to surrender. "A Marshal of France never surrenders!" was his intrepid answer, and immediately the batteries, distant only two hundred and fifty yards, opened a tremendous storm of grape-shot. Ney, nevertheless, had the hardihood to plunge into the ravine, clear a passage over the stream, and charge the Russians at their arms. His small band was repelled with fearful slaughter; but he renewed his efforts from time to time during the day, and at night, though with numbers much diminished, still occupied his original position in the face of a whole army interposed between him and Napoleon. The Emperor had by this time given up all hopes of ever again seeing anything of his rear column.

During the ensuing night Ney effected his escape—an escape so miraculous that the history of war can scarcely furnish a parallel. The marshal broke up his bivouac at midnight, and marched back from the Losmina, until he came on another stream, which he concluded must also flow into the river Dneiper. He followed this guide, and at length reached the great river at a place where it was frozen over, though so thinly, that the ice bent and cracked beneath the feet of the men who crossed it in single files. The wagons laden with the wounded, and what great guns were still with Ney, were too heavy for this frail bridge. They attempted the passage at different points, and one after another went down, amid the shrieks of the dying and the groans of the onlookers.

The Cossacks had by this time gathered hard behind, and swept up many stragglers, besides the sick. But Ney had achieved his great object; and on the 20th of November he, with his small and devoted band of 1500 men, joined the Emperor once more at Orcha. Napoleon, on seeing him received him in his arms, and exclaimed, "What a man! What a soldier!" He could not find words to express the admiration which the intrepid marshal had inspired him with; he hailed him as "the bravest of the brave" and declared with transport: "I have two hundred millions (of francs) in the cellars of the Tuileries, and I would have given them all to save Marshal Ney!"

The Emperor was once more at the head of his united "grand army"—a sad remnant of its former glory and power. Between Smolensk and the Dneiper the Russians had taken 228 guns, and 26,000 prisoners. At leaving Smolensk Napoleon had mustered 40,000 effective men—he now could count only 12,000, after Ney joined him at Orcha. Of these there were but one hundred and fifty cavalry; and, to remedy this defect, officers still in possession of horses, to the number of 500, were now formed into a "sacred band," as it was called, commanded by General Grouchy, under Murat, for immediate attendance upon the Emperor's person.

The Russians were now uniting all their forces for the defense of the next great river on Napoleon's route,—the Beresina. The Emperor had hardly resolved to cross this river at Borizoff, ere, to renew all perplexities, he received intelligence that by a combat with Dombrowski there the enemy had retained possession of the town and bridge. Victor and Oudinot advanced immediately to succor Dombrowski and retook Borizoff; but the Russians burned the bridge before re-crossing the Beresina.

Napoleon now decided to pass the Beresina higher up, at Studzianska, and forthwith threw himself into the huge forests which border the river, adopting every stratagem by which his enemies could be puzzled as to the immediate object of his march. His 12,000 brave and determined men were winding their way amidst these dark woods, when suddenly the air around them was filled with sounds which could only proceed from the march of some far greater host. They were preparing for the worst when they found themselves in the presence of the advanced guard of the united army of Victor and Oudinot, who, although they had been defeated by Witgenstein, still mustered 50,000 men, completely equipped and hardly shaken in discipline.

Napoleon now continued his march on Studzianska, employing, however, all his wit to confirm the belief among the Russians that he meant to pass the Beresina at a different place, and this with so much success that the Russian rear-guard abandoned a strong position commanding the river, during the very night which preceded the Emperor's appearance there.

Two bridges were erected, and Oudinot had passed over before Tchaplitz, in command of the Russian rear-guard, perceived his mistake, and returned again toward Studzianska. Discovering that the passage had already begun, and that in consequence of the narrowness of the only two bridges, it must needs proceed slowly, Tchichagoff and Witgenstein now arranged a joint plan of attack. Platoff and his indefatigable Cossacks joined Witgenstein arriving long before the rear-guard of Napoleon could pass the river. The French that had made the passage were attacked by Tchaplitz, and being repelled by Oudinot left them in unmolested possession, not only of the bridges on the Beresina, but of a long train of wooden causeways extending for miles beyond the river over deep and dangerous morasses which but a few sparks were needed to ignite and destroy.

Victor with the rear division, consisting of 8,000 men, was still on the eastern side when Witgenstein and Platoff appeared on the heights. The still numerous retainers of the camp, crowds of sick, wounded, and women, and the greater part of the artillery were in the same situation.

When the Russian cannon began to open upon this multitude, crammed together near the bank, and each anxiously expecting the turn to pass, a shriek of utter terror ran through them, and men, women, horses and wagons rushed pell-mell upon the bridges. The larger of these, intended solely for wagons and cannon, ere long broke down precipitating all that were upon it into the dark and half-frozen stream. "The scream that arose at this moment," says one that heard it, "did not leave my ears for weeks; it was heard clear and loud over the hurrahs of the Cossacks, and all the roar of artillery."

The remaining bridge was now the only resource, and all indiscriminately endeavored to gain a footing on it; exposed to the incessant shower of Russian cannonade they fell and died in thousands. Victor stood his ground bravely until late in the evening, and then conducted his division over the bridge. Behind was left a great number of the irregular attendants besides those soldiers who had been wounded during the battle, and guns and baggage-carts in great quantities. The French now fired the bridge and all those were abandoned to their fate. The Russian account states that when the Beresina broke up in the Spring 36,000 bodies were found in the bed of the river.

On the 3d of December Napoleon reached Morghoni, and announced to his marshals that the news he had received from Paris at Smolensk concerning Mallet's attempt to overthrow his government by announcing the death of the Emperor, and the uncertain relations with some of his allies, rendered it indispensable for him to quit his army without further delay and return to Paris with all possible speed. They were now, he said, almost within sight of Poland; they would find plenty of everything at Wilna. It was his business to prepare at home the means of opening the next campaign in a manner worthy of the great nation.

At Morghoni, on the 5th, the garrison at Wilna met the Emperor and then, having intrusted to these fresh troops, the protection of the rear, and given the chief command to Murat, he finally bade adieu to the rulers of his host. He set off in a sledge at midnight, accompanied by Caulaincourt, whose name he assumed. Having narrowly escaped being taken by a party of irregular Russians at Youpranoni, the Emperor reached Warsaw at nightfall on the 10th of December. Here he met his ambassador, the AbbÉ de Pradt, to whom he said, "I quit my army with regret; but I must watch Austria and Prussia, and I have more weight on my throne than at headquarters. The Russians will be rendered fool-hardy by their successes. I shall beat them in a battle or two on the Oder, and be on the Niemen again within a month—Monsieur L'Ambassadeur, from the sublime to the ridiculous there is but a step."

Resuming his journey, Napoleon reached Dresden on the evening of the 14th of December, where the King of Saxony visited him, and reassured him of his fidelity. He then resumed the road to his capital and arrived at the Tuileries on the 18th, late at night, after the Empress had retired.

The remnant of the Grand Army meanwhile moved on towards France in straggling columns. They passed the Niemen at Kowno, and the Russians did not pursue them into Prussian territory. Here about 1000 men in arms, and perhaps 20,000 more utterly demoralized, were received with compassion. They took up their quarters and remained for a time unmolested, in and near Konigsberg. The French army crossed the Niemen on the ice, on the 13th of December, defended still by Ney, who had to fight with the Russians in Kowno. He now fought at the head of only thirty men and was the last individual of the French army who left Russian territory, as he did so he threw his musket into the river defying the enemy with his last breath. When he came up with General Dumas in Prussian Poland he was scarcely recognizable, and on being asked who he was replied, with eyes red and glaring, "I am the rear-guard of the Grand Army; I have fired the last musket shot on the bridge of Kowno!"

The few who survived all these horrors, men who had fought in all Napoleon's campaigns, and wore the cross of the Legion of Honor on their breasts, were now so wasted with famine that they wept when they saw a loaf of bread!

The total loss in this terrible campaign was somewhere near 450,000 men; fatigue, hunger and cold had caused the death of 132,000; and the Russians had taken prisoners of 193,000—including forty-eight generals and three thousand regimental officers. The eagles and standards left in the enemy's hands were seventy-five in number and the pieces of cannon nearly one thousand.