Chapter XXVII

I resumed my route: it was through forests, steeps, every thing that is most wild in nature; but I met at every step officers who were going on missions; they gave me news of my friends, of the army. I forgot the scenes that I was passing through; I discussed the probable chances of the war; they talked to me of the valour of the troops, of the prodigious activity of the Emperor. It was indeed inconceivable, the movements, the administrations, the measures of security and precaution; he embraced every thing, he was equal to every thing. The instructions that were given to M. d'Hautpoult are an example of it. They merit preservation.

“The orderly officer d'Hautpoult will go to Ostrowno, and
from thence to Beszenkowiczi. He will see at Ostrowno whether
the village is inhabited, and whether it has an engineer to
re-organize it; he will see at Beszenkowiczi whether the bridges
are erected, and if a bridge of rafts has been substituted for
the fixed one, which would not stand the first swelling of the
river; he will see whether the _tête-du-pont_ is in progress; he
will see also the hospital, the workhouse, the magazines, and
in fine, if the country begins to be re-organized. He will give
me an account of the troops that he may meet, whether cavalry,
artillery, or military equipages. He will see at Beszenkowiczi
the fourth regiment of the chasseurs of the guard, and the
battalion of Hesse Darmstadt, which I have commanded to remain
there till farther orders. There should also be there several
pieces of artillery; he must take care that every thing be in
its proper position, and that the works at the _tête-du-pont_ be
proceeded with in order to finish it. He will inform himself if
there are any news of the Cossacks, and, if it is necessary, he
will remain one day at Beszenkowiczi in order to see every thing,
and draw up his despatch. He will write to me from that quarter,
taking care to send his letter by the first estafette that may
pass through Beszenkowiczi. He will continue his road to Polozk,
from whence he will send me his second despatch; he will see the
functionaries of the town, hospital, and workhouse. He will
inform me how many prisoners the Duke de Reggio has taken in the
different affairs which have just taken place; how many wounded;
all that he can learn on this matter, and on the situation of
the Duke de Reggio's corps. The Duke de Tarentum having taken
Dünabourg, the orderly officer d'Hautpoult will learn whether
the communication between the two corps has been effected. He
will get every information which can make me acquainted with
the nature of the forces opposed to the Duke de Reggio; he will
remain with this Marshal (to whom he will send the inclosed
letter) till he shall have attacked the enemy, cleared the right
bank of the river, and effected his communication with Dünabourg.

“NAPOLEON.”

But all this vigilance did not remedy the evil. The soldiers who were unable to keep up with their corps increased visibly; they encumbered our rear. I gave an account to the Emperor, whom I joined at the _bivouac_ three leagues on this side of Smolensko, of the melancholy picture that I had had incessantly before my eyes during the whole of my journey. “It is the effect of long marches; I will strike a great blow, and every one will rally. You come from Wilna. What is Hogendorp doing? he is wallowing in indolence. Has he not his wife with him?” I knew nothing about it; I could not answer. Napoleon replied, “If he had his wife, she must go back to France, or at least that he must send her to Germany on the rear. Berthier is going to write to him.” Some papers were brought in that had just been translated; some were the accounts of the victories in which some handfuls of Cossacks had beaten us all; others were proclamations and addresses, in which we were designated as a troop of missionaries. “See,” said Napoleon to me, “you had no suspicion that we were apostles; but here it is proved that we are coming with damnation for the Russians. These poor Cossacks are going to become idolators. But here is another of a different kind; here, read, it is pure Russian. Poor Platoff! All are of equal strength in these dreary climates!” I read it; it was a long rhapsody with which the patriarch seasoned a relic of St. Sergius that he offered to the Emperor Alexander. He ended it with this paragraph: “The city of Moscow, the first capital of the empire, the new Jerusalem, receives its Christ, as a mother, in the arms of her zealous sons; and through the mist which is rising foreseeing the brilliant glory of his power, it sings in transports, Hosanna, blessed be he who cometh! Let the arrogant, the brazen Goliath carry from the borders of France mortal terror to the confines of Russia; pacific religion, this sling of the Russian David shall suddenly bow the head of his sanguinary pride. This image of St. Sergius, the ancient defender of the happiness of our country, is offered to your Imperial Majesty.”