loated four large ostrich plumes
with an exquisite heron aigrette in the midst; and finally the king's
horse, always selected from the strongest and handsomest that could be
found, was covered with an elegantly embroidered sky-blue cloth which
extended to the ground, and was held in place by a Hungarian or Turkish
saddle of the richest workmanship, together with a bridle and stirrups
not less magnificent than the rest of the equipment. All these things
combined made the King of Naples a being apart, an object of terror and
admiration. But what, so to speak, idealized him was his truly
chivalrous bravery, often carried to the point of recklessness, as if
danger had no existence for him. In truth, this extreme courage was by
no means displeasing to the Emperor; and though he perhaps did not always
approve of the manner in which it was displayed, his Majesty rarely
failed to accord it his praise, especially when he thought necessary to
contrast it with the increasing prudence shown by some of his old
companions in arms.

On the 28th the Emperor visited the battlefield, which presented a
frightful spectacle, and gave orders that everything possible should be
done to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded, and also of the
inhabitants and peasants who had been ravaged and pillaged, and their
fields and houses burned, and then ascended the heights from which he
could follow the course of the enemy's retreat. Almost all the household
followed him in this excursion. A peasant was brought to him from
Nothlitz, a small village where the Emperor Alexander and the King of
Prussia had their headquarters during the two preceding days. This
peasant, when questioned by the Duke of Vicenza, said he had seen a great
personage brought into Nothlitz, who had been wounded the evening before
on the staff of the allies. He was on horseback, and beside the Emperor
of Russia, at the moment he was struck. The Emperor of Russia appeared
to take the deepest interest in his fate. He had been carried to the
headquarters of Nothlitz on lances of the Cossacks interlaced, and to
cover him they could find only a cloak wet through with the rain. On his
arrival at Nothlitz the Emperor Alexander's surgeon came to perform the
amputation, and had him carried on an extending chair to Dippoldiswalde,
escorted by several Austrian, Prussian, and Russian detachments.

On learning these particulars the Emperor was persuaded that the Prince
von Schwarzenberg was t