During the night between the 16th and 17th of February, 1814, Napoleon, accompanied by a small escort of Polish lancers, reconnoitred the enemy’s line, when, on leaving Arcis, he was attacked by a corps of Russian cuirassiers and Cossacks. The Poles, commanded by Skrzinecki, their captain, rapidly formed in a square about the Emperor; and though the enemy in their front were supposed to be six times their number, they succeeded in repulsing them, and rescued Napoleon from his imminent danger.