a,
of Friedland and of Moskowa. It was because they were so good,
perhaps, that they were spared. We would have asked nothing better,
than to have seen them in our place.

Every shot of the English told, and we were forced to break our ranks.
Men are not palisades, and must defend themselves when attacked.

Great numbers were detached from their companies, when thousands of
Englishmen rose up from among the barley and fired, their muskets
almost touching our men, which caused a terrible slaughter. The other
ranks rushed to the support of their comrades, and we should all have
been dispersed over the hill-side like a swarm of ants, if we had not
heard the shout, "Attention, the cavalry!"

Almost at the same instant, a crowd of red dragoons mounted on gray
horses, swept down upon us like the wind, and those who had straggled
were cut to pieces without mercy.

They did not fall upon our columns in order to break them, they were
too deep and massive for that; but they came down between the
divisions, slashing right and left with their sabres, and spurring
their horses into the flanks of the columns to cut them in two, and
though they could not succeed in this, they killed great numbers and
threw us into confusion.

It was one of the most terrible moments of my life. As an old soldier
I was at the right of the battalion, and saw what they were intending
to do. They leaned over as far as possible when they passed, in order
to cut into our ranks; their strokes followed each other like
lightning, and more than twenty times I thought my head was off my
shoulders, but Sergeant Rabot closed the file fortunately for me; it
was he who received this terrible shower of blows, and he defended
himself to the last breath. At every stroke he shouted, "Cowards,
Cowards!"

His blood sprinkled me like rain, and at last he fell. My musket was
still loaded, and seeing one of the dragoons coming with his eye fixed
on me and bending over to give me a thrust, I let him have it full in
the breast. This was the only man I ever saw fall under my fire.

The worst was, that at that moment their foot-soldiers rallied and
recommenced their fire, and they even were so bold as to attack us with
the bayonet. Only the first two ranks made a stand. It was shameful
to form our men in that manner.

Then the red dragoons and our columns rushed pell-mell down the hill
together.

And still our division made the best defence, for we brought o